# I pulled a tree stump out of my face! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 8, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401 "2005-04-08T15:47:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/21 "2005-04-09T00:54:34Z")
I’ve actually got two of the buggers growing on a scar on my jawline right side. Used to pluck them, but it got kinda old so I just shaves em off with the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Cockatiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cockatiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cockatiel)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/22 "2005-04-09T19:32:05Z")
I haven’t any any of these Big Hairs, but I’m popping in anyway to say that the OP and **Jurph’s** post could qualify as trichotillomaniac porn. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/23 "2005-04-09T19:41:07Z")
I have a Big Sideways Hair. It’s down on the soft skin near my neck, and always tries to turn itself around and bury back into the skin. Even after just 48 hours, it’ll be trying to break the surface. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/24 "2005-04-16T00:37:41Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I was off work for a few days and I didn’t shave during that time. So last night I figured I’d take a nice hot bath to really soften up my beard for the razor. As I laid there in the tub, I rubbed my hand over the pre-beard and found an old friend. The Big Hair. > > The Big Hair is the result of an over-achieving follicle on the right side of my chin. It’s way thicker than normal facial hair and could possibly qualify as a horn. Since I shave regularly, it usually goes unnoticed other than by the notch it puts in the razor blade and the thump it makes when it hits the surface of the sink. But having let it grow out gave me an opportunity to remove it for a little longer than normal. > > I grabbed the mirror hanging from the shower nozzle and checked it out. Since I wasn’t wearing my glasses I used the magnifying side of the mirror. In the mirror, The Big Hair loomed up at me like a keratinous Devils Tower, issuing it’s challenge. “Wow” I think, “This’ll be more fun than poppin’ a big ol’ white head!” > > Out comes my cold metalllic friend the tweezer to remove the louisville slugger growing out of my face. But it takes some doing to get a grip on a wet piece of beard stubble, whatever it’s size. In fact, the first three attempts only get me pain and the wrong hair in the tweezer. After a while every other hair in the area is gone, leaving nothing but my target and a great deal of frustration. Finally I get a grip on the offending hair a give a yank. The Big Hair is so massive that it actually pulls the skin into a little mound before finally slipping out. > > And suddenly, it’s over. I’m left with a half-centimeter long piece of stubble and a sense of satisfaction usually reserved for the completion of a DIY project. > > Even to myopic eyes The Big Hair is impressive. I was glad to see that I got a lot of the follicle and base, so it will be a while before it starts interfering with my shaving again. > > Mandane and Pointless, but you read it anyway. > > So does anybody else get these **solitary** monster hairs? Hypno-Toad, are you sure that your mutant hair is single? If it’s as thick as you’ve indicated, could there be two or three hairs tightly wound together? If you grew this hair out, could you use it to hook up audio components? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/25 "2005-04-16T01:44:18Z")
As I claw my way, screaming, through my 40s, I increasingly fall prey to what I call “Poopdeck Pappyism.” And this isn’t a sexy thing. Nossir, it is not. My only solace lies in the knowledge that if I find myself stranded on a desert isle, I can use the suddenly precious wirelike protruberances as makeshift needles for use in clothing repair and sailmaking. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/26 "2005-04-16T05:07:05Z")
> [@](#): > > One of the plucks caused it to bifurcate, and each of the half-hairs is pretty significant, but overall I’m winning the war. The Jurphean Hydra! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/27 "2005-04-16T10:46:18Z")
I have one of these. It grows out of a scar under my jaw at my chin. It’s thick and black and a bitch to pull - all the more weird, because it’s the _only_ black hair on my body. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/28 "2005-04-16T13:03:39Z")
I have one that I keep plucking. It grows on the right side of my mouth. I remember walking around Bed Bath and Beyond and looking in one of the magnifying mirrors. To my horror I saw this huge black hair growing out of my face. I was so disgusted I managed to yank that thing out with my fingertips. I don’t know where this stray hair comes from, but I regularly check that part of my face now. In fact, I can feel it, prickly and slightly longer than the rest of the down on my face, but it’s not long enough for me to grab it with the tweezers yet. Where do they come from? ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/29 "2005-04-16T13:36:13Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I went out with a girl in college once that had hairs like that on her nipples. They were like a cat’s whiskers, shooting out in different directions I guess so that the nipple wouldn’t let itself get caught in some tigh, confined area. My roommate had told me about them first and so I asked her out to see for myself and, yep, whisker nipples. I have to confess I have those - about six around each nipple. I am fair so it is odd to have these black wiry things. I pluck them as soon as they appear. The odd thing was that both times I have been pregnant, they never grew at all. As soon as I gave birth, they gradually grew back. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/30 "2005-04-16T14:20:11Z")
I get that one weird hair also on my chin also. **medstar** is correct. Its really a bunch of hairs. Next time you pluck that baby out, try to stick your finger nail or a pin in the center and seperate them. Sometimes its hard to do. Its almost like they’re glued together. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/31 "2005-04-16T14:57:12Z")
> [@Hokkaido Brit](#): > > I have to confess I have those - about six around each nipple. I am fair so it is odd to have these black wiry things. I pluck them as soon as they appear. Um…OUCH! ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/32 "2005-04-16T23:23:30Z")
I get a hair that grows off of my left arm. We call it my arm-lash, 'cause its much the same consistency of an eyelash. My wife takes much pleasure from grabbing it as soon as she finds it, and yanking the lash from my arm. She’s weird, but I loves her so… ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/33 "2005-04-18T11:00:50Z")
Yep, I get the uber-hair too, on the left of my chin. My gf takes great delight in plucking it out. The first time she found it, thinking it was a blackhead, it hurt like absolute hell. No kidding, when it came out, it was about 5mm long and a perfect spiral. A tiny facespring, if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/34 "2005-04-18T11:58:27Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > Hypno-Toad, are you sure that your mutant hair is single? If it’s as thick as you’ve indicated, could there be two or three hairs tightly wound together? If you grew this hair out, could you use it to hook up audio components? 😃 I’m pretty sure it is a mono-thread since it seemed to have just the one root. And that root was pretty damn thick as well. But since I was without glasses, it may have been a multi-thread structure. Do these braided hairs come from one follicle or from two or more adjacent ones? ---
**Author:** ![rpinrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@rpinrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rpinrd)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/35 "2005-04-18T17:29:38Z")
I get the big hairs too. In my house they go by the rather pedestrian name “Mutant Hairs.” They are always right around my jaw line. I used to think that they were mono-filament, but Mrs. nrd pointed out that you can separate them like string cheese. I usually have five or six separate hairs in there, all seeming to come from the same source, definitely the same follicle. Mine are prone to causing massive pimples if I’m not careful. I remember one of the infomercials for a skin care system that was listing the causes of pimples; one of which was facial hairs that get imbedded in the skin. These don’t curve around and go back in. The theory was that the hair is sharpened by shaving, and then tucks back in under the surface of the skin. The sharp point can get trapped under there, and as it grows, it pushes the skin out and traps a bunch of crap in there. I don’t know if there is any basis for this theory, but it seems true for me. I can tell when a particular pimple is caused by a mutant hair because it is harder than normal, and will NOT go away. These have to be popped because obviously the hair will not go away by itself. So, eventually it gets big enough that a small amount of pressure will cause the hair to pop out like the thing that pops out a turkey when it’s done cooking. Then the hair can then be deconstructed with all the individual hairs being separated. The zit location usually feels like a hard lump for a long time afterwards, even though noting else ever comes out. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/36 "2005-04-18T17:43:13Z")
> [@rpinrd](#): > > Mine are prone to causing massive pimples if I’m not careful. I remember one of the infomercials for a skin care system that was listing the causes of pimples; one of which was facial hairs that get imbedded in the skin. These don’t curve around and go back in. The theory was that the hair is sharpened by shaving, and then tucks back in under the surface of the skin. The sharp point can get trapped under there, and as it grows, it pushes the skin out and traps a bunch of crap in there. I don’t know if there is any basis for this theory, but it seems true for me. I can tell when a particular pimple is caused by a mutant hair because it is harder than normal, and will NOT go away. These have to be popped because obviously the hair will not go away by itself. So, eventually it gets big enough that a small amount of pressure will cause the hair to pop out like the thing that pops out a turkey when it’s done cooking. Then the hair can then be deconstructed with all the individual hairs being separated. The zit location usually feels like a hard lump for a long time afterwards, even though noting else ever comes out. This exact thing happened to me for the first, and so far only, time last year. I had no clue that it was an ingrown hair under my chin until it finally annoyed me enough to pop it. I was extremely surprised to get a 1 cm hair out of that “zit.” I don’t know if it was a mono- or multi-thread. ---
**Author:** ![rpinrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@rpinrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rpinrd)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/37 "2005-04-18T17:52:32Z")
Ahhh, I remember my first time. Imagine my surprize when I popped what I though was a zit a found a piece of what looked like brown rice in my hand. (In and amongst a mélange of blood and pus for all you zit lovers out there.) ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/38 "2005-04-18T18:13:30Z")
> [@Corii](#): > > I will occasionally get freaky white hairs pop up on my arms. One day, nothing, then the next day four inches of wiry, overachieving white/clear hair. They sprout up overnight, it’s quite strange. I have one of those on my shoulder. It’s at least 4 inches. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/39 "2005-04-18T20:10:30Z")
My experience has been the same as **rpinrd** ’s, even to my calling them “Mutant Hairs.” They will show up on my face every six months or so and are very satisfying to pop. This is one of the great things about the SDMB – I would never dare discuss this question elsewhere. It is nice to know that my “Mutant Hairs” are normal, or at least if abnormal, they are in good company. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401/40 "2005-04-18T20:43:29Z")
> [@Mycroft H.](#): > > My experience has been the same as **rpinrd** ’s, even to my calling them “Mutant Hairs.” They will show up on my face every six months or so and are very satisfying to pop. > > This is one of the great things about the SDMB – I would never dare discuss this question elsewhere. It is nice to know that my “Mutant Hairs” are normal, or at least if abnormal, they are in good company. I find this thread strangely - and I do mean strangely - comforting… That is all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pulled-a-tree-stump-out-of-my-face/298401.md?page=3)