# Nose hairs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2000, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539 "2000-07-14T07:56:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/1 "2000-07-14T07:56:57Z")
Why are long nose hairs a social no-no? Why do we think they are yucky? Do other cultures think nose hairs are yucky too? How can people walk around with nose hairs sticking out like a forest? I can’t help it but stare at the nose when people have long nose hairs, does everyone else do that? What’s the best way to trim nose hairs? Should we be trimming nose hairs? After all, they’re supposed to filter incoming air. Why do nose hairs have so much nerve endings? If I were a KGB agent (or whatever the new counterpart is) I’d forget about that shock to the genitals thing, I’d just keep plucking out nose hairs until they talked. Side benefit, no evidence of torture, only a clean nose without ugly nose hair. ---
**Author:** ![Mustapha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mustapha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mustapha)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/2 "2000-07-14T09:52:40Z")
Y’know a few months ago, I would have glossed over this question as one purely for the aged or infirmed, or at least the over forties. But then, a couple of weeks back, I was forced to deal with a couple of nosehairs intent on exploring the outside world. However, this had nothing to ‘hairs and graces’. The things were just tickling and irritating. They start to tickle, you go to rub your nose, and end up yanking a big curly one. Social niceties be damned, I’m not putting up with an itchy nose! ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/3 "2000-07-14T10:24:36Z")
I trim my nose hairs with a Remington circular nose hair trimmer. But if I am out somewhere and notive nosehairs, I just go the lavatory, grab 'em and rip them out. It only hurts for a second. ---
**Author:** ![Yosemite\_Joy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/13edae/32.png) [@Yosemite\_Joy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yosemite_Joy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/4 "2000-07-14T19:17:10Z")
From a female perspective I find that men w/ nose hairs (esp. when boogers are stuck to them) sticking out it repulses me. I do not personally have to worry about nose hairs (but then again I am not 65 years old). So I have no idea what the best way to rid of these prickly bastards. But I do know that my boyfriend yanks them out when I beg him to do SOMETHING with them… ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/5 "2000-07-14T20:30:13Z")
> [@](#): > > I trim my nose hairs with a Remington circular nose hair trimmer. How well does that work? How much does it cost? I hope this s a real product, and not a joke. I use fingernail scissors, and that works, but it’s kind of a bother. Thank God I don’t have ear hair yet… ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2000, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/6 "2000-07-14T23:14:34Z")
Yosemite\_Joy, I was going to relate unruly nose hairs with your super long tongue w/ no ‘tongue hinge’, but I can’t think of anything that’s not too gross. Anyway, Yes Zenbeam, this is a real product. Go to any beauty supply store and they’ll have two or three different models, battery powered or manual. One type rotates and you place it up your nostral, the other kind is sort of like electric hair shears, but only about 1/4 inch wide. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2000, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/7 "2000-07-15T14:20:46Z")
I read somewhere that men have nose & ear hairs but women do not. Evolution? ---
**Author:** ![gabbyhayes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@gabbyhayes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabbyhayes)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2000, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/8 "2000-07-15T14:34:37Z")
with the exception of people with a rare mutation that prevents them from growing any hair, everyone has ear and nose hairs. Like all body hairs, estrogen tends to make the hair fine and androgen makes the hair coarse. When men are young, there is a balance between androgen and estrogen, so the chest, underarm, public, back, ear, and nose hair tends to be fine. It wears away under normal use or falls out. When men get older, the androgen gets the upper hand (the same for women going through menopause, resulting in prostate enlargement, male pattern baldness, and ever coarser hair in all of the locations mentioned above. Since the air is coarser, it doesn’t wear away and frequently it will begin peeking out your apertures. A barber will trim these hairs if you ask and if you get your hair cut every couple of weeks, that will do the trick. If you like to let your hair grow out between haircuts, you should trim your ear and nose hair. For the ears a set of reciprocating cutters is best. You can’t really focus on what you’re doing, so you want a device that will trim any hair it finds. Trim your earlobe too and the backs of your ears, because hair is growing there, too, but concentrate on your ear canal, because that’s where the gross stuff grows. Ear hair may also be caked with ear wax, if you don’t clean your ears adequately. It’s enough to make an unprepared person lose his or her lunch. It can even smell cheesy and weird. To trim your nostril hairs, you can use the reciprocating cutters, but a fine pair of shears will do a good job and give you more control. Swiss Army Knives typically have a tiny pair of shears attached that is exactly the right size for the job. you shouldn’t pull your nose hairs. This will lead to a painful and even dangerous condition called ingrown hair. The hair will become balled up around its follicle and can lead to infection as it grows. You don’t want infections inside your head. nose and ear hair protect the nose and ear from insects, dust, and other foreign matter, so it’s useful to you as a filter. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2000, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/9 "2000-07-15T16:25:24Z")
> [@](#): > > I hope this s a real product, and not a joke. [Here’s](http://www.sharperimage.com/ProductDisplay.jsp?name=SI544&index=PersonalCare) Sharper Image’s version of a nose hair trimmer. It’s got a headlamp and everything. Remington and other companies probably have a cheaper no-frills version. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/10 "2003-04-22T09:45:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Major Feelgud \* > **Why are long nose hairs a social no-no? Why do we think they are yucky? Do other cultures think nose hairs are yucky too? How can people walk around with nose hairs sticking out like a forest?** Judging from the number of Romanians I’ve seen with such forests, I’d have to say the answer to the penultimate question is no, there are some cultures in which long, protruding nose hairs are not the subject of public scorn and ridicule. (Then again, it could just be that there is a higher proportion of the fashion-clueless among Romanians.) ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/11 "2003-04-22T09:55:24Z")
From the [FAQs](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=106617) thread in ATMB: > [@](#): > > **What if I want to continue / add to the discussion on a topic that was mentioned in an old thread?** > > Start a new thread with a link to the old thread. A general guideline for “old” would be a thread older than three months. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/12 "2003-04-22T11:58:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gabbyhayes \* > \*\* > you shouldn’t pull your nose hairs. This will lead to a painful and even dangerous condition called ingrown hair. The hair will become balled up around its follicle and can lead to infection as it grows. You don’t want infections inside your head. > \*\* Really? I yank em out when they get long enough, and haven’t had a single one become ingrown. Do you have a site for this claim? Is it particular to nose hairs, or is this a risk with waxing as well? (Waxing is just a way to yank out lots of hairs at once anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/13 "2003-04-22T15:41:06Z")
You can buy a nose hair trimmer at Walmart for between $7 and $15. Tweezers do a better job. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-hairs/25539/14 "2003-04-22T16:02:38Z")
I pluck ‘em out with a sanitized pair of needle nosed pliers. Yea, yea, I know I shouldn’t do that. [Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=59112) a thread I started about it.