I pluck my nose hairs on a periodic basis. I use a pair of needle-nosed pliers I bought just for doing this (I disinfect them with alcohol before use).
Someone recently told me that “It’s dangerous to pluck nose hairs.” She said it could cause an infection, it could destroy the hair follicles, blaa, blaa, blaa.
I’ve been doing it for over 8 years and haven’t gotten an infection. And so what if it damages the hair follicles? I don’t want them to grow anyway.
So am I doing any irreversible harm to myself? Has anyone actually gotten an infection from plucking their nose hairs?
Women regularly pluck hairs from all parts of their bodies, yet they don’t have all over infections (save a couple of ex-girlfriends). God if I didn’t pluck, I would have nasal hair around my knees by now
Yep, it’s possible to get an infection, just the same as it’s possible to get an infection from popping a zit. You can also get infections just by being alive. The danger with the nasal area, though, is that the veins that drain the area under the nose end up emptying straight back into the brain, and there’s an old adage about not messing with anything inside the nose and the filtrum area because you don’t want that to happen because of dire consquences. (Now diagram that!) At least, that’s how it could work in theory. Now, finding an actual documented case of it is as elusive as finding one of a candiru catfish attack.
Yikes! My eyes are watering just thinking about it. Brrrrrr.
Remember, the nose is full of warmed moist air, as well as mucus (and the bacteria it has trapped). This is a wonderful breeding ground for bacteria and infections in the gaping hole left by a pulled nasal cilia (proportional to the size of a bacterium).
I have had an ingrown hair in my nose, and believe me, it was neither fun nor pretty. Having it lanced was neither fun nor pretty nor cheap.
And you do this to yourself regularly?! My gawd, man, get a trimmer!
I pull the ones that extend out my nostril. Sometimes I miss seeing them because I have a moustache and they kinda camoflage in. So then I’m at work and I see it, pluck it, and my eyes water for about 2 minutes.
If it’s between nasal infection and grossing out my co-workers, I remember Fernando’s words: “It is better to look good than to feel good.” pluck!
I’m getting more vain as I grow older. The appearance of big black hairs jutting out of my nostrils was an unwelcome sign of impending geezerhood. I pluck 'em rather than trim because I don’t want them growing back. Although I just use standard tweezers. (Needle nosed pliers?)
The old nose trimmer works great for me. Only occasionally does it grab hold of a hair & pull - Ouch! Why would anyone do this to themselves on purpose?
Well, if you’ve done this for eight years without infection, you’re probably fine. My SO has reached the age where nose hairs are an issue, so I know he does…something to them. Trim or pluck, I do not know. (Nor do I want to, really.)
In the Middle East barbers will remove nose and ear hair with a candle flame. I watched my brother get this done in Turkey. It looked alarming, but the barbers are good at this; my bro felt nothing.
Not that I’m advocating self immolation to remove nose hairs, mind you.
I use a nose trimmer fo rorutine maintenance, and do an occasional breakthrough pluck.
Once I got a small infection in my nose from doing this. Such is life. It was neither painful nor dangerous.
I find the black Revlon tweezers to be better than its competition. You can by a motorized plucker at Walmart for about ten bucks. I don’t have ear hair yet, fortunately.
In the past couple years I’ve noticed a few nasal hairs poking out and have pulled them. (What is it about pulling those particular hairs that set you on edge so hard anyway? Jeez, my knee has dislocated 3 times, and never did I tear up like I do when I pull a nose hair!) I’ve never had an infection in my nose caused by pulling them, but YMMV. (I have to pose the question again, needlenose pliers???)
Sure. Needlenose pliers. Hemostats. But, more than once when finding myself out in the world with a fugly curly one in place, I’ve used the Gerber Tool I carry on my hip.
From the benign glances I get in public men’s rooms when ripping, weeping, etc. seems to me that other men have had to live the same humiliating nightmare. And women with stubbly legs think THEY’VE got it rough. Oye, it’s hard to be a man.
Crafter Man, I hear you on those needle-nose pliers. The last thing you want is a hair slipping loose just as it’s about to come out. All the pain with none of the results. My personal choice is a nasty-looking, 8-inch pair of surgical tweezers. Guaranteed not to slip, and it scares people away from my desk.
I’ve tried trimming my nose hairs on a few occasions, but it always seemed more painful than plucking in the long run. You see, a hair that’s been plucked grows back with a natural, fine tip. A hair that’s been cut now has a thick, bristly end that irritates my tender nostrils. So while plucking is a few minutes of intense pain, trimming gives me days of maddening itches.
Who said this is restricted to men? [tmi]I have one hair in my nose that has decided to grow wild. This hair is not only thicker than the rest, it is growing longer AND it is growing at an odd angle so it curls around inside my nostril and TICKLES MY NOSE. :mad: You bet I pluck this sucker when I find it. [/tmi]
If you’re worried about infection, rub the inside of the nostril with alcohol, not the pliers.
Been doing this regularly for a while now.
Re Zyada and tickling: Once, my nostrils were really getting tickled and itchy, and I pulled one out that I swear must’ve been as long as my whole nose. Stopped the tickling. Wotta relief!
I’ve plucked all of ONE nose hair in my life, and I’ll never forget it. I got a nasty infection that required antibiotics. My nose swelled up to twice its normal size. OUCH!
Nothing is grosser than nose hairs. I had a friend who was bald yet had plentiful hairs growing out of his nose. Ain’t that just one of Nature’s ironies? Hair where you don’t want it, no hair where you need it. Funny thing is I could never stop staring at his nose hairs whenever I talked to him, always wished I could just reach out and yank a fistful out, of course I’d have to amputate my hand afterwards.
Now that I am old, I have grey nose hairs. Anyone else have grey nose hairs?
