I know someone whom I see regularly in a social context whose nose hair has been getting pretty long. Two complicating factors: he has light colored hair, so it’s hard to see unless you’re sitting right next to him, and he has bad eyesight, so it’s anyone’s guess whether he’ll see it himself.
When I do see it, it’s very… distracting. But is that reason enough to say anything?
“See regularly in a social context,” meaning dating? Or you’re just friends in the same circle? Drinking buddies? Are you male or female? I mean, I’d tell the guy no matter what but the way you do it changes depending on the relationship.
Well, if he was just a casual aquaintance in his 60s from your Opera Appreciation Club, I probably wouldn’t bother.
Too many variables! Need more information! 
Speaking as someone who’s starting to suffer from the same problem, he already knows. It tickles something fierce.
I think we don’t normally tell one another about elements of their appearance we dislike. Except for helpful little things that are almost certainly oversights (“Your fly is open”), we usually let it go, don’t we?
All the fluorescent bright cool white smiles I’m seeing these days are bizarre and offputting and most distracting to me, but I’m not about to start telling most people.
I think if this person isn’t so close to you that you already know the answer to your question, the answer is “no”.
Just grab hold of a handful while he’s not looking, and pull sharply.
If it’s long enough that you can grab it when he’s facing the other way, I’d say leave it be.
Don’t forget it. Get your friend one of those battery-powered, waterproof nose hair trimmers. I bought one for myself. Cost me only about 10 bucks and works like a charm – one of the best investments I ever made!
I just checked the brand of my trimmer which I keep in the shower where I use it. It’s a Remington. Like I said, it works great.
I don’t know what you mean when you say “see regularly in a social context”. If he’s a friend, just say he’s a friend. If he is an acquaintance or you’re dating him, please say so. Because your degree of familiarity and intimacy with him determines if it’s appropriate or not to say anything.
If you’re acquaintances, don’t say anything. You’ll just make him embarrassed, or make yourself look like an obsessive fault-finder.
If you’re friends, you could mention it casually, in a jocular way. Like, “Dude, I know what I’m getting you for Christmas!” But only if you having that joking around kind of relationship.
If you’re dating, then you could mention it in a playful, cutesy way. I’m thinking of how my older sister begs me to pop my pimples or clean the grout out of my toenails. You could say, “Ooh, lemme just pluck your nose hairs out. Pleeeease! I’ve got my tweezers right here and it’ll only take a minute!” He might think you’re strange, but if you play it from a “I love grooming people” angle, you might be tolerated.
I have long nose hairs. I know I do and I don’t care. If an acquaintance brought it up to me, I would probably say, “Yeah, and your face is ugly.” Well, no I wouldn’t, but I would be thinking something similar. I would probably just say, “Yes, I know. They clean the air I breath, just like they’re supposed to do.” Anything further about my nose hairs would be met with silence and a shrug.
OW!!!
I was made aware of this issue when in grad school, a friend zoomed in on a picture of my tufty nostrils. I have one of those nose trimmers that does a good job as well.
What made me hyper-vigilant was the appearance of gray nose hair. I keep a tweezers in the glovebox because that’s when I usually notice them! I can pluck out one or two but more than that will have me crying.
I suppose it depends if you think he doesn’t know… if so, he’d probably appreciate a heads up. Obviously, if he does know, he doesn’t care, so you risk looking like a shallow asshole. Personally, unless I know the guy on a level that I know his family or something, I wouldn’t bother. Too many things can go wrong, and it’s not as if your life will be noticeably improved if he starts clipping his nose hairs. As far as the social shortcomings that one could have, it’s probably the least offensive (think about the impact of halitosis, having boogers, excessive earwax, sweaty palms, etc.).
This is an interesting take on things. I would have never expected anyone to not care about something like this. Do you have a lot of ear hair too?
I am very diligent in grooming both my nose hair and ear hair. I find them both off-putting, so I do whatever I have to to get rid of it.
No, I do not have ear hairs. And my long hairs are long in the sense that when I look at my reflection in the rearview mirror, I can see them. I don’t know if that means other people can see them too (probably), but no, I don’t really care. Just like I don’t care that my feet aren’t prettified or that my clothes aren’t perfectly wrinkle free. I do care about some things (like not smelling bad), but I would not say I’m very meticulous about my looks.
Do they extend out from the end of your nostrils? If not, then you’re fine. But if you have nose hairs coming out the bottom of your nose, that’s something that ought to be clipped. Maybe it’s just never been on your radar as the kind of thing that gets groomed. I would put overgrown nose hair in the same category as unwashed smelly clothing, not unprettified feet or non-perfectly wrinkle-free clothing.
When I scrunch my face up so that my nose juts forward, yes, the nose hairs become visible. Otherwise they are not.
But like I said, I don’t care. I don’t care if they bother you either (not trying to be snarky, but being honest). Why are my long nose hairs offensive to you? Bad BO impinges on your personal space and lingers, so that’s clearly a bad thing. But long nose hairs do not. Hair is just hair.
Boogers are disgusting, and I wouldn’t want them hanging out, waving at everyone. But if a couple of hairs poke through my nostrils when I smile and that’s enough to wad up your panties, I think that’s your problem, not mine.
Well, you didn’t say a couple of nose hairs that only show when you scrunch your face up, you said you have long nose hairs which an acquaintance could bring up to you. Of course it’s the viewer’s problem, not yours. So would be a hairy mole on a cheek. Some things are more off-putting to other people than the person sporting it may realize. I doubt anyone is going to freak out over or even notice a couple of nose hairs, but a bunch of it is going to prompt someone writing in to the SDMB about it.
Perhaps it’s because my eyes aren’t constantly glued to a person’s face when I’m speaking to them (which may be a problem, I don’t know), but I don’t think long nose hairs, even a bunch of them, would shake me up to the point where I would feel an urge to tell that person they have a problem.
My grad school advisor, an older woman, had the beginnings of a beard. Gray whiskers and everything, with a matching mustache. Didn’t make her attractive at all. But what would have been the point of telling her about it? Surely she has a mirror and can see, right?
That’s what I’m not understanding. If another person can see an obvious, constant imperfection on a person’s face, then I think it’s rather obvious that the person is aware of it and does not choose to do anything about it. Chances are bringing it up will either cause embarrassment or defensiveness. Not gratitude.
True. Sometimes you wonder, though, if they just don’t comprehend the magnitude of the situation.
Unless there’s a clear breach of hygiene and sanitation going, I’d say mind your own business. Nose hair is a grooming matter, and grooming matters are best left up to another person’s mama to criticize.
The only caveat is that you and the guy have a long standing agreement to let each other know about these things. This doesn’t sound very likely, because otherwise you’d be calling him your SO or BFF. Does the guy have a wife, girlfriend, or someone else that’s close to him? If so, let them handle that issue…if it’s even an issue to them. If it’s not, then that’s even more of a reason you should let it drop.
This is truly a mind over matter thing. If the guy had only one arm, hopefully you’d be able to look past that deformity and not be hung up on it when interacting him. Nose hair is nothing.