# What is this thing that came out of my face? \*TMI warning\* **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192 "2006-07-12T15:45:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/41 "2006-07-12T23:14:23Z")
[QUOTE=YaWanna] “Dirt vein” is what we always called them in Florida. Not claiming that’s the proper name or anything. [/QUOTE] I think the scientific name is “poop chute”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/42 "2006-07-12T23:30:48Z")
[QUOTE=medstar] hair-o-lith [/QUOTE] My God! It’s full of stars! ---
**Author:** ![andrewhub47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@andrewhub47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewhub47)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/43 "2006-07-13T01:26:15Z")
Thanks for all the replies and ideas. They have been informative and amusing. It would be easy to assume a group of ingrown hairs except for two things. 1. My beard hairs don’t grown 1/2 cm deep in my skin (or at least I don’t think they do). 2. I have looked at the “hair” under magnification, and it does not appear to be a “melded” grouping of hairs, it appears to be one solid piece. These two parts confuse me. I could easily be wrong about both of them, so I really don’t know. [QUOTE=Shoshana] I have no feedback, but deeply admire your scientific spirit in posting photos. [/QUOTE] I am a (still at school) scientist, so I just did what was natural. Speaking of gross, it would have been _really_ gross if I pulled it out and it writhed around while making tiny little screams. I would definitely have been a little more concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/44 "2006-07-13T01:46:52Z")
The same thing happened to me. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=153366&highlight=hair+follicle](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=153366&highlight=hair+follicle) ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/45 "2006-07-13T01:52:29Z")
It looks like an aglet. Too bad you pulled it, otherwise you could’ve grown your very own shoelace, ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/46 "2006-07-13T02:13:24Z")
[QUOTE=Clockwork And Candy] Why, oh, _why_ did I have to look at the pictures? [/QUOTE] Aw, it’s not so bad. I mean, I don’t have an answer to the question, but I do find myself with the strong compulsion to go cook something involving cloves. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/47 "2006-07-13T02:32:33Z")
[QUOTE=andrewhub47] Speaking of gross, it would have been _really_ gross if I pulled it out and it writhed around while making tiny little screams. I would definitely have been a little more concerned. [/QUOTE] You are really cool. Please pay for subscription and stay with us. I think you’ll fit right in. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/48 "2006-07-13T02:43:55Z")
Demons Happens all the time ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/49 "2006-07-13T02:48:49Z")
[QUOTE=Enola Straight] The same thing happened to me. [/QUOTE] But could you take pictures for us? _Noooo…_😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/50 "2006-07-13T03:45:10Z")
Is it bad that this thread kind of makes me want one of these so I can pull it out? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/51 "2006-07-13T04:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=Lama Pacos] Is it bad that this thread kind of makes me want one of these so I can pull it out? [/QUOTE] Heheh. I was thinking the same thing…you know…for science. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![born\_too\_late](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@born\_too\_late](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/born_too_late)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/52 "2006-07-13T04:59:16Z")
I think you’re growing dreadlocks. On your face. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/53 "2006-07-13T05:22:48Z")
[QUOTE=Lama Pacos] Is it bad that this thread kind of makes me want one of these so I can pull it out? [/QUOTE] My husband gets them now and again (he has curly hair) and I pull them out. I’m afraid that I tend to cackle a bit doing so. He also asks me what “this lump” is, and generallly it’s a zit, but no, he DOESN’T want me to remove it. I remove it anyway. Such are the privileges of married life. He’s also had a pilonidal cyst. Yuck. That’s part of married life, too. I also admire the OP for taking and posting pics. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/54 "2006-07-13T07:17:26Z")
[QUOTE=andrewhub47] 1. My beard hairs don’t grown 1/2 cm deep in my skin (or at least I don’t think they do). [/QUOTE] Yeah, they do; when I get these mutant whiskers, they’re sometimes quite hard to get a grip on with the tweezers and if my (reasonably dense) beard is slightly unshaven, I often accidentally pull out a few innocent whiskers before I get a lock on the mutant. I’m always a bit surprised at the depth to(from) which they were growing in the skin. They also grow sort of diagnonally through your skin, which also enables them to be longer than they first appear. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/55 "2006-07-13T07:38:10Z")
[QUOTE=diggleblop] Maybe a form of Morgellons? [http://www.morgellons.org/](http://www.morgellons.org/) [/QUOTE] That’s interesting, because it bears many similarities to [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=325168) (where I think we perhaps gave the OP a bit of a rough ride, if this is indeed a confirmed medical phenomenon). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/56 "2006-07-13T12:15:13Z")
[QUOTE=andrewhub47] It would be easy to assume a group of ingrown hairs except for two things. 1. My beard hairs don’t grown 1/2 cm deep in my skin (or at least I don’t think they do). 2. I have looked at the “hair” under magnification, and it does not appear to be a “melded” grouping of hairs, it appears to be one solid piece. These two parts confuse me. I could easily be wrong about both of them, so I really don’t know. . [/QUOTE] QtM sez ingrown hair, so- _trust him._ I have had the same thing, and it’s a weird sort of ingrown hair. Have you changed shaving methods recently? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/57 "2006-07-13T16:38:34Z")
[QUOTE=Daithi Lacha] OK, I’m going out on a limb here, and suggesting that maybe it was a clove inserted into his face, like a ham. In that case – he’s cured already! 😃 [/QUOTE] BOOOO! 😉 This reminds me of that other one where someone started pulling on a little black end coming out a pore and the hair inside just kept unravelling till it was inches long. Bleah. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/58 "2006-07-14T00:54:44Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Looks like an ingrown hair to me. And I’ve pulled lots of odd stuff out of patients in my career. Where the heck is **gabriela**? I wonder if she’s done a forensic study of ingrown hairs before. 😃 [/QUOTE] So sorry, my deeply admired **QtM** - if it don’t kill ya, I know nertz about it. Ya wanna talk hemorrhagic pancreatitis Rxed with alcohol? Oh, no, wait, you already know about that. Ingrown hairs fused together in a sebum coat? I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/59 "2006-07-14T05:15:52Z")
I would like to applaud the OP for the use of pictures. I agree that they’re “fused” hairs; I have a few follicles under my arms that grow two or three hairs at the time. (I’ve never produced anything as impressive as the OP though.) ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192/60 "2006-07-14T05:29:04Z")
I just had to pop in and throw my support behind the use of pictures. They really make a TMI thread come alive, and I especially commend the OP for his use of the ruler. Simply magnificent! You must join immediately. If you can’t swing the membership fee, I’m certain that many of us will line up to do the honors for you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-that-came-out-of-my-face-tmi-warning/364192.md?page=4)