What is up with my facial hair?

Factual Questions
1

I’m a 27 year old man, and in the last year or so, I have started growing some very thick facial hairs. Maybe once every 2 months or so, I will get what appears to be a pimple on my face, ususally on the sides on my chin. If I scape away the top of the “pimple” with my finger nail, it reveals a very thick hair. Occasionally these hairs will make it to the surface where I can tweeze them off.

Now when I say thick I mean it: These hairs have been about the thickness of the metal in a small to medium size paper clip, and about as rigid; they cannot be bent except under great force. They are easily 5 to 10 times thicker than my normal facial hair.

Is this normal? Any idea what would cause such a thing? I have been able to grow facial hair for probably ten years, but only within the past year or so have I noticed these super thick hairs. They are obviously causing irritation becuase they generally cause a pimple to form over them, like an ingrown hair.

2

I used to get the occasional “super-thick” hair strand on my face (“My God, what is this thing?”), but haven’t gotten one in some time now. Maybe it’s an age-related thing; I’m now 55.

3

I have similar rouge hairs…mine are made up of several whiskers (they do in fact resemble on old broom, so I figure this might be where “whisker” comes from) which all seem to emerge from a single follicle. They are quite stiff and do get ingrown very easily, I have to use an electric shaver anymore…a razor will guarantee an ingrown hair.

I try to pluck them with tweezers anytime I see one come up…they pluck easy.