# Whither "wild" hairs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077 "2005-11-21T15:11:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/1 "2005-11-21T15:11:29Z")
This morning upon gazing into the mirror I discovered that a single eyebrow hair had grown overnight to a length of almost an inch (several times the length of its neighbors). I know it wasn’t there when I went to sleep. Something similar has happened to me several times in my life but this was the first time in about 10 years. Made me wonder what the underlying physiology of such “wild” hairs might be, or if the phenomenon has ever been studied or documented? A brief exercise of the SDMB search engine was unproductive. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/2 "2005-11-21T15:24:10Z")
Totally unrelated to the question you have just asked, but did you ever find a Sensaround sound system for your theater? ---
**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/3 "2005-11-21T15:29:57Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > Totally unrelated to the question you have just asked, but did you ever find a Sensaround sound system for your theater? a) No b) Would you care to sell me some of your memory? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/4 "2005-11-21T16:05:01Z")
The hair didn’t actually grow an inch overnight – it had probably been there but behaving itself the night before. Try mousse. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/5 "2005-11-21T16:22:38Z")
> [@RedDawgEsq](#): > > Would you care to sell me some of your memory? [Anybody remember “Sensurround”?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=215911) ---
**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/6 "2005-11-21T18:01:32Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > The hair didn’t actually grow an inch overnight – it had probably been there but behaving itself the night before. > > Try mousse. twickster: Yes, the hair grew (almost) and inch, overnight, believe me. This wasn’t the first time. (Well, maybe the first time for\* this\* particular hair.) But even if it took several days or weeks (which it didn’t), what causitive effect would result in _one_ hair growing noticably (4X-5X) longer than its neighbors over _any_ amount of time (which was, in this case, about 8 hours, honest)? ---
**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/7 "2005-11-21T18:04:09Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > [Anybody remember “Sensurround”?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=215911) Adam, I remember posing the question and the ensuing discussion, I’m just wondering how _you_ did?? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/8 "2005-11-21T18:24:45Z")
> [@RedDawgEsq](#): > > Adam, I remember posing the question and the ensuing discussion, I’m just wondering how _you_ did?? I have a photogenic memory. That and I review all my old posts every now and then just to keep things fresh in the ol’ noggin’. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/9 "2005-11-21T18:36:03Z")
> [@RedDawgEsq](#): > > twickster: Yes, the hair grew (almost) and inch, overnight, believe me. I am having a hard time, because it so grossly exceeds the [average hair growth rates for eyebrows](http://www.keratin.com/aa/aa013.shtml): > [@](#): > > Eyebrow hair is a protective patch of hair above the eye sockets. It channels away sweat and other fluids and helps reduce any excessive glare from sunlight entering the eyes. Average maximum hair length is about 10mm. The hair fiber is curved and coarse and includes a medulla. \*\*Hair growth rate is typically 0.16mm per day in both men and women. This is one of the slowest growth rates of any hair follicle type found on the human body. \*\* Slow growth has led to some degree of superstition from many in the medical and cosmetic industries. Some surgeons are wary of shaving eyebrows for fear they will not grow back. They do grow but the rate of growth is so slow that the patient may become concerned. Eyebrow follicles are also sensitive to injury. Plucking an eyebrow follicle once or twice may lead to extensive and irreversible destruction and no further hair growth. I’m not calling you a liar, just that it is easier to believe you didn’t notice that hair growing so long. ---
**Author:** ![ombre3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@ombre3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ombre3)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/10 "2005-11-21T18:47:50Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > I am having a hard time, because it so grossly exceeds the [average hair growth rates for eyebrows](http://www.keratin.com/aa/aa013.shtml):I’m not calling you a liar, just that it is easier to believe you didn’t notice that hair growing so long. I think that the rate of eyebrow hairs can tend to grow exponentially depending on age------meaning becoming an old fart. I have noticed the same thing myself----altho not to that degree. I don’t think he is lying at all. Earlobe hairs seem to do the same thing after a certain age. My wife will tell me that I have a hair growing out of my earlobe in excess of an inch. And pull the disgusting thing out. I don’t know where it came from.------didn’t notice it yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/11 "2005-11-21T18:55:19Z")
I have weird hair and skin issues so this may just happen to me but… Sometimes I will have the tiniest bump for a while and then one day the bump will be gone and a semi-longish hair will be in it’s place. The hair wasn’t so much ingrown but “grown over”. The skin over the follicle eventually dies and the hair emerges. Perhaps your long hair was just hiding under some skin and it eventually “popped out”. This is not scientific research BTW. Just a lesson on my face 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/12 "2005-11-21T18:59:31Z")
> [@ombre3](#): > > I don’t think he is lying at all. Neither do I. I simply feel he is mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/13 "2005-11-21T19:09:10Z")
I just turned 42, and I’ve started to see the same “wild hairs” in my eyebrows. My WAG is (at least for me) it’s crazy old man hairs. :eek: First the super bushy eyebrows, then the crazy ear hair! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/14 "2005-11-21T19:14:26Z")
If he’s a liar, or mistaken, then so am I. I have a couple eyebrow hairs that do exactly the same thing. I can pull them out, and a few weeks later they’re back, at the same length, seemingly overnight. I also have one hair that grows, at a normal rate, from the middle of the bridge of my nose, about half way up. Luckily, I can feel it and tweeze it before it becomes visible. It’s definitely an age thing. I just turned 60, and this stuff has been happening for a few years now. ---
**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/15 "2005-11-21T21:20:51Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I have weird hair and skin issues so this may just happen to me but… > > Sometimes I will have the tiniest bump for a while and then one day the bump will be gone and a semi-longish hair will be in it’s place. The hair wasn’t so much ingrown but “grown over”. The skin over the follicle eventually dies and the hair emerges. > > Perhaps your long hair was just hiding under some skin and it eventually “popped out”. > > This is not scientific research BTW. Just a lesson on my face 🙂 Nope, sorry, there was no pre-existing “bump” from whence the hair could have emerged. Sorry now that I tweezed the sucker; if it happens again, I’ll have the wife confirm its rapid appearance (she notices such things) and I’ll simply clip it to see if it continues its unusual growth. Perhaps we should approach the subject from a different angle: What is the etymology of the term"wild hair" as a synonym for something that has a spurious or unexplained nature or component, e.g., getting a ‘wild hair’ to go skydiving? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/16 "2005-11-21T21:44:36Z")
> [@RedDawgEsq](#): > > What is the etymology of the term"wild hair" as a synonym for something that has a spurious or unexplained nature or component, e.g., getting a ‘wild hair’ to go skydiving? I think the phrase is “a wild hare”, as in rabbit, which is unpredictable and rash as it jumps around. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/17 "2005-11-21T22:07:42Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > I have a photogenic memory. photogenic ? > [@](#): > > From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): > pho·to·gen·ic adj. > > 1. Attractive as a subject for photography. > 2. Biology. Producing or emitting light; phosphorescent: photogenic bacteria. > 3. Caused or produced by light: photogenic seizures. ---
**Author:** ![RedDawgEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedDawgEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedDawgEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/18 "2005-11-21T22:19:13Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > I think the phrase is “a wild hare”, as in rabbit, which is unpredictable and rash as it jumps around. Apparently it can be either, [here](http://p098.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm1.showMessage?topicID=13086.topic) is one further inquiry I have made, but the jury is still out. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/19 "2005-11-21T22:40:37Z")
I have wild hairs in my eyebrows (they are regularly spaced at about quarter-inch intervals and are thicker and more resilient than the others - I did wonder if they might be some kind of whisker-analogue. I’m having a hard time accepting the rapid-growth -overnight thing; such a rate would be orders of magnitude above what is normal. Seems much more likely that the hairs were growing nearly flat to the skin, hidden beneath/amongst the main mass of normal eyebrow hairs, then something caused them to curl a bit or become more erect, bringing them suddenly to your attention. I kind of expect you’ll reject this suggestion though. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077/20 "2005-11-21T23:10:46Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > photogenic ? You have never seen my CAT scan have you? My brain is cute as a button, if I do say so myself. If there is ever a need for brain models, I am at the top of a very short list. 😃 Actually, it is a slip that my father once made when he was commenting on my memory. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whither-wild-hairs/332077.md?page=2)