I’ve noticed when I pluck my eyebrows, some hairs seem to come out almost painlessly while others really sting. It seems that the wild hairs (those that are growing against the grain and/or the seemingly bent ones) are the ones that hurt the most. Is it the way that the hairs are situated within the follicle that causes this?
Ultimately it’s the supply of nerve endings and how they are stimulated that affects differential pain levels.
Patient: “It hurts when I do that.”
Doctor: “So don’t do that.”
“But Doctor, I look like a werewolf if I DON’T pluck!”
I think a factor is what point of the growth cycle the follicle is in. Hairs whose follicles are at the beginning or mid-way through a cycle are still growing and therefore more firmly attached than hairs which are at the end and in a ‘just waiting to fall out’ phase.
Thank you - that makes perfect sense.