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Beard hairs under a scanning electron microscope

I just found this image on Imgur:

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So this is how your hair look like after you're done shaving. The left one was being cut by a normal razor while the right one was done with an electric razor. What a difference. I thought it would be cool to share this image with you guys.
 
Saw this recently in another thread.

One thing about it, though. That hair is way too long to cut with electric and probably got ripped rather than cut in whatever normal way that electrics cut. Electric is good for cutting when the length isn't much more than the width...with longer growth electrics tend to snag and yank and not cut effectively.
 
I used a Braun for many years and while it's a great electric razor the shave can't touch that of a DE. If you have a couple of days of growth it's tug city.
 
That hair is way too long to cut with electric and probably got ripped rather than cut in whatever normal way that electrics cut.

I don't think hair length can be judged from these photographs...but, if we do try to make an estimate we are probably looking at a piece of hair that is approximately 200 - 300 micrometers in length (less than 0.01 inches).

Personally, I find it hard to believe that an electric razor can be overwhelmed by one hundredth of an inch of hair.

Regardless, I think this is a clear victory for blade-based shaving.

Does it matter? No. But, do I feel a little better knowing that I am probably not mangling my precious whiskers? Yes, sir!

Thanks for sharing, OP!
 
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I don't think hair length can be judged from these photographs...but, if we do try to make an estimate we are probably looking at a piece of hair that is approximately 200 - 300 micrometers in length (less than 0.01 inches).

I can't tell you how long they are beyond the bottom of the photo, but the portions we CAN see are easily measured at two and a half times as long as they are thick. If people are shaving growth that long with electric, that explains why they say there is so much discomfort and lack of efficacy. Electric requires the hair to be stiffer than wetshaving.
 
I can't tell you how long they are beyond the bottom of the photo, but the portions we CAN see are easily measured at two and a half times as long as they are thick. If people are shaving growth that long with electric, that explains why they say there is so much discomfort and lack of efficacy. Electric requires the hair to be stiffer than wetshaving.

I suspect the hairs were plucked for the purposes of scanning. For one, the shape of the human head, and the body it's attached to, don't lend themselves to being crammed inside a scanner and bombarded with a beam of electrons. Second, hairs are sheared or cut off at skin level. If these hairs were still in facial skin, we should be able to see the skin in the pictures. We can't, which indicates they have been removed. We can't know what the length was prior to being shaven, but I would hope any researcher interested in seeing the effects of a blade versus and electric shaver in a "real life" situation would ensure that the cutting was done on relatively normal stubble.
 
I suspect the hairs were plucked for the purposes of scanning. For one, the shape of the human head, and the body it's attached to, don't lend themselves to being crammed inside a scanner and bombarded with a beam of electrons. Second, hairs are sheared or cut off at skin level. If these hairs were still in facial skin, we should be able to see the skin in the pictures. We can't, which indicates they have been removed. We can't know what the length was prior to being shaven, but I would hope any researcher interested in seeing the effects of a blade versus and electric shaver in a "real life" situation would ensure that the cutting was done on relatively normal stubble.

Wouldn't it be easier to remove the hair from the razor after it was removed from the face by said razor? It would be terribly painful to get tweezers in there and pull a hair AFTER it was shaved.
 
Wouldn't it be easier to remove the hair from the razor after it was removed from the face by said razor? It would be terribly painful to get tweezers in there and pull a hair AFTER it was shaved.

I am assuming we are looking at the hair that remained in the facial skin after it was shaved. The orientation of the hair just makes it look that way: hair that remains in the skin has the cut on top, whereas the cut portion that remains in the razor would have the cut on the bottom. That said, the person doing the scans can position the hairs however he wants, so I don't suppose orientation is a dispositive indicator of which portion of the hair we're looking at.

Moreover, though, I would think the whole purpose of showing the type of cut made by a blade razor versus an electric shaver is to show what kind of hair is left in your skin afterwards. After all, who cares what the hair looks like that is left in the razor? From that standpoint, it would make more sense to scan hair that remained in the skin, rather than the detritus hair in the razor. But in the end, I'm just speculating, and don't really know.

As for the pain factor, I would think researchers wouldn't let a little discomfort get in the way of science.
 
Moreover, though, I would think the whole purpose of showing the type of cut made by a blade razor versus an electric shaver is to show what kind of hair is left in your skin afterwards. After all, who cares what the hair looks like that is left in the razor?

The information about the piece on your face is there regardless of which piece goes in the microscope. I can easily see in those photos what the other half looks like.
As for the pain factor, I would think researchers wouldn't let a little discomfort get in the way of science.

I was simplifying and being a bit facetious, but seriously...I'm sure such a procedure exists but how is a hair that's been cut down to skin level (or below, if it was a multi-blade cartridge) removed and how much length is left before the follicle? Even if it's easy, it can't be half as easy as getting the same information from the piece that the razor has already removed.

It might be meaningful to know where the image came from and what text accompanies it.

Here's a minute invested in an unskilled 2D flattened demonstration of the other half, but it's easily enough visualized in better detail just looking at the original photos:
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kind of reminds me of the difference between an arborist trimming a tree vs. the highway crew trimming trees. The arborist uses a sharp precise tool and the highway crew use a dull propeller with high RPM's. Thanks for sharing.
 
I used a Braun for many years and while it's a great electric razor the shave can't touch that of a DE. If you have a couple of days of growth it's tug city.

It's tug city if it's any more than a bit of stubble. I don't use my Electric unless it's 1 or 2 days of stubble, otherwise it tugs and hurts.
 
Are there pics online like these, but that reflect a cartridge razor (shaved) hair? Would be neat to see all three shots side-by-side.
 
I would imagine they waited a few days after the shave and then plucked the hairs out once they had enough length to grasp with tweezers. Shave one half of the subject's face with a razor and the other with the electric and wait. The additional time shouldn't change the appearance of the cut ends.
 
I can see where this might be the reason shaving with a razor makes one less prone to ingrown hairs. That nice clean cut can exit the skin without too much of a problem.
 
Even if it's easy, it can't be half as easy as getting the same information from the piece that the razor has already removed.
Except your whole point, if I understand it correctly, is that the information is not the same, since if the hair came out of the electric razor chamber, that's an indication is was too long to show how "average" length hair would look after being shaved. My presumption is whoever took these pictures took that into account. I don't know that, of course, but likewise, you don't know that they didn't. Absent further information, each viewer will have to decide for himself whether or not he thinks the picture is an accurate representation of how one's facial hair looks following shaving with either a blade or electric. Personally, I choose to think it's accurate. I'll certainly think otherwise if I see reasonable evidence to the contrary.
 
I would imagine they waited a few days after the shave and then plucked the hairs out once they had enough length to grasp with tweezers. Shave one half of the subject's face with a razor and the other with the electric and wait. The additional time shouldn't change the appearance of the cut ends.

Agreed.
 
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