Shaving causing thicker hair

[MistaCat]

This is something a lot of women believe: That shaving causes the hair to grow in more thickly, and coarser, so that the more you shave the harder it gets to shave.

Is this something men believe as well?

It makes no sense to me. I usually argue it with women by saying, "If that were true, men who shave every day would find it impossible to shave at all by the time they were 40."

 

[Omnichron]

nah.. if the were true, bald men who shave their head would grow copious amounts of hair thereby defeating baldness.

 

[EvilGobi]

Not at all. My wife is a hair-stylist and says there is no validity to this. She says it doesn't grow back thicker, its just that because it is shorter it looks thicker.

 

[MistaCat]

Omnichron - Exactly! Thank you for that example, I'll be using it if you don't mind

EvilGobi - I've tried explaining that, but then women just get angry with me. I really don't understand. *sigh*

 

[EvilGobi]

It's actually how she conviced me cut my hair shorter. I was starting to look really bald but when she took her clippers to my head I seem to look a lot less bald now.

 

[klm099]

"Hair" is produced beneath the skin in organ like structures known as hair folicles, this folicle contains various glands, muscle, blood vessels, nerves etc, this is the only part of the hair that is alive and connected to the rest of the body in a sense of nerve connection. This folicle makes hair, the hair you see above the skin are dead cells that are pushed up by the new hair cells being produced; there is no way that the hair producing gland has any knowledge that the dead cells are cut or have grown to 5 feet long. Therefore the answer is no; shaving does not cause thicker hair

 

[Chimensch]

Hairs are tapered. They are thinner at the tip and thicken a little bit as they grow out. When you cut the top off, the part lower down that emerges appears thicker until it finally falls out and a new one starts.

 

[jpkunst]

And consider this. The first facial hair growth is thin and wispy. As you get older, the hair gets thicker and tougher. This happens naturally, whether you shave or not. So, what happens is that people shave off their beginning facial hair; subsequent hair is thicker and tougher; the mistaken assumption is that the act of shaving caused the change in facial hair type. But it's something that would have happened anyway, regardless of shaving.

 

[BladeRunner001]

This is something a lot of women believe: That shaving causes the hair to grow in more thickly, and coarser, so that the more you shave the harder it gets to shave.

Is this something men believe as well?

It makes no sense to me. I usually argue it with women by saying, "If that were true, men who shave every day would find it impossible to shave at all by the time they were 40."

Absolutely NO biological basis for this...it is WRONG, plain and simple. Shaving the hair will never result in coarser hair, but many people suggest that, as it starts to grow back, the hair feels more coarse or stubbly. After you've shaved hair and it begins to grow back, it usually does feel prickly. This is because it is still relatively short; the longer the hair grows, the softer it tends to become.

Hair biology is dictated by your genes...simple!

 

[c0ry]

And consider this. The first facial hair growth is thin and wispy. As you get older, the hair gets thicker and tougher. This happens naturally, whether you shave or not. So, what happens is that people shave off their beginning facial hair; subsequent hair is thicker and tougher; the mistaken assumption is that the act of shaving caused the change in facial hair type. But it's something that would have happened anyway, regardless of shaving.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc.

Completely agree with your post here.

 

[bindibadgi]

I think the illusion comes from head hair.

If you let your hair grow really long, it seems to take ages to grow any longer. If you cut it really short, it seems like it takes no time to grow.

It's all a matter of proportions. If you shave completely and then let it start growing, it will double its length in the second week. Double seems like a lot! After two months, and a week only adds one sixteenth to the length. Seems slow now eh? Really it's still growing at just the same rate as ever.

 

[SRock]

And consider this. The first facial hair growth is thin and wispy. As you get older, the hair gets thicker and tougher. This happens naturally, whether you shave or not. So, what happens is that people shave off their beginning facial hair; subsequent hair is thicker and tougher; the mistaken assumption is that the act of shaving caused the change in facial hair type. But it's something that would have happened anyway, regardless of shaving.

A Dr. friend of the family once described it much this way as well. Puberty creates the illusion that existing hair gets thicker and grows faster. /story

 

[Picaro]

in the case of legs...the regrowth, if you shave emerges full thickness. Epilators definately give my wife softer legs insomuch as the regrowth is a thin, new hair.
In all honesty, I and my lovely one know that epilators are a better system for legs. With the caveat that it takes a couple of goes to lessen the discomfort. Of course this is MHO.