Myth: Shaved hair grows back faster, coarser and darker.
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free skin care · Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:27 pm

Fact: A 1928 clinical trial compared hair growth in shaved patches to growth in non-shaved patches. The hair which replaced the shaved hair was no darker or thicker, and did not grow in faster. More recent studies have confirmed that one. Here's the deal: When hair first comes in after being shaved, it grows with a blunt edge on top, Carroll and Vreeman explain. Over time, the blunt edge gets worn so it may seem thicker than it actually is. Hair that's just emerging can be darker too, because it hasn't been bleached by the sun.

free skin care · Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:39 pm

That makes a lot of sense, something I always suspected...

My boyfriend said that he shaved both bis babies' heads so that they would have thick, full heads of hair and when I tried to explain to him why that is not so, he would not believe me. I will now show him your post! Thank you Smile

free skin care · Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:18 am

When you shave, all the hairs will get the same length, which may give the impression of more hair growth.

free skin care · Sun Sep 07, 2008 7:11 am

Of course it's a myth! About once a month we have a face shaving discussion but no, hair does not grow any thicker or faster after shaving. So shave away! Very Happy

And somehow, it's much easier for women to say that they have "peach fuzz" on their faces than that they have hair. As if the "peach fuzz" isn't really hair, it's something else that's not as shameful. As if having hair is shameful! We all have hair practically everywhere (it's just of varying thickness and length), but somehow women are not supposed to admit (even to themselves!) that women have hair everywhere too. I hate it when people make jokes about middle aged women having facial hair as if there's anything wrong or even special about that. Grrr. I'll stop now.

free skin care · Sun Sep 07, 2008 5:53 pm

I know shaving hair makes it grow back thicker and faster and darker. It is no myth in my opinion. My friends that never shaved the upper part of their legs (like I did, stupid me) still have nice soft light peach fuzz on their upper legs. Me on the other hand have dark, thick and course hair that needs to be shaved at least once a day (could use twice a day because by early evening you can feel it like 5 o'clock shadow). I started shaving my bottom half of my arms after years and years of bleaching it and it growing back dark, I figured I would shave my arms. Another mistake. It is dark and course now that I shave it and it too could be shaved twice a day...so with all this said...there is NO WAY I am shaving the peach fuzz on my face. It is soft and light. Although I don't like the look of it when I look in my 10X mirror, I also don't want course dark hair that makes me have a 5 o'clock shadow everyday....that is where I draw the line for myself. Very Happy

free skin care · Mon Sep 08, 2008 3:32 am

I have also read a number of studies on this topic and NO, shaving hair does not make it grow back thicker. Apparently, we are born with a certain number of hair follicles and we have that number for life - it is, therefore, impossible to increase the amount of hair on our bodies.

free skin care · Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:10 am

.....but when you pluck it out, the tips grow back softer, and so the hair doesn't look as coarse. I bought a Braun epilator a while back, thinking I would use it on my bikini line, but it's just too painful, so I use a dipilatory cream there. However, I can use it on the "peach fuzz" on my lower face, and I'm loving the way it grows back, much more invisible than when I shaved it.

free skin care · Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:50 am

catballou wrote:

.....but when you pluck it out, the tips grow back softer, and so the hair doesn't look as coarse. I bought a Braun epilator a while back, thinking I would use it on my bikini line, but it's just too painful, so I use a dipilatory cream there. However, I can use it on the "peach fuzz" on my lower face, and I'm loving the way it grows back, much more invisible than when I shaved it.

Try trimming the pubic hairs very short and give a light dusting with talc. Also, I find it best to use the epilator on totally dry skin - before, rather than after a shower when the skin is sensitive.

free skin care · Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:08 am

beti wrote:

My boyfriend said that he shaved both bis babies' heads so that they would have thick, full heads of hair and when I tried to explain to him why that is not so, he would not believe me.

I shaved my head many times back in my wayward youth, and never had any increase in thickness or faster growth unfortunately.

If only it was that simple... My hair is so crap these days I’d shave my head again in an instant, and again and again and again, if I thought it would give me better/stronger hair. Sadly, I know from experience it won’t happen. Sad

free skin care · Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:13 am

Catballou,

I use an epilator on my lower legs and bikini lines and I have no pain while epilating my lower legs as I am doing that for many many years ( 20 some) and with every epilation less and less hair grows back. After shaving for many years the bikini lines, starting off with the epilator it can be painful, so I swiped the bikini like with a cotton ball soaked in clove oil for toothache relief at the beginning for couple times and that really helped with the pain. Now I can epilate the bikini lines too with no clove oil, and don't feel much pain at all.

Please do a patch test though with the clove oil to make sure that you have no allergic reactions to it if you want to try this out.

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