Skin Care Myths: Plucking Hairs Makes Them Grow Back Thicker
Before Plucking
After Plucking
You can’t catch a cold from going outside without a jacket, and hairs don’t grow back thicker after you pluck them. I swear.
In fact, repeatedly plucking hairs can scar the follicle, which over time can lead to permanent loss of that hair. It is actually a very inexpensive way to remove unwanted hairs.
Waxing, threading, and plucking hairs are essentially the same thing; the hairs usually will grow back (unless you perform this repeatedly over a long period of time).
Electrolysis and laser hair removal, in contrast, destroy the hair follicle. Most of these hairs will not grow back and repeated treatment will lead to permanent hair removal.
If you pluck your hairs:
- Start with good, clean slanted or straight tweezers. Be sure the edges are sharp, not damaged.
- Pluck in the direction that the hair grows.
- Grab and pull the hair out in one quick motion.
- Pluck only one hair at a time.
- Repeat.
- Repeat again.
You might also like:
Are You Over-Scrubbing Your Face?
What Causes Vertical Ridges in Your Nails?
Why Do Women Bruise More Easily Than Men?
Like this blog? Grab The Derm Feed
you PLUCK a chicken.
but you TWEEZE human hair.
IT DOES!!!
P.S. I respectfully disagree with this post.
My experience is anything waxed comes back in soft and anything tweezed comes in hard and then continually grows back that way. AND never stops.
You are the 3rd doctor that I know of that has said that.
I compleaty agree with this b/c my mom dos this a lot.
I know for a FACT that the hair does grow back thicker. I did an experiment on the right side of my chest. I tweezed all hairs on my right, but on the left side I left the hairs alone. I did this for months… The right side is MUCH thicker and darker. It looked so strange, I am in the middle of laser treatments. (which hurt like hell).
This article is LIE! Blatant LIE!
Seaspray and Joe-
I am sure your experiences are real, but there is no universal truth to it.
Plucking hairs damages the hair follicles. This leads to less hair (a well documented condition called traction alopecia) never more hair. Never thicker hair.
When hairs first regrow they appear thicker because the tip is thicker than the base. This corrects over time and the plucked/regrown hairs will be the same thickness of all your other hair.
If you waited long enough, the hairs on the plucked side of your chest would have been the same as on the untouched side, except there would be fewer of them.
Why do you wanna know-
Thanks.
Can the scarred follicles affect the appearance of skin – such as on the chin?
This is NOT TRUE!! I have this one hair on my leg which I plucked all the time and guess what? it is much darker than the rest of my hairs. I left it alone after a year of plucking that one hair. For years now…it still had been the one thick Black thick on my leg..compared to the rest are just fine. I regret plucking that one hair.
There are always going to be individual differences (i.e. people who consume caffeine actually become MORE tired)among people. So each person is welcome to their opinion based on their own unique experiences. I do however take issue with people who are more on the “unusual” side (i.e. plucking makes hair thicker) making big fusses when they are clearly in the minority. Why so much emotion over plucked hairs? Sorry it’s getting thicker for you but please be kind, rewind and acknowledge that your case is unusual. All of my hairs have gotten finer and thinner or non-existent while plucking/waxing (eyebrows, legs, underarms, brazilian area)and the follicles are clearly getting damaged (getting smaller) with the exception of a couple of hairs above my lip. For some reason, I developed one thick dark one (years ago)and while plucking it I accidently plucked 1-2 more and those soft blonde hairs have now become dark too. It’s been like this for years. I am aware that this is unusual and focus more on the rule not the exception. I’ve been LOVING my hairs coming in soft, blonde or not at all!
I’m happy. Are you?
Here is what is happening, people:
A hair is like a very thin triangle. Cut off the top of the triangle (i.e., tweeze the hair incompletely–the hair likely broke just beneath the surface). The triangle continues to grow at the same rate as the “triangles” that did not have their tops cut off.
The triangle with no top *appears* thicker than the intact triangles:
/\
/ \
/ \
——
Once the hair (triangle-with-no-top) has completed it’s life cycle, it falls out. A new hair (intact triangle) grows in it’s place.
The “thicker” hair is only temporary.
@Charlotte
That ASCII triangle was supposed to look much better. I accidentally posted before I was finished.
i really do not understand how anyone could be so convinced waxing, tweezing and those forms of physical hair removal make hair grow back thicker, darker and more coarse. It’s a crock. when removing the entire hair, it grows back smoother as opposed to shaving; in that case you are cutting the hair right in the center THE THICKEST PART mind you, creating that rough feeling no one loves. Hair removal does not make the hair grow back darker; if you experience that then it’s your hormones. Its the same thing some women experience at a later age with dark facial hair. Terminal hairs, its hormones….Lastly, it has been said already but i will repeat it. When removing the entire hair you are damaging the follicle itself which over time can cause an inability to produce hair.
i plucked ma head hair..whn i was 12 years old…n nw im 17.im slightly bald infrnt..exactly above my eye brow..a lil nie! but ma hair was dropping soo much 4 da past few yrs…..isit bald bcos i plucked o bcos ma hair was dropping.anyway hw m i supposed to grow it back…im reali looking 4ward 4 sum positive answerz:)tq
The way a hair reacts to plucking or tweezing depends on the area it is being removed from. Hair on the legs, underarms, brows, get less hair with age therefore, waxing or plucking these areas will result in less hair overtime. Hair on the upper lip, chins (of females) ears (of men) increase with age. If hair is removed by waxing or plucking these areas the blood supply to the hair, which is the food for the hair, will increase and grow even thicker. Each area is different and influenced by hormones and whatever is going on systemically.
I have to say That as someone who began waxing a mild mustache over upper lip in early 30s and still doing so at 54… I have NOT been so fortunate to have it come in less and less. The tweezed black ones …and ONLY the tweezed black ones are coming in white now and I’m not sure which is worse.
The hundreds of soft blond waxed ones still come in soft and blond.
I am my own proof to the contrary. Perhaps someone should study me.
And only this past year did I get impatient and tweezed by the corners of my mouth and they are absolutely harder and thicker and black and now tougher to wax off because they are more resistant. I guess because tweezing must break it off and damage whereas waxing.. maybe the heat ..softens and is a better removal..less damage.
but now I have to do chin and I even extend because I have decided I just don’t want hair anywhere.. not even downy soft.
I could not possibly pay to have it done because too expensive and I stress at thinking I could ever not be able to maintain it. (sick or elderly or without wax) the only thing that works and is economical is that hard zipwax and I melt it in sm crock pot and reuse til doesn’t work anymore.
i have more hair than ever and I know that is peri-menopause. I began waxing in early 30s because I believed the woman who said it would eventually stop growing.
I am Scottish/German descent. I always had a lot of body hair..even as a little girl.
Please don’t take this the wrong way because I don’t want to leave with an awful image.. but I *maintain* the stupid hair.
*I present well and get nice compliments. I am very feminine.*
You can see that just the fact I feel I need to say that…that I am very insecure about this issue.
My female cousins and my mother are the same way.