Shaving is my favourite method of hair removal because it’s quick and efficient. But a lot of women prefer to use other ways to get rid of unwanted hair because they are afraid that shaving will make their hair grow back thicker. I had heard this myth too before I started shaving but I thought I’d try it anyway. After all what was the alternative?
Waxing and epilators are painful and I don’t do pain. Depilatory creams take too long to use and they never seem to remove everything so shaving it was. And in all those years that I’ve been shaving, my hair has never ever grown back thicker. But I can see why some people think it does.
Hair only looks thicker, but it’s not
Shaving doesn’t make your hair grow thicker, it just makes it appear thicker. How is that possible? Well, the hair follicle is below the surface of the skin and when you see it grow up and come above the surface, you’ll notice that it has a fine and tapered hair. And then you cut it with a razor. This changes the shape of the hair.
The fine, tapered tip is gone and the hair now has a rectangular shape. Because of this, the hair appears to be coarser and thicker, but the thickness of the hair shaft is exactly the same. And it’s not true that hair grows coarser either. It feels coarser because once cut, the hair is really short, but if you’d let it grow, you’ll soon be able to feel how soft it is when it is a bit longer. But of course, we just shave it again before it has a chance to grow too much.
Do you shave? Or has this myth stopped you from trying?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
my exact same thoughts!
i shave because it’s fast and easy and convenient
but i have to reshave like every 2 or 3 day? quite a bummer though. 
plue´s last [type] ..Johnson’s Body Care Melt Away Stress Daily Calming Lotion
Plue, I know, I shave every other day and it’s such a pain in the neck! But we’re just cutting the hair rather than completely remove it so it keeps growing back so fast.
At least this method of hair removal is painless though.
I alternate systems, shaving and waxing. Shaving regularly exfoliates my skin and helps me prevent those nasty ingrown hairs I get from waxing
Negra Cabreada, those ingrown hairs are nasty indeed! Unfortunately I get them from shaving as well but exfoliating does help a lot in preventing them.
I’ve only shaved so far. Not planning to wax or anything else cos shaving is so fast! However, I think I get shaving allergies or something cos I get spots where my hair grows. I’m worried it’ll get worse but so far I don’t think it is. I can’t remember if it was already like that before I started shaving
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Isabel, I get bumps too from shaving sometimes but usually exfolaiting skin helps prevent and get rid of them.
I shave because it’s easy, painless, and really cheap! I remember that adults would warn teens not to start shaving until they were really ready because the hair would grow thicker, and once you started, you could never stop. I think they just said that to prevent kids from growing up so fast… I was super worried to do it the first time because of this.
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Jeni, I was worried too at first so it was a relief to find out it wasn’t true.
Good post!!
Of course I shave, I can’t stand pain! lol
Stavroula Plag´s last [type] ..Random Tip of the Day 16092010
Stavroula, me neither.
As a person who uses three of the techniques for hair removal – shaving and epilators and waxing- I can clearly say that you are absolutely true! Shaving is painless and cheap and takes very little time. However, especially in winter when I have time to let them grow for a week or so, consequences of epilation and waxing stays much much longer.
Berna, I agree with everything you said. The downside of shaving is that the effect lasts so little time and I have to say I’m tempted to try waxing and epilators to be hair-free for longer. But I just can’t put myself to go through pain (even though it’s bearable) when shaving is pain-free.