Health - Wellness
Fact Or Fiction: Shaving Makes Your Hair Grow Back Thicker
By KATHERINE ALEXIS ATHANASIOU
It is false that shaving your body hair will cause it to grow back faster, darker, and thicker. When growing, hair must pass through oil and scent glands and extend from under the skin when the cells are no longer alive — shaving your hair simply means cutting off the dead hair, so it does not affect the texture, color, or growth rate of hair.
While it can be true that newly grown hair has a darker shade, this can be attributed to its lack of sun exposure, soap use, and other everyday chemicals and products that can lighten hair over time. Dr. Mona Gohara, a board-certified dermatologist, says that the hair "can feel stubbly and therefore thicker, but it's not thicker or growing back any faster."
As shaving simply cuts the hair from the skin, it does not affect the hair follicles. However, the same is not true for alternative hair removal methods such as waxing or recurrent plucking, as these methods tend to alter the hair follicles, making them thinner and smaller, which can eventually lead to the hair ceasing to grow.