Does Hair Grow Thicker after Shaving?

One of the concerns people have, particularly when shaving unwanted hair that you might feel embarrassed about, is whether or not the process of shaving makes hair grow back thicker than before. Some might be interested in this for the opposite reason, looking for coarser facial hair or something to that effect. Regardless of motive, read on for answers to this most burning of questions.

Does hair grow back thicker after shaving?

The short answer is quite simply, no. Hair growth comes from the subcutaneous hair follicle. When you shave, you don’t affect the follicle and instead simply cut the hair where it emerges from the skin. In order for anything to make hair grow back thick, coarser, or darker, there needs to be some effect on follicular growth, which shaving quite simply does not have.


So why do people think hair grows back thicker after shaving?

The idea is a popular one firstly because the appearance of stubble, no matter how small, simply looks darker and thicker in the context of what was a clean shaven face. It’s just more noticeable than when longer hair grows at the same rate. Secondly stubble’s texture can feel coarser because of the nature of newly growing hair, which is rough and sharp. If you allow the hair to grow back to its previous length, it will no doubt revert to its original texture.

It’s also important to note that shaving is a much more short term method of hair removal than waxing for instance. Your hair will grow back faster than it did post waxing if you’re comparing the two, but that doesn’t mean the properties of said hair has changed.

The only methods of hair removal that actually influence hair re-growth are ones that have some effect on the hair follicle. Waxing actually limits hair growth over time because the sharp pulling motion rips hair out at the roots, causing damage to hair follicles which affects re-growth.

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