According to popular belief, cutting or shaving your hair transforms it in a number of ways. We checked if this is true.

The stereotype “the more often you shave, the faster your hair grows” is very widespread in society. Often, men deliberately delay the next shave so as not to increase the rate of hair growth, which would force them to resort to hygiene procedures more often in the future. A similar picture concerns ideas about the density of growth, thickness and color of hair - supposedly frequent use of a razor can seriously affect these parameters.

For more than a century, authors of medical literature have been fighting this set of stereotypes, citing the results of comparative experimental studies. Thus, in 1928, four Americans took part in the following experience. They shaved an area of their face using the same top-to-bottom motion, using the same brand of shaving soap, a fresh razor, and water at the same temperature. After each shave, the study authors collected the clipped hairs and compared 100 of them. The conclusion was clear: there is no evidence that frequent shaving accelerates hair growth.

In 1970, the results of another research. Each of the five men who took part shaved one of their legs every week for several months, leaving the other as a “control” for the final measurement. The scientists found no significant differences in hair thickness, coarseness or rate of hair growth.

By words Melanie Grossman, a dermatologist from New York, these data are quite consistent with what her colleagues see in their practice. Amy McMichael, director of dermatology at Wake Forest Academic Medical Center, adds, “Women shave their legs all the time. They would look like gorillas if their hair became thicker or darker. Plus, we would never have to think about losing hair on our heads if the haircut made it thicker.”

A similar observation applies to waxing (waxing). How noted According to Scientific American, if a hair is pulled out by the roots, a tougher specimen will not appear in its place. However, there are other genetic and hormonal factors that can affect hair growth. Additionally, if you scratch an area of skin too hard (which is not the case with regular shaving or waxing), it can become rough, like a callus, which can stimulate hair growth. In this case, thickening of the skin and nerves may lead to thickening of the hair, but this is rare in practice.

Why do we think that stereotypes are fair? It's a matter of visual illusion. From the side, human hair looks like a pencil or spear, tapering towards the end. Therefore, when the razor cuts off the end of the hair, it may seem that the remainder is thicker than it was before the cut. This stump sticking straight out of the follicle will feel rougher to the touch.

In addition, we must not forget about the development of the human body. If a guy shaves his mustache and the hair in it becomes thicker, then the explanation for this is simple: during this period of life, natural hormonal fluctuations occur in the teenager’s body, not related to hair removal.

When it comes to hair darkening after shaving, one thing that can confuse people is that hair (or parts thereof) that have recently emerged from the skin will initially appear darker because it has not yet been exposed to lightening pollutants. chemicals (like soap and shampoo) and the sun from it ultraviolet light.

And finally, about the thickness of the hairline. As they say specialists, this factor does not depend in any way on shaving or cutting. The number of hair follicles on our body is programmed during the period of intrauterine development. So we can only influence this parameter negatively if we are not very careful with the skin.

Thus, cutting (and shaving as its special case) in general does not affect the speed of hair growth, nor its thickness, density or color.