Shaving And Hair Growth

The notion that shaving increases hair growth is a popular misconception. Shaving neither increases hair growth nor causes the hair to come back thicker or darker. Similarly, neither plucking nor the use of depilatory creams affects hair growth or color.

Effects of Shaving
1. Hairs grow out of follicles that are located beneath the surface of the skin. The follicles determine the hair diameter and color. The hair itself is not alive and does not affect its own rate or manner of growth. The hair shaft is thickest at the follicle and tapers toward its tip. A hair that is cut at or near the surface of the skin has a circumference at its cut end that is greater than the circumference of the hair at its end. This makes the cut end appear larger and darker than the tip. The stubble also feels rougher because the hair shaft at the skin's surface is shorter and thicker than the hair was prior to shaving.

Hairs frequently grow out of the skin with a bias in a particular direction rather than growing out perpendicular to the skin's surface. You can check the direction of hair growth by running your fingers in different directions over your skin. The skin feels smoother in the direction of hair growth and rougher in the opposite direction. Shaving against the grain (in the direction opposite the direction of hair growth) may give a closer shave and leave the skin feeling smoother. Unfortunately, the risk of ingrown hairs is greater as a result of shaving against the grain as opposed to shaving with the grain.

Shaving not only cuts hairs, but also removes some of the outer skin cells and the oil on the surface of the skin. As a result, you may wish to moisturize the skin after shaving.