Myth 1: Body Hair Grows Back Thicker When You Shave It
You might remember that episode of
Seinfeld where Jerry decides to shave his chest despite warnings that it will grow back twice as thick. Although the myth proves to be true on television, it's very much false in the real world. If shaving caused hair to grow in much thicker, balding men would be shaving their heads for hair loss prevention. Children's health researcher Rachel C. Vreeman and assistant professor of pediatrics Aaron E. Carrol
put this myth to rest:
Strong scientific evidence disproves these claims. As early as 1928, a clinical trial showed that shaving had no effect on hair growth. More recent studies confirm that shaving does not affect the thickness or rate of hair regrowth. In addition, shaving removes the dead portion of hair, not the living section lying below the skin's surface, so it is unlikely to affect the rate or type of growth. Shaved hair lacks the finer taper seen at the ends of unshaven hair, giving an impression of coarseness. Similarly, the new hair has not yet been lightened by the sun or other chemical exposures, resulting in an appearance that seems darker than existing hair.
Basically, shaved hair feels coarse and that leads you to believe it's thicker. In reality you're just fooling yourself and your hair remains the same.