For as long as men have been able to shave and pretty much since men learned to say the words facial hair, there has been a huge debate raging. The main question behind this debate is, does shaving make facial hair grow faster? Now many people, perhaps in fact the majority of people, would argue that the answer is yes.
Indeed it does make your hair grow back faster and thicker, but that might not be quite right. Countless scientific studies and personal accounts would speak against that fact. Sadly for men out there, shaving some more might not be the solution to slow and patchy beard growth.
Does Hair Grow Back Thicker After Shaving?
The short answer to this question is no, shaving does not make your facial hair grow back thicker and faster. If this were true, wouldn’t all bald men shave their heads every day in the hopes that they can once again dawn a full head of hair. Sadly male genetics and hair growth just don’t work that way. There is a reason that shaving your face makes it seem like it grows back faster and thicker, but the keyword there is “seems”.
Does Shaving Make Hair Thicker?
Like we said, facial hair seems like it grows back thicker after you’ve shaved, but looks and feels and be very deceptive. Our facial hair is shaped like a spear, not that it can kill anybody, but it does taper at the end to form a slight point.
When you shave the blade passes over the hair and cuts some of it off in the process. As you probably know, when you shave you don’t usually get everything, and you are probably left with some stubble too.
That cut hair has the point removed from it, thus making it flat and coarse. That flat coarseness makes the hair look thicker and darker, thus giving us a deceiving appearance of being thicker. That is however not the only reason that shaving makes your hair appear thicker after a day or 2.
Does Shaving Make Hair Grow?
Another reason that hair seems to grow back thicker after shaving, especially in the case of young men, is because of hormones. Many young men believe that shaving daily will make them have a full beard within days, yet we don’t see any 12 year olds with full beards out there.
The fact that beards look thicker and seem to grow faster after shaving is because they might actually do so, but it is all just a big coincidence. Boys or young men going through puberty and hormonal changes start to experience facial hair growth.
The fact that it grows back thicker or faster after shaving is not because of the shaving itself, but because of the hormonal changes making the beard hairs grow. When it comes to young men, it is just a big coincidence.
Does Shaving Make Hair Grow Back Thicker?
Another reason that your beard may seem to grow back thicker or faster after shaving also has to do with the hair growth cycle. We have covered the hair growth cycle in some other articles so we aren’t going to get into it too much.
However what you need to know is that there is a growth stage, a rest stage, and a stage where the hair stops growing altogether and may even fall out. If you shave when most of your hairs are not in the growth stage and then many of your hair follicles go into the growth stage soon after shaving, it will make it look as though it is growing back thicker.
Yet that once again has nothing to do with shaving and is only related to the specific stage of growth which your hair follicles are in. Keep in mind that not all of your follicles are in the stage at the same time, thus allowing this myth of shaving making your hair thicker seems like a true reality.
Is There anyway To Make Beards Grow More
Fortunately, there are some things that you can try to make your beard grow back faster and thicker, but one of those ways is not simply by shaving. You can improve your diet, take testosterone supplements, use beard growth oil, beard growth creams, and even things like Rogaine. However shaving won’t get you anywhere.
Does Shaving Make Your Beard Grow Back Faster: Conclusion
The sad reality is that shaving just doesn’t make your hair grow back faster. Whether it is because of hormones, the look of facial hairs, or because of the science behind the hair growth cycle, they can all be causes that further this myth. If shaving really did make facial hair grow back thicker and faster, every man over the age of 25 would grow several feet of beard every single day, and that rate of growth would increase exponentially with age.
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