Through the course of history, men and women alike have fixated on how coarse hair is. So how did this myth perpetrate itself? Maybe it was planted in people’s heads from the idea that pruning trees makes them stronger and able to grow new branches, so hair must work in the same way. Well… this is not exactly so.

Hair comes out from the hair follicle which sits below the surface of the skin in the dermis. It does resemble the hole one might dig to place the seed in so that the plant can grow out from the soil. The hair follicle determines a number of factors, including one’s hair colour, consistency, as well as thickness. Someone with a thicker beard will have more hair follicles on their faces. The number of hair follicles one possesses is determined by genes, hormones and age. The number of hair follicles cannot be increased, unless someone implants more hair follicles.

So why is it that if a 13-year-old boy were to shave off his beard, the beard will grow coarser and thicker? Irrespective of shaving, hormonal fluctuations are developing the facial hair, making it thicker and not because of hair removal.

The cutting of the hair may appear thicker for a short while as the human hair shaft is like a pencil that tapers at the end. When the razor slices away the tip of the hair, the remaining hair may appear thicker. However, even if those short hairs that are sticking out may seem coarser, it is not affecting the regrowth process.

The hair looks darker, as it hasn’t been affected by environmental factors such as chemicals and the sun. This myth can be put to rest… shaving does not make the hair coarser.