Featured Image Credit: Ekaterina Ilchenko via Getty
A simulation showing why you should never pluck some hairs leaves people doing the exact opposite.
We all have habits we're not entirely proud of like picking at things we shouldn't and fiddling with hairs that bother us. And while we've already covered the surprising role that certain body hair plays in protecting us, it turns out that removing hair the wrong way can cause problems that go well beyond a bit of temporary redness.
YouTuber ZackDFilms has made a name for himself by diving into the kind of topics that are both fascinating and yet unsettling. From the gross impact of popping a blister to the physics of what would occur if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning, his channel covers the weird corners of science that most people probably don't wish to imagine.
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Now Zack walked his viewers through exactly what happens inside your skin when you pluck a hair.
While tweezers might feel like a quick and easy fix for unwanted hairs, 'plucking them actually removes the entire root,' he explained.
"This damages the follicle, which can cause the new hair to grow in at an angle. This can cause it to get trapped under the skin, resulting in irritation and ingrown hairs," Zack explained.
"And if you continue to repeatedly pluck like this, your follicles can become so damaged that it can no longer grow hair."
However, as grim as the simulation showed the consequences of tweezing, many viewers in the comments wondered whether having no hair grow back was the exact point of tweezing.
"I mean, as someone who constantly has to shave the middle part of his eyebrows... The fact that it won't grow back is something I see as an absolute win!" one user wrote in the YouTube Short comments.
"I mean if "unwanted hairs" no longer grows, its a win," another replied.
A third user commented: "I think everyone just collectively skipped the "ingrown hair" part and jumped straight to the "no longer grow hair" and were more determined than ever to pluck out hair".
Others felt more put off by the chance of getting ingrown hairs from tweezing.
"I never thought I would have a fear of ingrown hair," another said.
"Zack videos give me new fears every day 😂," someone else put.
According to dermatologist Dr Annie Gonzalez of Riverchase Dermatology, who spoke to Healthline, tweezing isn't always a bad idea, it just needs to be done carefully and in the right places.
“Nobody likes stray hairs on their face or body, whether they’re above or below the eyebrows — those pesky chin hairs, toenail hairs, or a stray hair on the cheek. Before you rush to pick up a tweezer, however, you need to do so carefully, so as not to end up with ingrown hairs, scarring, or irritation,” she said.
