Stray Hairs

[catkingirl]

I was told that the reason you get freak hairs (say a long dark one on your upper arm where all the others are soft) are caused by when you have your hair cut a hair call fall into a pore and grow. Other people say that's rubbish. Any ideas?

[unafitz]

Now just think about what you have written.... Go and cut off a single hair and then press the end firmly against any part of your skin......has it penetrated?

[catkingirl]

Thats why its only ONE stray hair every so often. I'm not saying it IS true - just wanted to shed a little light on the matter. No need to be so sarcastic *sulks*.

[andy hughes]

It is possible for a stray hair to grow on another part of your body, but it actually grows into your skin, rather than 'taking root' and growing out normally. This can be quite serious, as the hair spreads under the skin, and can require surgery to remove it. This is probably where you have heard about hair 'growing' on another part of the body, and although it seems logical that a hair may grow on another part of the body, it happens in the way I have described, and not as a 'rogue' hair.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Sorry Andy, but I'm not sure I can agree with that - but maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying. There is no way that a cut hair could grow again, and not do I believe that a hair could fall into a hair follical and take root there. Hair is dead tissue and therefore inert. Freak black hairs or whatever are just that - they're a hair follicle that for whatever reason has grown slightly differently. However, a problem which particularly affects black men in their beard area is that they get a) subcutaneous hairs and b) hairs that curl back and penetrate the skin due to the comparative strength of their hair.

[andy hughes]

Actually Wlado, I didn't explain that the hair has to be fresh, with a root attatched. This happened to a friend of mine - a hair dropped down his collar and lodged against the waistband of his underpants, and over a period of weeks, grew into the skin on his back. Surgery was required to 'excavate' an alarmingly large area into which the hair roots had grown, so it does happen, albeit rarely, which from my friend's graphioc description of the pain involved, is no bad thing!

[WaldoMcFroog]

Well, if that's true... Wow! :-)

[alisonbayne]

Just goes to show you should always wear fresh clean underwear