A few long hairs dangling from one nose. Or a clump of hair that suddenly sprouts from an ear. As people get older, many men experience hair growth in the most unexpected places. But how come inconspicuous hairs suddenly become so visible? And is it a good idea to take them off? We asked dermatologist Thomas Maselis for advice.
“From the age of 30, we see that a lot of men suddenly get longer hair in the most surprising places. This mainly concerns very thick hairs in the nose, ears or on the eyebrows,” Dr. Maselis begins. “We suspect that male hormones such as testosterone are at the root of this.”
How does it work exactly?
“Everyone, both men and women, has so-called vellus hairs all over their body. These are very small and soft hairs, no longer than two to three millimeters. In men, however, something special happens from puberty. Due to the male hormone dihydrotestosterone, the vellus hairs will develop into thick hairs, for example on the chin, cheeks and chest.”
“ We suspect that dihydrotestosterone continues to act on hair follicles all over the body for years. As a result, some men may develop progressively thick hairs in new and unusual places, such as the ears.” So that is a result of a hormone that has been building up for years.
Why do other men go bald?
“That is a completely different effect of testosterone,” says Maselis. “You have to know that your hair grows in a cycle. First, your hair grows for about 800 days, then it rests for 200 days, and then it falls out. After a short period of rest, the cycle then starts again. If you have a genetic predisposition to baldness, testosterone will actually shorten that cycle in certain places, such as on top of the skull. The cycle gets shorter and shorter, until the hairs are barely visible.”
Can you remove the thick hairs?
“The hairs in your nose and ear do have a purpose. They purify the air of dust particles and pollen, or keep dirt out. However, I do understand that thick nose hairs don’t look great with your look. It is therefore no problem to trim or trim them. You can also have them lasered off. In addition, a specialist makes the pigment cells in the hair follicles very hot, so that the root burns. But beware: this technique only works with dark hair. Lighter hairs contain too little pigment for this.”
And what about pulling out the hair with tweezers? “I don’t recommend that, especially in the nose. When you pull it out, you cause a wound where bacteria can grow. This gives pimples a faster chance to form, and of course you want to avoid that.”
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