“Each lady you realize is preventing a lifelong battle towards a single chin hair.” That viral tweet, lately written by humorist Julia Claire, has garnered greater than 41,000 likes and counting—so it appears like she is likely to be onto one thing.
Hey, we’ve definitely been there. Generally you simply occur to catch a glimpse of your self within the mirror and instantly there’s a chin hair proper there, in all its glory, protruding from the identical spot it all the time mysteriously seems in, though you possibly can swear you plucked that sucker like a month in the past.
Responses to Claire’s tweet might have been simply as relatable as the unique thought: “You by no means see it rising. It’s both freshly plucked or 3 inches lengthy,” one individual tweeted. “That factor is just not of this realm. Darkish forces summon it in a single day as a result of I can’t settle for that it’s been rising all this time and I didn’t discover it till it was Rapunzel size,” one other added.
After all, chin hair (or any facial or physique hair, for that matter) is “completely regular in everybody” and nothing to be ashamed of, no matter your gender, Susan Massick, MD, affiliate professor of dermatology on the Ohio State College Wexner Medical Middle, tells SELF.
That mentioned, it’s additionally completely positive should you favor to take away any of your physique hair, together with those in your chin that seemingly sprout in a single day. Chin hair can appear completely different and even more durable than different hairs in your face, and there’s a purpose for that. The hairs in your physique can usually be divided into two camps: vellus hairs, that are often lighter, thinner, and smaller (peach fuzz); and terminal hairs, that are darker, thicker, and longer.
Your physique—together with your face and neck—is roofed in vellus hair, however generally vellus hair can flip into terminal hair, board-certified dermatologist Ife J. Rodney, MD, FAAD, founding director of Everlasting Dermatology and Aesthetics and professor of dermatology at Howard College and George Washington College, tells SELF. The perpetrator, she says, is often testosterone; everybody has this hormone of their our bodies, however some individuals produce extra of it than others and every individual’s hair follicles react to various hormone ranges in a different way. Cis girls “principally have vellus hair with only a few thick darkish hairs on the face,” Cindy Wassef MD, assistant professor on the Rutgers Middle for Dermatology, tells SELF.
Relying in your well being historical past, chances are you’ll be extra susceptible to strong physique hair development. Folks with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), for instance, have excessive ranges of androgens (a gaggle of intercourse hormones that features testosterone), which then results in what some contemplate “extreme” hair development.
And, once more, every individual has a singular hormonal make-up and genetic predispositions, so these random chin hairs are simply a part of what makes you, effectively, you. It’s exhausting to say precisely why you may need one or two that develop like a weed within the identical spot, however Dr. Rodney says it could possibly occur on a hair follicle by follicle foundation. “I consider it as these specific follicles have a decrease threshold for testosterone,” she says.