Myth or Fact: Does Your Hair Grow Back Darker When You Shave?

You could be one of those people who would say yes when given question “does your hair grow back darker when you shave?”. Most people believe in the myth that the hair regrowth after shaving will become better afterward, which in their assumption means thicker and darker. The funniest is that people still having this in mind over years although there is no scientific evidence about it.

Even if some people get their hair darker or thicker after shaving or waxing, coincidence is the biggest possibility. There are some factors that can make your hair condition different from the one before shaving and you can’t always blame it all the time. Shaving has nothing to do with anything happen to your hair when it grows back, so it is better to load yourself with more information to stop having that thinking.

Some conditions that make you say ‘Yes’ for the answer

As mentioned above that people might experience different hair regrowth after shaving because there are some factors. So before saying that shaving is the trigger, the following conditions could be the cause.

The reason behind the longtime-myth about hair getting darker and thicker after shaving is because people experience coarser hair after shaving. This is a normal condition since human’s natural hair tip is tapered. Once the hair is shaved, the tip will be blunt and coarse. This triggers the thinking about the hair getting thicker. Nevertheless, you can get your hair tip tapered again some weeks after shaving.

According to a hair follicle scientist, Kurt Stenn, said that the hair follicle’s shaft is actually thicker than the hair itself. When people shave their hair, this thicker part will be the first thing emerging from the skin and that is why people assuming their hair getting thicker after shaving. The thicker hair base will be thinner overtime as the hair grows. So there is nothing to do with shaving since this is the natural condition of the hair shaft.

Besides the common question about ‘does shaving head make hair grow thicker’, there is also another false assumption about hair getting darker after shaving. Again, if this really happens to many people out there, the natural environment is the biggest answer. Remember that your hair is thick in the color when you were born. As you grow up your hair color becoming lighter since it is exposed to the sun, pollution, chemicals and even the heat from your hairdryer.

No wonder that hair color is fading overtime just like the color of your painted walls. The reason why your hair looks darker after shaving is because the regrowth comes back to its natural condition. It won’t last long, tough. Your lifestyle and natural environment will make the hair color lighter again. Don’t worry because that is just how people live. Like you, the hair is getting older too.

Why you should put this to rest

If some reasonable factors above can’t stop you from putting this myth to rest and not worrying about your hair condition after shaving, there are actually some other facts to face.

A board-certified dermatologist, Shirley, Chi, MD, said that hair growing back thicker after shaving is not true [source]. The whole world’s population will have thick and dark hair if this is a fact because most of them have experienced hair shaving in their lives.

So keep holding this false longtime-myth will just cause you having an endless-wrong assumption about shaving hair.

Moreover, if shaving makes hair growing thicker, then many women will turn to gorillas since they do this a lot to their legs and arms. Hair loss problem will never be exist is the solution is as simple as shaving. No need to buy expensive shampoos and hair tonics because all you need is just shaving all the way. However, the truth is not that pretty. Shaving does nothing and that is why people are still struggling to baldness and hair loss till today.

Many studies have proved about this scientific rejection and it makes the myth even weaker. Just to let you know that your hair is dead. When you shave it you do nothing to the living cells, the follicles. They are still alive and they will regrow the hair as its natural condition. You will get your hair thick and dark if that is your real one.

Except you are in puberty where your hair might change due to some related factors, you might find it thicker and it is normal. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but it does happen to most people in the early stage of puberty. Even if teenagers don’t do shaving, the hormonal fluctuations will still change the hair thickness.

Waxing vs. Shaving

Another old assumption about hair waxing also stays for so long. While shaving makes the hair thicker, waxing is the opposite, making the hair thinner. The scientific answer is, unlike shaving, waxing remove the hair completely from the follicles. There is no blunt tips of hair left. As a result, the follicles regrow your hair from the start and it has already had tapered tips. The tapered hair felt thin when you touch making you think that your hair is getting thicker.

So does your hair go back darker when you shave? Completely no! Both waxing and shaving has nothing to do with the color and thickness of your hair. It changes as you age following your overall health condition and lifestyle.

So you don’t have to worry of using any technique. Wax or shave anytime you want and put all of the false long-time myths to rest.