Where Did That One Thick, Dark Hair Come From?

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Some days you look in the mirror and find a long dark hair where it didn't use to be. Maybe you're going through puberty, pregnancy, or menopause. Maybe you're not. But either way, that hair didn't appear out of nowhere. It just went through a bit of a transformation.
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Sources:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/f...
www.jidonline.org/article/S00...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
royalsocietypublishing.org/do...
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
academic.oup.com/bjd/article/...
www.frontiersin.org/articles/...
Image Sources:
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www.nature.com/articles/s4146...
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[@SciShow]

Visit brilliant.org/scishow/ to get started learning STEM for free. The first 200 people will get 20% off their annual premium subscription and a 30 day free trial.

[@Mahbu]

Okay, cool. Now explain the white or silver. . maybe transparent hair that is super thin and grows to obnoxious lengths in seemingly short spans of time and is all alone

[@Mors_Ontologica]

​@@Mahbu aliens

[@WetDoggo]

I'm curious if there's a pathway to turn termal hair into vellous hair?

[@CritterKeeper01]

@SciShow Can a hair transform in the other direction, from Terminal to Vellus? Or is it a one-way trip?

[@PoisonNuke]

ok what about those single strands of hair that are like SUPER thick, Im talking about up a millimeter in diameter. Especially inmids of the beard or eyebrows, there are sometimes super dark and super thick strands of hair, that are soft as well. I was thinking this video is about these crazy mutations

[@jacko666]

Now I’m going to need a sequel video about the random 3” long + super wispy hairs that seem to magically sprout up overnight on your face/arm/back that surely you would have noticed growing before they got that long… 😅

[@Kairi-ou]

Right??? My question is, how did it get so long so fast????

[@yaki_ebiko]

​@@Kairi-ouusually, they don't. some hair would grow much longer and got covered up by the cuticle. when you sleep and rubbed it off during night the whole hair pops out and wola, instant hair.

[@rhov-anion]

That hair was lying just under the surface, waiting to pop out and scare you.

[@sleazybtd]

Sorry. That was me. Every once in a while, I sneak into your bedroom when you're sleeping and I implant that hair into your skin. I then hide and watch you until you find it. I enjoy watching people's reaction.

[@cameroneridan4558]

​@@yaki_ebiko oh my god that makes so much sense! Also it's Voilà

[@Kirasuva]

This is one of the things I love about SciShow, an answer to a random question I've always had but never thought to ask. Thanks guys!

[@michaelwaldorf88]

Got one on my knuckle and always plucked the "one dark hair"

[@CatsForTheCatGod]

Always the chin hairs too 😩

[@DanielBParada]

Need this episode got 4 nonadjacent forearm hairs driving me crazy

[@jf2801]

Now if only they can tell me why my genes make my facial hair patchy and wiry. Like actually coarse like nylon.

[@IntrepidFraidyCat]

Exactly! 😆👍🏻

[@greenredblue]

My pet theory for why terminal hairs are in the groin and underarms is that these are places where large patches of occasionally sweaty skin unavoidably rubs against itself, potentially causing chafing and infection, and thicker hair can serve as a buffer.

[@xaviotesharris891]

Your theory makes sense. It doesn't explain my back hair, but I like it.

[@macberg5806]

It’s exactly why they’re there. I realized this working out at the gym. I had trimmed my armpit hairs, and after doing so there was noticeable friction in my armpits. Rather uncomfortable and it made it very clear to me instantly why these hairs are there. Definitely practical

[@gabrielleperson4794]

Except most American women shave their pits regularly and don't chafe our armpits

[@Casocki]

​@@gabrielleperson4794 speak for yourself; mine always got irritated and clammy

[@bee-yq3wb]

@@gabrielleperson4794 most American women aren’t super active

[@thetwentiethman3008]

In my early twenties I sported a bushy black beard and a blonde mustache. In the midst of all this hair, on my left cheek I discovered a single thick hair. It was about five times as thick as the rest of my beard hairs and about three-quarters to an inch long, straight, stiff, conical, and rubbery. I plucked it painlessly. This only happened once. That's what I thought the title of this video was about.

[@cynthiakeller5954]

Same!

[@thetwentiethman3008]

@@cynthiakeller5954 You had a a bushy black beard?

[@NathalieCwiekSwiercz]

​@@thetwentiethman3008 😂

[@icarusbinns3156]

My dad had a hilariously-red mountain man beard in college (the photos are a riot!) But he has dark brown hair for the rest. Well, it’s all grey now. But the red beard looked dyed! It was natural

[@longemen3000]

Same

[@Johnnyoity]

The reverse is also true - hair that "goes bald" actually miniaturizes from terminal hairs into vellus hairs - DHT is also a culprit in that. Drugs like Rogaine and Propecia are DHT blockers. Looking at the role of androgens in hair length and color changes is a major area of study to reverse/cure baldness.

[@jonaspavelek1333]

(don´t mean to insult but) Rogaine is minoxidil topical cream, if I am not mistaken. Maybe there are finasteride pills (idk). But minoxidil works by improving bloodflow to the hair follicles, helping them grow better, not by blocking dht. Finasteride is also used for baldness and this one actually blocks DHT, but on the other hand DHT has a lot of mood improving effects, so finasteride can make you depressed.

[@ikbintom]

@@jonaspavelek1333 great addition to and rectification of the original comment, not offensive at all 👍

[@empatheticrambo4890]

I was just thinking baldness and hair texture were two natural follow ups!

[@ambrose1724]

​@@jonaspavelek1333 Finasteride when ingested is meant primarily for prostate problems. And taking it regularly ( like you would have to for your hair) is a bad idea with lots of horror stories going around. Solutions of it can be applied to the scalp though - this makes the side effects milder/ nonexistent.

[@poindextertunes]

thank you Derek from MPMD 🙏

[@KasSommers]

I'm a post-menopausal woman and I think my eyebrows are falling. They are very thin, almost invisible, but hairs on the chin and one stray that appears every few months in the middle of my right cheek are always a surprise. Bodies, huh?

[@med8615]

are you hypothyroid?

[@ikbintom]

Probably they turn back into miniscule vellus hairs, rather than actually falling out ;)

[@poindextertunes]

@S.G. Former Peter Gallagher fan huh? 😂

[@MithMathy]

​@@ikbintom I think by "falling" the op was joking that her eyebrows are "migrating" down her face ;)

[@KasSommers]

@@MithMathy exactly.

[@The1stDukeDroklar]

Once I had a red hair (have dark hair) that looked so much like copper I thought I had a small piece of copper wire from my construction job stuck in my face. Plucked it and it never returned. Always wondered wtf...

[@MurdocsMinion]

As a ginger, I can confirm, all of my thick hairs look exactly like copper wire when viewed in isolation. Individual red hairs are also thicker on average than other hair colours, so it's an even easier mistake to make lol. As an aside, I have a single black hair. I pull it sometimes, but it always eventually grows back.

[@sdrtcacgnrjrc]

I used have some copper red hairs in my beard, the colour has faded away completely though as I get older

[@J_Pawsadas-PTSDEnjoyer]

i've got a mix of brown, black, and red hair and whenever i find a couple loose red ones i group 'em together to marvel at their copperness

[@JuleahStrickland]

​@Carpet Beetle my former husband was this way as well. Brown hair but would grow a red beard. It was so weird but neat. I gave him a nickname of Capt Redbeard 😂

[@chrissandoval7675]

...and then there's that weird two inch white eyebrow hair that somehow goes unnoticed until it does.

[@LisaBeergutHolst]

"The light and thin peach fuzz found in places like your arms and back..." Speak for yourself there, Stefan.

[@Beegee1952]

After menopause I lost all of my underarm hairs and most of my leg hairs, other areas thinned out. One of the few advantages of aging! 😃

[@Justaperson354]

It was the opposite for my mom she got even hairier lol

[@Beegee1952]

@@Justaperson354 Wow, seems you never know what will happen. Except for my head, I guess I got lucky. Being a clone of my mom I have to thank her since we obviously have no control! 🤣

[@Primalxbeast]

@Beegee I'm 52, and reading about perimenopause seems to give you absolutely no clue what to expect because everybody seems to have such different effects. Basically, what I've learned is that a bunch of random unpredictable stuff is going to happen that can be completely the opposite of what happens to some other people.

[@Beegee1952]

@@Primalxbeast It seems to be different for everyone. For me a low dose of estrogen has kept me sane. The not sleeping, sweating and being angry all the time was unbearable for me and my family. I had a very easy time with menstruation, no cramps ever and no PMS but, menopause is awful! I’m 70 now and still take estrogen because I don’t sleep AT ALL if I don’t. Good luck!

[@Primalxbeast]

@Beegee I have a clotting disorder, so hormones won't be an option, and I live in Florida without AC, so I'm hoping that I don't get bad hot flashes. It can be too hot here, even in the middle of Winter.

[@louisa6539]

Thanks. I thought I had a single pube on the back of my knee. A little biochemistry lesson and I feel less weird.😂

[@1TakoyakiStore]

I remember when I was a kid I would occasionally get a super thick hair growing on my chest. What made it stand, out other than its thickness, was that the tip was lighter than the rest. It would always fall out and grow back years later. The mystery continued until one time it grew longer than before. Eventually it did fall out again but this time there was enough of it to actually examine in more detail. Turns out that it was actually 3 hairs grown together and had started unraveling from the bottom up. It hasn't grown back since in that spot.

[@DawnDavidson]

Wow!

[@soyothedanny]

Pili multigemini. It's normal. Some people just have weird genes. So many of my hair follicles have two or three hairs out of one hole. Or I had two hairs joined at some spots and separated on other parts too

[@batintheattic7293]

@@soyothedanny Pili multigemini. Ooh, you clever thing!! I have never heard of that. Lovely term, though.

[@1TakoyakiStore]

@@soyothedanny Yep that's it. I didn't know what it was called but I knew it had a medical name.

[@kathleenkeene5864]

I appreciate that you kept this professional, and didn't shame us for having body and facial hair, and in fact put a positive spin on it. I also VERY MUCH appreciate that you pointed out that having darker hair isn't necessarily a sign of out of whack hormones! Us women who have naturally hairy bodies, and embrace it, have been historically pigeonholed into assuming to have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and incorrectly diagnosed, and unnecessarily given hormones or other drugs. Thank you!

[@hamsterama]

So true! I'm a hairy woman, to the point that I have to shave my chin and front of my neck daily, or else I'll grow a "beard." I also have dark hairs covering my legs. And no, there's nothing wrong with me. All women have testosterone, it's just that some have more of it than others. Certain ethnic groups tend to be hairier than others as well. And yes, I agree, it's annoying that women who are hairy are thought to have a "hormone imbalance" or PCOS. The problem is easily fixed with a razor and shaving cream, no need to alter one's body with hormones and drugs.

[@raf.raf.]

I have the opposite question. What's up with those single weird long white hairs that appear out of nowhere on random parts of the body?

[@utej.k.bemsel4777]

I asked me that too!

[@izuela7677]

Random thick hairs are often clearly deformed for me. Leaving wounds as they erupt. Sometimes even ingrown. Or super tight coiled even though the rest of my hair is straight. One hair follicle, trying desperately to do everything.

[@DawnDavidson]

I feel you so much! These random thick chin hairs started showing up as I went through menopause. They annoy the heck outta me.

[@TheKrispyfort]

Everything, Everyhair, All at once

[@TheKrispyfort]

I'm starting to develop downy hair filled cysts. I need Dr Pimple Popper MD

[@Merip1214]

Yep. All over my legs. It's a mess

[@crapizio]

Thank you for crediting your video and image sources in the description with links! More people need to do that.

[@aprilchiginsky7560]

I've always wondered this as I've been getting older and family and friends are turning grey, I've noticed I don't get grey but I get random thick black course hairs around my hairline. My husband gets a single black hair on his nose, looks just like a eyelash that sprouts out of nowhere so I'm glad I can tell him why!! Thanks for the random facts!!

[@Hi_Im_Akward]

My mom has streaks of black and grey hair. Her original hair color was a light redish blonde and when she was in highschool she gots streaks of black. Then when she started getting older everything else turned grey.

[@TheKrispyfort]

46 here, and the only grey/white hair I've gotten has been in an eyebrow and a chunky chin hair. Bodies = definitely weird

[@xXxDeadAnaxXx]

You can let your dude know that my dude also has a single black hair that grows from the tip of his nose. So odd.

[@kuutti6777]

I have blonde, fine hair, but at the front of my hairline I have dozens(or more) of black, thick strands. I always had them but the older I get the more I seem to grow them.

[@Killbayne]

FINALLY THEY MADE A VIDEO ON THIS. I can't stop staring at those 3 random thick black hairs on my face and belly.

[@boy638]

Who remembers that one comment asking why there's hair growing in the @nus where Scishow eventually responded? Good times!

[@MurdocsMinion]

I do remember, but you don't have to censor anus my dude. It's a medical term

[@jameshill2450]

I get one single thick white hair that occasionally grows out of the fatty part of my earlobe. Started in my 30s. I can't prove it, but I *swear* that one day it's not there at all and a few days later it's like an inch long.

[@larspolydeus3867]

I get hairs just like that on my chest/shoulders occasionally and have wondered what the heck is going on there!

[@veryberry39]

My boyfriend is self-conscious about me touching his ears for that reason!

[@roxyhart5692]

My father gets that on the very tip of his nose! He's old and it's so funny because he doesn't notice it until it's really long, he'll be watching TV and suddenly it comes into his vision haha

[@kristenmoonrise]

@@roxyhart5692 😂

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

Thanks for this. As a redhead with very little (visible) body hair, I wondered why that started to change in my 40s. I also had a 'lost' head-type hair on my shoulder that would get quite long without me noticing it, though it seems to have ceased operation. Still, suddenly having a few dark chest hairs around my areolas was a bit of a shock!

[@tresbonoeuf]

@@johnny5941 Grow up, Johnny.

[@BloodAsp]

@@johnny5941 it's not like you know this person, we are all human.

[@ikbintom]

My father is 60 and still has very little visible body hair. He isn't balding at all either. Interesting that the amount of hair you have in your life can be so different from person to person.

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

@@ikbintom Exactly! My poor brother had a mustache that was only visible in strong sunlight, even more so than a blonde, poor guy!

[@FuckedUpGenius]

I once had a hair that was head like, right on my cheek. Very thin compared to the random dark hairs I have on my chin. It grew to about 10cm (4") long before I noticed it. That one never came back, tho. Hormones are very relevant to body hair growth, and since women go through a lot of changes around 40, it makes sense for body hair to change. I had one patch of "beard" develop during my pregnancy. I left it alone, hoping it would get back to normal after my hormones were stable. Now, 10 years later, I still pluck out those pesky hairs. Stupid hormones.

[@brettstover1850]

I just found a 8 inch long black hair growing from the back side of my shoulder just last week. I plucked it so I could get a better look 😂

[@ProffesionalZombie12]

I have PCOS, but my wayward whiskers didn't start appearing in random places until I was an adult. I swear I go through tweezers like no one's business.

[@princesschelsea1558]

I also have PCOS! When I was in high school, I had longer than normal peach fuzz on my lip and chin, but they didn’t turn dark or spread wider until after college 😅 now I have to shave my face every other day

[@kashiichan]

What do you mean by "I go through tweezers"?

[@92RKID]

​@@kashiichan You use the tweezers till they aren't usable right? That's what I understood it to mean.

[@NicholasHay1982]

Sometimes that one extra dark, extra thick hair is a pili multigemini, a cluster of hairs growing from the same folicle, with all the hairs matted together. They're especially common on the face and neck of people who grow beards.

[@Justinlmd]

Yep! I get these a few times per year. They are strangely satisfying to pluck.

[@NicholasHay1982]

@@Justinlmd "go home beard hair, you're drunk"

[@beautyandintrigue]

Your descriptors have made my random hairs feel very pretty. Thank you, lol.

[@fuferito]

And, then there's that hair some of us get after the age of 40. Yes, sea lion whiskers where all your life you've only had eyebrows, and tiny pubes coming out of your ears.

[@OAlem]

I call them rogue hairs. For a few years, like age 44-49, I suddenly had 3 hairs coming out of my right shoulder that were long enough to braid. I strangely don't have them anymore, but now I have random earlobe and eyebrow hairs going from vellus into terminal, and before I even notice it, they're an inch long. I bought one of those multi-shavers.

[@paadoxal]

i just realized the thicker hair on my hand started growing after i went on hormone medication and i didn't connect it until now! interesting

[@BlueWaves975]

Interesting! I've wondered a lot about it in the past several years (post menopause) because though I am blond with very straight hair, I now occasionally find a long, curly, coarse, nearly black hair in my brush or sprouting from my scalp. Thanks for the explanation!

[@penguinbellyflop548]

THANK YOU! This is the video I didn't know I needed

[@Karadrius]

I sliced into my hand as a child because, ya know, unsupervised pocked knife. 10 years, hair has finally started growing along the scar and 8 years after that, a single dark, black hair is the only color on that patch of skin

[@paadoxal]

whoa interesting, i've had a burn scar for a few years now and i had the same happen

[@princesseville6889]

He is a survivor lol! Protect him at all costs xD

[@billkallas1762]

Now that I'm as old as dirt, I develop a few hairs in my eyebrows that will grow crazy long if I don't trim them every three weeks, or so. I'm afraid of developing "Brezhnev eyebrows".

[@jimbrookhyser]

I haven't watched the video yet... BUT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO FOR YEARS!!!

[@jimbrookhyser]

Ok. I watched it, and it still doesn't answer the question burning my eyes out. I will have to wait. Bucket list item.

[@SnootchieBootchies27]

Okay, now can you please explain the vellus hairs that decide to randomly grow at about 2000 times as fast as any other hair on your body? Usually in a really odd spot like off to one side in your lower back or right on your earlobe?

[@jacko666]

YES

[@brandongaines1731]

I thought that that was what this video was about....

[@WireMosasaur]

I feel like they don't grow _faster_ , they just... never stop growing, and usually break instead of fall out. I have a permanent one on the back of my hand and I often think it's a stray bit of clothing fuzz or maybe a soft cat hair and then I try to flick it away and it's like oh that's attached to me, nvm lol

[@JillShaw]

I want the outtakes from this one😂 Thanks for giving us interesting and useful information along with some laughs💙💜✌😂😭😂

[@procrastinator547]

Thought this was going to be about those thick wire-like hairs that sometimes come in that are like a fusion of a few hair follicles.

[@Justinlmd]

Same! I get those in a few spots in my beard a couple times per year. I tweeze them out and then they break into 4-5 regular sized terminal hairs

[@kittypurr11]

My son was born with jet-black curly hair... one night when he was about 6 months old, I was holding him and realized he had TWO LONG WHITE STRAIGHT HAIRS growing in there. I waited until he fell asleep then I plucked them. 😂 So extremely weird! He was a baby, so definitely not going grey yet. I don't think they ever grew back... lol.

[@ikbintom]

I'd think they did grow back, the follicle should still be there right?

[@jahrn692]

Ah, I definitely would’ve kept it. I think it’s pretty cool.

[@witchypoo7353]

You can have grey hairs at any age. This isn’t necessarily a sign of going grey however

[@princesseville6889]

We have the opposite here - my daughter is almost white blonde, but grows 3 lonely black hairs on her head. Ive plucked one, but it returned and now she wants to keep them lol.

[@theyxaj]

@@princesseville6889 Omg, this unlocked a memory of me finding black hairs in my younger brother's blonde hair, and he wanted them GONE! He always told me to take them out 🤣

[@warehouselead]

I have always wondered this but never cared to Google it ha ha! Thank you!

[@coreymoore2719]

If ever there was something I was wondering that I never thought anybody would answer, this is it

[@OddWomanOut_Pi81]

Yeeeessss! This is practical info. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@QueenofSilence101]

Ugh. I have a handful of these dark hairs scattered along my chin/jawline. It's so annoying having to pluck them every time they grow in.

[@Vaasuuu1050]

Does plucking increase dark hair amount?? Pls reply

[@Nyphur]

Another major cause of randomly appearing hairs that shouldn't be there is hair splinters, where a hair from somewhere else gets embedded in the skin elsewhere. It's more common than you think because of the elastic properties of hair, when a hair that's pulled snaps under tension the end of it can recoil so quickly it penetrates the skin.

[@Straithe]

Thank you for the video.

[@netgnostic1627]

Cool. Now tell us all about skin tags. Why do some people start getting a bunch of them, usually in just one area?

[@skeptigal4626]

Skin tags can be a sign that you have high blood sugar.

[@TheProfessordank]

He said "this course explores the core" that's 🔥

[@MrsBrit1]

I'm blonde with very fine hair, but have always had a few thick, black hairs on my head. Like 10-20x the thickness of my normal hairs. What causes those weirdos?

[@paadoxal]

yeah same, i get random colors and textures of hair on my head sometimes, i tried looking into it and it might be because a hair follicle produces two hairs that connect into one? the reason for that might be what is explained in the video

[@vampbat]

Apparently maybe Androgens.

[@MrsBrit1]

But I started finding them in childhood, like when I was 5.

[@dougfairbanks8055]

Excellent episode....informative & yet I gotta compliment whoever wrote the dialogue!!! I always thought it was only Mr. Hank that threw in the funny bits just when you thought you weren't listening......but we ALWAYS listen!!! Thank you Stefan!!

[@azdaze227]

It wasn't a thick, black hair, it was super thin and blonde even though I have brown hair, but 2 days ago i found a random hair growing out of the middle of my forehead! Halfway between my eyebrows and hairline, just one single, long hair. And then this video comes out

[@iheartcartoons1786]

Thank you for posting this! Searching the internet for this very specific question brought up results that had nothing to do random follicles going from vellum to terminal or just hair care products. lol

[@FrostCraftedMC]

its very funny (and starting to border on creepy) to me that scishow has released a video answering a silly random question i just asked myself a day or 2 ago

[@briansquibb999]

Amazing. Truly amazing. Thank you.

[@rzpogi]

This is one of the episodes that should be sponsored by Manscapes or Keeps.

[@Pasakoye]

This is actually a very informative video.

[@Ashou1]

THANK YOU!!!!!

[@perlamedrano3637]

YES OMG IVE BEEN WONDERING THIS THE LONGEST TIME

[@uss_04]

I feel like we know so much about this because of the hair loss industry trying to figure out how to convert remaining vellus hairs into terminal hairs.

[@Scereyaha]

Okay now what causes some of the tiny white hairs to just grow infinitely long or grow 10 out of the same follicle [all still white]?

[@logenvestfold4143]

This was a topic I was looking up a couple of months ago. I have a random terminal hair on my right upper arm. It's curly like my facial hair.

[@Ozhtube]

Great info thank you!!!

[@SinHurr]

I get the tricolor. Some of my errant hairs are shock white, some are old man grey, and some are strawberry blonde, depending on location.

[@georgeparkins777]

Oh my god, it's been bothering me my entire adult life! I've been a follower but I've never clicked this fast.

[@CaveWomanCuriosity]

I call mine Sebastian. He pops out of my neck freckle every now and then. Good times we’ve had!

[@freshmacarons]

Hairloss video please! Thank you for the awesome content

[@andreask.2675]

Every few month, I have a very very thin hair growing in the middle of my forehead. It is as thin as a single strain of silk. 🤣

[@JCej]

I guess this explains why I get a random dark hair sprouting up on my chin and, now, my upper lip.

[@foxylovelace2679]

Another question I didn't know needed answered.

[@sethnaugle984]

You should do a video about scar tissues promoting hair growth. I have a scar on my left jaw line and I don't really grow facial hair quickly but the scar grows thick dark hairs and quickly. I pluck my tiny side beard.

[@utej.k.bemsel4777]

As a kid i fell on my chin, and since i'm an adult woman there are growing some very thick black hairs!

[@sethnaugle984]

@@utej.k.bemsel4777 now that's just unfair lol what a bad spot. It's crazy how those things get damaged and active. I'm not trying to grow facial hair and my facial hair grows so slowly that I barely ever shave. I have to pluck my side beard every month. I've only shaved my face four times in my life. I'm 30 and I barely have beard hairs on my chin. I think it's the native American in me struggling to grow facial hair but I don't mind.

[@thelifeofhenley2598]

Can you do a video about where the weird, long, thin clear hairs that randomly pop up come from? Lol

[@thisguyithinkdaone]

"Im sorry your wife has terminal hair" "How long does she have left doc" "We dont know but we think its until she is 82"

[@Kartoffelkamm]

I wanted to watch this video the day it came out, but got distracted. At least now I know why I have this one black hair growing on the side of my left wrist.

[@Great_Olaf5]

So how does this apply to already terminal hairs? Every so often I run into a beard or mustache hair that is noticeably darker, stiffer, and thicker than usual.

[@highonquack6622]

Could it be multiple hairs stuck together? Sometimes I'll get multiple hairs sprouting from the same follicle.

[@maryrosekent8223]

I love your goldfish shirt!

[@tiffanymints215]

I have a question specifically about men's body hair. Why is it, that the body hair that men have that would normally be considered vellus hair on a woman is typically longer, thicker, and darker on a man and they usually seem to have much more of it. Is it still considered vellus hair? Or is it terminal hair? I'm very curious about this, because someone I dated not long ago had so much of this longer, thicker, darker body hair that he could have easily been mistaken for a sasquatch.

[@Dan-B]

I didn’t know this was a thing other people even had. I had white blonde hair as a kid, and a reoccurring single jet black hair 😛

[@TheMuffinator3]

I’ve been on testosterone for over five years so I had an idea of how random single hairs high up on my cheek get thick all of a sudden 😏 but just like my older brother, it’s taking a long time for facial hair to fill out despite typical levels of T. Seems like they don’t have anywhere near as many receptors as the hairs on my upper lip and chin!

[@parkershaw3753]

Hey, Stefan, I like your shirt

[@2nd-place]

But what about the SUPER thick ones that have started appearing in my beard as I get older? They’re like 3-4x thicker than other beard hairs and they’re so stout I can feel them in my beard when they start to grow and they can get irritated because they get clogged up sometimes until I pull them. I only have a few but I hate them!

[@gaberylosborne8018]

I've had these hairs! But, the most interesting one popped out of my chin hair, which is 2.5 inches long at most. One day, I found a single, foot long hair that was cozied up in there. Really wonder how it got so long, and how long it took to reach that length!

[@stevezagieboylo9172]

What about my freakishly long gray eyebrow hairs? I'll have no trouble from my eyebrows for a while, then, suddenly, I'll have a 3 cm gray hair dangling in front of my eye. The crazy long ones are always gray, where most of my eyebrows are dark, so there has to be some connection there.

[@fishingfan1500]

After going through extensive chemotherapy and radiation therapy, a lot of my hair migrated down to my chest and stomach. I also have quite a few 'random' thick dark hairs on my shoulders and back which I really don't like. Thank goodness for hair removal cream and razors.

[@mikemeskel]

“Peach fuzz on your arms and back” Clearly you haven’t seen me with my shirt off.

[@HweolRidda]

To be fair, he did immediately qualify the statement.

[@SewardWriter]

The worst part about those lone dark hairs is how sharp they are. They poke, and it itchessssss!

[@sjp8024]

I wonder if the androgens have something to do with random gray beard/moustache hair turning back to brown between the root and halfway point (3-4mm). I thought once they turn gray they were supposed to stay gray. I'm rocking the salt-n-pepper and joke that some of the hairs are just stubbornly clinging to life.

[@becauseimafan]

This happens to me too, but to the hair on my head! I have dark hair with a lot of grey, but some of them will end up being like grey one inch, brown one inch, then grey from the root! Or brown from the root, but still with that clearly defined white segment. It's weird!

[@jakel8627]

This is the 2nd or 3rd time this has happened. I've Googled something, and shortly after Scishow makes a video on the EXACT same topic. They have access to my data and using it make videos. I'm 100% sure of it. Its happened way too many times. I google about single thick hairs about 2-3 weeks ago

[@raymondgilbert7887]

Thank you for the science!

[@Tick421]

I love the things scientist chose to spend their time on❤

[@ThePhysicalReaction]

- random single dark black mustache hair - random single eye brow hair that won't stop growing

[@Razgriz85]

explains the weird hair I found growing in the middle of my forehead last year.

[@userunaemu]

Humans having the same number of hairs as chimps per cm² blew my mind.

[@AdrianT755]

Armpit hairs and other hairs around bodily parts that move also help a LOT with friction!

[@culwin]

So I'm not bald... they are vellus hairs! Thanks, SciShow!

[@gabecornett8185]

I almost thought this was an Onion article but then they really did just answer the question

[@Annaie1234]

I have a random hair on my chin that shows up every couple of months that's super thick but is white. I wonder what's happening there 🤔 I also had what I thought was a pimple one time, popped it and this long black hair fell out, but it had a friend that was deeply rooted and curled around in there as well, had to dig that sucker out with my tweezers. Might be weird but I found it so fun

[@ColinTimmins]

Thanks SciShow for calling me a sweaty animal… it’s true but bruh! lol 😝

[@minerdalta]

It's 3 am and I'm thinking yeah, where do those thick hairs come from?

[@justincraig398]

I just had one like yesterday, in my eyebrow. I just pulled it out easily with my fingers. They usually aren’t too deep or stuck in , they usually come out with minimal effort , which is weird.

[@Billaxle]

I once had a nose hair go randomly terminal in a corkscrew shape. I didn't notice it until it started trying to burrow it's way into the skin on the opposite side of my nose! 😰

[@DrunkenMalkavian]

I've got terminal hair growing on the tip of my nose. I'd do the laser removal thing but I kind of don't want to take away the satisfaction of plucking those.

[@gustavoguti27]

Always wondered about that since a thick black hair appeared on the top of my ear