So my wife and I gave our (7yo) son a good haircut yesterday. I don't know if it's unique to him, or to all black people, but he has soft hair on his forehead (which we shaved off). Meanwhile, we've been told by literally everyone that if we shave it, it will grow back faster/coarser/thicker/green/etc. But he looks about a thousand times better with a nice clean shave, and I can't find anything to corroborate any of the facial doom theories.

Help, anyone?

Shaving does not cause hair to grow faster/thicker/etc. That's an old wive's tale that has been around for centuries.

I have a good friend who is a hairstylist, and she says it's bull.

Shave on.

Myth.

green?

Nair.

i think i have a basis on the 'grows back thicker' bit ... when a new hair grows out, it starts out thin and lighter-color, and over time thickens and darkens as the hair root matures. shaving, it just lops off the thinner top of the hair. i've noticed this somewhat, after alternatively shaving my legs, and epilating them.

however, i do not recommend epilating your baby. and i do not recommend putting a sharp razor to your baby, as well ...

side note: some sources that it's the epilating that'll make hair grow back thicker or courser, as when the hair root is ripped out, the pore fills with blood, and the hormones in the blood could affect how the hair grows back in. from my experience, this is inconclusive yet.

smartass chicken away!

Epilating always seems to result in finer hair--but that falls under the same explanation.

As a balding young man... I've been praying that shaving, makes the hair grow back faster/coarser/thicker, or you know, at all.

I'd even take green...

I got my hair done and brows waxed by a new salon in town. They waxed BETWEEN my brows and said it will result in a cleaner look, even though I don't have a unibrow by ANY stretch of the imagination.

I will be pissed if it grows in and I look like Helga from Hey Arnold.

This am.

TM, your forhead is safe. I've been getting my brows done since I was 10 and it has actually resulted in the death of LOTS of the hair folicles in my forehead. It has actually killed so many folicles that I couldn't grow a unibrow anymore if I HAD to.
Hooray!

So, not only does it NOT cause your hair to grow back darker/thicker/more course, it actually can not grow back at all.

::catcall::

Thank GAWD.

I really like the arch, I am naturally blonde and my brows are sparse anyways, but it does really lift your face a bit to have them done. I like the look.

Was afraid I had one as she was waxing where wax has never been on my head....Thought I may have one to begin with.

Could be worse, I suppose!

Where'd ya get a pix of my sister from??!!

You are soo mean.

I remember learning in biology that shaving can make hair grow back faster since the act of shaving stimulates hair follicles, but my bio prof was a bit of a tool so I'm not sure if it's true or not. It makes sense to me, at least.