Shaving, waxing, plucking - many of us spend hours getting rid of body hair.
But this week, singer Miley Cyrus decided to challenge convention and leave her underarms unshaved - perhaps she's onto something, as there may be health benefits to having an ample covering of fuzz.
Here, with the help of experts, we explore why being hairy may be good for you.
Singer Miley Cyrus this week shocked fans with this photo by challenging convention - and leaving her underarms unshaved
HOW BODY HAIR HELPS YOUR SKIN HEAL
Hair anywhere on the body is important for maintaining skin health, explains Des Tobin, a professor of cell biology at the University of Bradford.
'Each hair follicle [the tiny structure that sprouts hairs] is not just producing a hair fibre, but also has masses of blood vessels, nerves and fat around it.'
Hair follicles are also rich in stem cells - cells that never lose the capacity to renew themselves - which help the skin heal.
'If you compared a wound on the outside of a man's arm, where the hair follicles are larger and more numerous, with a wound on the inside of the arm, the one on the outside would heal better, because of the increased stem cells and blood supply, among other factors,' says Professor Tobin.
Similarly, a bald scalp is less able to cope with nicks, cuts and bruising than a hairy one because of the lack of healthy follicles. As we age, follicles shrink and while people who lose hair will still have some stem cells, their healing capacity may be reduced.
The good news is that removing hair through shaving or waxing won't reduce these benefits because the hair follicles are still intact.
... AND PROVIDES SUN PROTECTION
Body hair harks back to our prehistoric ancestors - it was our only garment, keeping us warm and protecting us from environmental impact such as sunlight, explains Nick Lowe, consultant dermatologist from London's Cranley Clinic.
While few of us have dense enough hair to serve this purpose now, someone who's particularly hairy may have an extra degree of sun protection, he says.
Another historic function of body hair was to keep us warm, says Professor Tobin, who is also director of the Centre for Skin Sciences. 'We do know bald heads lose more heat, and that when we're cold, our body hair stands on end to trap warm air closer to the surface of the skin.'
Body hair harks back to our prehistoric ancestors - it was our only garment. Now, experts have revealed the various ways in which being hairy may be good for us - despite our constant attempts to remove it
DON'T PLUCK YOUR NASAL HAIR
Unsightly as they may be, hairs in the nostrils do have a role - to prevent foreign material, such as dust, getting in to the nose and lungs, says George Murty, an ear, nose and throat consultant at University Hospitals of Leicester.
If you want to defuzz your nostrils, trimming might be better to plucking, particularly if you have a cold, adds Mr Murty. 'When you pluck, you're pulling the root out, which leaves a hole in the skin - that's a potential source of infection, so you may want to avoid plucking when there's lots of infections around'.
Surprisingly, the tip of the nose technically has the most dense patch of hair on the body. We're born with all our hair follicles - 5 million of them. As we grow into adults, the hair on our limbs becomes spaced out, but the tip of the nose stays a relatively similar size, explains Professor Tobin.
DOES A HAIRY CHEST IMPLY INTELLIGENCE?
Those who are particularly hairy - such as the actor Tom Selleck (pictured) - may have extra sun protection
An ample chest rug has long been seen as a sign of masculinity and good health in a man. And there may be something in it.
As boys and girls go through puberty, some of the light, unpigmented hair on their bodies - called vellus hair - becomes thicker and darker, under the influence of hormones such as testosterone and its derivative dihydrotestosterone, becoming what is known as terminal hair.
In some mammals, body hair is very important for dispersing odours, such as pheromones - chemicals that can help to attract mates
As men tend to have higher levels of these hormones, they usually have more terminal hair, and in more areas than a woman, such as the face, abdomen and chest.
So when a man has a good smattering of chest hair it could be a sign that he has healthy levels of testosterone, says Nida Chammas, a consultant endocrinologist at BMI The Clementine Churchill Hospital, Harrow.
However, not having much chest hair does not mean a man is unhealthy, she adds - it can be simply down to your genes. Someone with less obvious body hair may have perfectly healthy levels of male hormones, but the receptors in the skin are less responsive to them.
Some research links the hairiness of a man's chest to his intelligence. In the Nineties, Aikarakudy Alias, a U.S. psychiatrist, claimed that hairy chests are more likely to be found among doctors than the general population - he found 45 per cent of male trainee doctors were 'very hairy' compared with less than 10 per cent of men generally.
But Professor Tobin is sceptical, saying unless factors such as race, ethnicity and socio-economic status were ruled out, such findings were meaningless.
Women who use hair removal creams around their bikini line may find they are more prone to thrush
WHY IT PAYS TO STAY AU NATUREL
Another function of hair is it provides a 'slippage zone', preventing chafing in areas where skin surfaces rub against one another.
Ironically, these are often areas where people may be most keen to be hair-free - such as the armpits and bikini area.
'Even the finest hair coverage on the body provides this glide buffer zone,' says Professor Tobin.
'So, some people who shave under their arms find it's uncomfortable to move their arms against the side of their body - like a carpet burn.'
Meanwhile, women who use hair removal creams around their bikini line may find they are more prone to thrush, a common yeast infection that causes itching, irritation and discharge, says Austin Ugwumadu, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at St George's Hospital, London.
'Some people may have allergies to these products. An allergic reaction may then precipitate inflammation which triggers an episode of thrush.'
Repeated hair removal in this area, whatever the method, can sometimes cause a minor infection called folliculitis - disrupting the hair follicle may allow bacteria to get into the hair's root.
'Because there is a high concentration of follicles in this area, and increased sweat (on which bacteria feed), the chances of an infection are higher,' says Mr Ugwumadu.
HAIRY TOES MAY MEAN GOOD CIRCULATION
Losing the hair on the feet - and also the lower leg - can be a symptom of peripheral artery disease
It's rarely considered an attractive feature, but hair on your toes could be a sign that your circulation is in good working order.
Constantinos Kyriakides, a consultant vascular surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust, explains: 'Losing the hair in the feet - and also the lower leg - can be a symptom of peripheral artery disease.'
In this common condition, a build-up of deposits in the leg arteries restricts blood supply to the leg muscles. Patients with it are more likely to have heart disease, too.
Hair follicles need a good blood supply for nutrients and oxygen. 'If you get a blockage in the circulation in the legs, it means less oxygen will reach the bottom of the leg - far away from the heart - so the hair follicles there will suffer the most.'
However, some people simply aren't very hairy on their toes anyway, and they don't need to worry. 'It's only a sign of poor circulation if you had hair there in the first place,' says Mr Kyriakides.
Such hair loss usually happens to people for whom peripheral artery disease is quite advanced - an earlier symptom is pain in the calves when walking.
Leaving underarm hair intact may help disperse the odours that attract us to a potential partne
THINK BEFORE YOU PRUNE YOUR EARS
Hairs in the outer portion of the ear canal prevent dust and other particles from entering the ear. However, excess hair in the ears may collect wax, which can block the ear canal and hamper hearing - so if you are prone to build-ups of ear wax you may want to consider trimming these hairs.
But this may affect your hearing, according to Dr Kewal Krishan, an anthropologist at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. He suggests there are two types of tiny sensory hairs which help transmit sound signals to the brain. Those in the outer ear boost soft sounds and reduce the loud sounds, while those in the inner ear transmit the sound waves to the auditory nerve.
Writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, Dr Krishan suggests very hairy ears could confer better hearing. However, ENT experts are deeply sceptical.
LOVELORN? HAIRY ARMPITS MAY HELP
Another argument for leaving underarm hair intact is that it may help disperse the odours that attract us to a potential partner.
As Professor Tobin says: 'In other mammals, body hair is very important for dispersing odours, such as pheromones - chemicals that can help to attract mates.
'Whether humans have them too is a controversial area, but shaving your underarm hair could mean that odours are not dispersed into the air so quickly.'
PS. GO EASY ON THE FAKE EYELASHES
Good news for bushy-browed Cara Delevingne - the thicker your eyebrows, the better protected your eyes are from sweat and other particles.
Eyelashes, too, are important for keeping dust out of eyes, as well as helping them stay moist. 'They redirect air flow over the eye lid and keep it out of the eyeball, stopping it drying out,' explains Professor Tobin.
However, you don't want eyelashes that are too long. A recent study from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the U.S. found that if they are any longer than a third of the width of your eye, they'll actually increase the air flow around the eye and have a drying effect.
No comments:
Post a Comment