The nose is a passageway to the stomach and more importantly, it is the point of entry for air going into the lungs. The entrance of the nose is protected by nose hairs acting like a protective layer by filtering allergens, dust, and various micro-particles that would have otherwise entered the lungs.
Getting rid of nose hair by cutting or plucking may remove the protection that nose hair confers on your body, including irritation, in-grown hairs, and infections. In this post, we will be talking about eliminating nose hair; you’ll understand the pros and cons and also learn how to remove excess nose hairs properly.
Can Your Nose Hair Regrow By Itself?
Yes, nose hair can grow back, and it will take a period between one week to three weeks for your nose hair to regrow. The nose contains a lot of blood vessels that will aid the regrowth of your nose hair.
Other factors that may affect the timing are the method used in the removal, body hormones, and your overall state of health.
Why Must There Be Hair In Your Nose?
The hair on various parts of the body performs different functions. Yes, nose hair may be unsightly and annoying, but its absence means that particles which are supposed to be filtered would be inhaled together with the air you breathe. Nose hair performs the duty of a sentinel at the first gate of entry to your lungs.
Should You Have Long Nose Hair?
Long Nose hair can be beneficial to some people, and to others, it might confer no added benefits. Long means a greater surface area; long and denser nose hair means harmful particles and bacteria will be trapped to block their entry into your inner airways. This is how things should be, and your lungs will thank you for letting your nose hair stay.
This is why people with a sensitive nose, asthma, allergies, or rhinitis are better off keeping long nasal hairs despite their unsightliness. However, for people who are free of such drawbacks, long nose hair will not offer any more protection than shorter nose hair does.
When Long Nose Hair Becomes Irritating
Two disadvantages are associated with long nose hair: Nose hair is a 2-way filter; when you breathe in, it filters the air. How about when you breathe out, or you sneeze? It obstructs the free passage of the air and the sneeze particles you want to expel.
When long nose hair blocks the particles, they may build up and become annoying and create more problems than they were meant to solve right in the first place.
The second disadvantage is long nose hair doesn’t respect the size of your nose. It could rub and tickle your nostrils in a way that makes it necessary to wipe and pinch your nose continuously. Males can relate to this more than females.
The urge to give repeated attention to your nose can be embarrassing when you are in the midst of people that generally consider it bad manners. And oh, snorting the nose repeatedly is associated with people that snort the wrong things up their nasal passageway.
The argument for nose hair removal
Should you get rid of yours? If your nose hair is not sticking out and announcing its presence to the world, there is no cosmetic or medical reason to remove it. You need to forget the tweezer; you should use a trimmer to reduce long nose hair without causing any harm.
Excessive plucking of nose hair will lead to adverse complications; let’s talk about the difficulties you’re going to experience from plucking your nose hair.
In-grown hair
The complication occurs after hair removal, where an ingrown hair that was previously removed had a U-turn and then will grow inward, embedding itself into the follicle.
The usual locations are body parts that experience frequent hair removals. These include; armpits, face, and groin. The symptoms of ingrown hair are:
- The appearance of a bump that looks like a pimple.
- The affected area becomes tender.
- Irritation, which may be mild or severe.
- Pain; that may be dull or stinging.
An ingrown hair will likely heal by itself, but you may need to consult a doctor if it becomes chronic and doesn’t at the appropriate time.
Nasal vestibulitis
The interior area of the external protrusion of the nose is known as the nasal vestibule, and when this area gets infected, it is known as nasal vestibulitis.
It’s a progression infection of staph; This is a situation where the bacterium staphylococcus intrudes into a wound within your nose. Other minor injuries may result in this or similar infection; they’re the ones considered to be harmless. They include:
- Repeated plucking of nose hairs.
- You are using your fingers to pick your nose.
- A cosmetic or decorative nose piercing.
- Intensive nose blowing.
Symptoms are:
- Redness within and surrounding your nostril.
- The base of nose hair having a pimple-like bump.
- Bacteria buildup may form crusts circling your nostril.
- Painful nose.
- Your nose may develop boils or pimples.
A 2017 review from Trusted Source with 118 participants concluded that the possibility of infection of nasal vestibulitis developing into major complications is extremely low.
Minor cases can be treated with common non-prescription antibiotic creams like Bacitracin. Severe infections resulting in the formation of boils on any part of your face may require you to visit your doctor for examination and prescription of an alternative antibiotic like Bactroban.
Nasal furunculosis
This is a notable deeper infection of one or more hair follicles located within your nose. It is common in people afflicted with immunodeficiency. Nasal furunculosis typically manifests with pain, tenderness, redness, and swelling.
Rarely, nasal furunculosis may progress to more severe complications; the following complications may appear if the infection contacts blood vessels conveying blood to the brain.
- Cavernous sinus thrombosis; It is the formation of blood clots located in the brain just behind the eyeballs.
- Cellulitis; it’s the occurrence of a bacterial infection targeting both the skin plus the underlying tissues.
- Acute bacterial meningitis may cause inflammation of the tissue covering your brain and extend to the spinal cord.
Greater risk of asthma developing from allergies
When you remove many hairs, you compromise nose hair’s protection on your throat and lungs. This may lead to an increased risk of developing asthma in some people.
In 2011, a study examined the relationship between the density of nasal hair and asthma developing in people that have seasonal allergies. The participants involved are 233 and were divided into 3 groups; they’re selected according to the quantity of their nose hair;
- Minimal or no hair
- Moderate hairs
- Lots of hairs
The research showed that participants with minimal or no nose hair had a substantially increased risk of developing asthma compared to participants with long nose hair.
When you look at the complications, you can see how removing nose hair isn’t advisable unless it’s causing your troubles. If that’s the case, cutting and plucking isn’t the solution, and you should trim safely.
Does Nose Hair Grow Back? (Removing Nose Hair Safely)
Trimming is the best way to cut nose hair safely; you need to follow precautions if you want things to go smoothly. Let’s share the steps you need to follow when trimming your nose hair;
Step 1: Sterilize Your Scissors Or A Battery-Powered Trimmer Head
You should use an antiseptic solution to sterilize and clean the nose hair scissors or the trimmer head when new and before using it every time.
Step 2: Preparations Before Trimming Your Nose
Blow any particle or snot out of both nostrils; you may use a small quantity of warm water to moisten your nostril and clean it gently. If you have a cold, flu, or any ailment that affects your nose, do not trim your nose until you fully recover.
Step 3. Two Mirrors Are Better Than One
In addition to a room with sufficient light, you will need a mirror mounted on a wall or a stand that permits you to observe the interior of your nose. An additional hand-held mirror to precisely control the position of your trimmer will be necessary.
It is not unusual for some nose hair to get tangled in the blades of your trimmer; a hand-held mirror will help untangle hair painlessly.
Step 4: Begin The Trimming Of The Nose Hair
The more nose hair you remove, the longer it takes for it to regrow. Don’t remove nose hair so much that you lose its protective functions. The best practice is to trim only the noticeable overgrown hair.
FAQs
Can I Simply Remove All My Nose Hair?
No. Removing all or too much of your nose hair will leave you unprotected from air-borne particles and bacteria that may harm you.
If I Trim My Nose Hair, How Long Will It Take To Grow Back?
You can expect your nose hair to regrow within 1-3 weeks, or it can be a little longer than that.