14 Oddly Bizarre Facts You Never Knew About Body Hair

Hair, hair, everywhere.

1. Microscopic mites live in your eyelashes and eat your skin cells.

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Demodex can be found on not only your lashes, but also the follicles on your face (nose, forehead, etc.). They thrive off eating your skin cells and skin oils near your hair follicles.

"Everyone has them on their skin," Dr. Michele Green, board-certified dermatologist, told BuzzFeed. "They’re normal. Some people will have more than others, and some people can contract rosacea from them."

2. Always wearing your hair in a tight ponytail or braids can cause female pattern baldness.

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"It's called traction alopecia," says Green. "It results from pulling your hair back, and the hair that gets pulled out may or may not grow back." The prolonged tension can weaken hair follicles and cause hair loss. So take it easy on the hair ties!

3. Body hair typically regrows in 1-2 weeks after plucking or waxing.

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Although it may feel like that pesky stubble grows back immediately, it actually takes some time. "It depends on the area, but typically one to two weeks," explains Green.

4. Pubic hair shaving sends lots of people to the E.R.

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Razor-related incidents are the most common cause of pubic hair grooming injury, according to a study of E.R. cases from 2002-2010. And the most common site was external female genitalia. Ouch.

5. The world's longest chest hair is 9.25 inches long.

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6. With the exception of bone marrow, your hair is the fastest growing tissue on your body.

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So it's not too surprising that the hair removal market in the U.S. is over $1 billion.

7. It's controversial as to whether your hair *actually* continues to grow after you die.

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"Some people will say yes, it does continue to grow. Not like an inch or anything, but a little bit," says Green. "Others will say that it's because the body's dehydrated, which gives the appearance of growth."

8. Trichotillomania is the name for the disorder that causes people to pull out their own body hair.

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It's estimated to affect 2-4% of the population, and about 80-90% of those cases are in women, according to the Trichotillomania Learning Center.

9. The purpose of eyebrow hair is to prevent sweat and oils from running into your eyes.

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Imagine how ~unfleek~ your face would be without them.

10. There is an unidentified disease that causes fingernails to grow out of hair follicles instead of hair.

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It's extremely rare, but for Shanya Isom it's a reality. After taking steroids for a terrible asthma attack, her doctors found that her hair follicles began producing nails instead of hair.

11. Boob hair on women's nipples is way more common than you think.

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Green told BuzzFeed that it's not uncommon to have a few strands that grow there. But if it makes you self-conscious, it's totally safe to tweeze them away!

12. Body hair has a VERY short lifespan compared to the hair on your head.

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Scalp hair stays in the anagen phase (or the growth phase) for 2-6 years, while body hair only stays in the active growth phase for about 30-45 days.

13. If we didn't have nose hairs, we'd probably be susceptible to getting sick WAY more often.

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Green told BuzzFeed that we'd probably be more susceptible to gross particles that could enter our lungs. Nose hairs block that. Similarly, reduction in nose hairs make it easier for allergens to enter our body.

14. Hypertrichosis is the name for extremely excessive hair growth on any part of the body.

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