Have you ever had a conversation with someone and not understood a word they were saying because you were too distracted by their protruding, untrimmed nose hair? Some people go all-natural even when it comes to their nose hair. Visible body hair is becoming more acceptable, but the majority of us still trim particular areas of our bodies -- which includes our nose hair. There are even electronic nose trimmers these days to make it easier to trim those protruding conversation killers. But what if we told you that trimming your nose hair is actually not good for you? Here's the truth about why you should never pluck your nose hair.
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00:00While visible body hair is increasingly becoming socially acceptable for all,
00:04prominent nose hair is something that everyone might be tempted to remove,
00:08and we can't really blame them. Nose hair can be unsightly and can grow thicker and
00:12more prominent as people age, leaving even those who may have let nose hair
00:16grow freely in their younger years wanting to remove it.
00:20Oh, I can smell the universe."
00:23Should they, though? Nose hair actually has a pretty specific purpose.
00:27This is about to get a little technical, so bear with us.
00:31It turns out that you actually have two kinds of nose hair. First, there are the vibrisi,
00:37a.k.a. the visible nose hairs that are oh-so-tempting to yank out of your nostrils.
00:43Then you have smaller hairs, the microscopic cilia. These hairs filter mucus through to
00:49the back of your nose where it eventually goes to your stomach.
00:52So what's so bad about plucking nose hairs? While it may not seem like it,
00:56your nose is actually guarding passageways to other parts of your body.
00:59If you mess with that passageway, you risk putting your entire body in danger.
01:04Think of the vibrisi as the first line of defense when it comes to nose health.
01:10Those nose hairs keep germs and particles from sliding down to your stomach along
01:14with all that mucus. Plucking your nose hairs, however, opens the door to infection,
01:18because when the hair follicles are pulled out, it leaves room for the germs to get in.
01:22Once an infection hits your nose, it could potentially be passed on to your brain,
01:27since the veins that carry blood from your nose connect to the veins that carry blood
01:31from your brain. In severe cases, this spread of infection could lead to meningitis or brain abscess.
01:38While those outcomes might seem extreme, a lack of nose hair could also lead to sinusitis and
01:43allergy attacks. This means that if you're already susceptible to respiratory problems,
01:48you have even more of a reason to let those nose hairs grow.
01:51Even if you don't get an infection, plucking those nose hairs could still lead to uncomfortable
01:56ingrown hairs and damaged mucus membranes inside the nose. Plucking your nose hair with tweezers
02:01is bad enough, but even worse than doing that is using your fingers to get rid of unwanted nose
02:06hair. When you use your fingers to pluck your nose hairs, you aren't just opening your nose
02:10up to potential infection, but introducing a whole host of germs to your nostrils.
02:15You're also more likely to break the skin of your nose this way. Dr. Barry Cohen told Dollar
02:20Shave Club,
02:21"...a break in the skin from removing nose hairs can cause overgrowth and a local cellulitis which
02:27can spread and become sepsis."
02:29Stop ripping nose hair out with your fingers! Assuming you've heard all this and still insist
02:35on grooming your nose hair, there are much, much safer options than digging in your nostrils with
02:40your dirty fingers or with a pair of tweezers. If you absolutely must do something about your
02:44nose hair, consider trimming it with scissors designed for the task. To be completely safe,
02:49you'll want to invest in the right equipment. Scissors with sharp tips are not a good fit here
02:54for obvious reasons. Go with a round tip for the safest trim. It's also best to remove your excess
03:00nose hair in a well-lit area with the help of a magnifying mirror. Before starting, make sure
03:04you've cleaned your nose and the scissors. Electric nose trimmers are another viable
03:10option. Just make sure that you're focusing on excess nose hair. If you limit your nose
03:14hair removal to just the overgrowth and make sure to leave most of the hair in place,
03:18you can keep your nose groomed and healthy.