Here’s Why You Might Want To Leave Your Nose Hair Be
Human beings have gotten more and more obsessed and self-conscious about body hair as the decades have rolled on.
It’s strange to think about when you consider that the first people likely had little time or inclination to worry about changing the way their bodies grew and matured in a natural state.
Now, people tend to want less body hair if possible, and many men wax or pluck their nose hair. But, as with all of the hair on our bodies, it is there for a reason – so you might want to think twice.
It’s long been thought that the hairs are there to help catch viruses and bacteria that could get us sick. Two doctors first wrote about the idea in 1896.
“The interior of the great majority of normal nasal cavities is perfectly aseptic (sterile). On the other hand, the vestibules of the nares (nostrils) the vibrissae lining them, and all crusts formed there are generally swarming with bacteria. These two facts seem to demonstrate that the vibrissae act as a filter and that a large number of microbes meet their fate in the moist meshes of the hair which fringes the vestibule.”
A study in 2011 did manage to find that people with less nose hair are more likely develop asthma.
“Our findings suggest that the amount of nasal hair providing a nose filtration function has a protective effect on the risk of developing asthma in seasonal rhinitis patients, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on this subject in the literature.”
Other studies, though, suggest that trimming your nose hair can help improve airflow. And while this sounds like it would be a good thing across the board, the truth is that it is also a clear path for microbes to enter your respiratory tract.
Dr. Nicole Aaronson says that another reason to leave it be is that plucking or waxing can result in abscesses that need to be drained.
Which, ew.
“An ingrown hair occurs after a hair is removed when the new hair that regenerates from the follicle can’t break through the skin. Because waxing pulls out the hair by the roots, the hair must find its way out through the outer layer of the skin again (unlike other hair removal methods where the hair is left at the skin’s surface.”
Also, while we’re not exactly sure how many viruses and bacteria are caught in the hairs, inhaling particles will typically trigger a sneeze, which expels foreign bodies instead of letting them through.
In sum, Dr. Don J. Beasly and others agree that trimming should be your go-to method for trimming your nose weeds.
“Nose hairs trap moisture from exhaled air, preventing the nasal passages from becoming too dry. This moisture helps to humidify the air we breathe, making it more comfortable for our respiratory system.”
Leave it be, y’all.
Find someone who loves you for you, brambly body hair and all.
If you found that story interesting, learn more about why people often wake up around 3 AM and keep doing it for life.

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