When you’re talking about the worst pain out there, pulling hair out (anywhere on your body) isn’t going to be anywhere near the top of the list.

If you’re talking about immediate pain, though, science says there isn’t much that could feel worst in the moment.

The explanation lies in how quickly pain from hair follicles is transmitted to the brain.

New neuroscience research actually shows that the pain signals triggered from pulled hair are some of the fastest-moving ever observed.

The study found some people willing to have their hair pulled with a varying amount of force and split them into three groups. One group received no treatment and were genetically normal. A second group had some key nerve fibers, called Aβ fibers, blocked. And a third group was born with a condition called PIEZO2 deficiency syndrome.

This is a rare genetic condition that causes the gene encoding in the PIEZO2 protein to lose its usual function, typically resulting in stiff or frozen joints throughout the body.

PIEZO2 is also involved in touch perception, and although it wasn’t previously associated with transmitting pain signals, this study found the people with the syndrome didn’t feel as much pain after having their hair pulled.

The pain from hair-pulling differs from other pain in how it travels to the brain, moving exclusively along Aβ fibers. They know this because the participants with those fibers blocked felt no pain from the pull at all.

Aβ fibers are much faster at carrying signals than other nerve fibers, and typically, they do not carry pain signals to the brain.

This means that you aren’t kidding when you say pulling your hair hurts more than say, a pinprick. The signals are traveling toward your brain about nearly 100 mph.

People do, of course, have differing pain tolerances and the human brain has ways of numbing itself to certain pain when mental health conditions are involved.

For now, go ahead and feel vindicated.

Having someone pull your hair really does hurt more than you’d think.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.