We all (okay, at least some of us) remember that feeling we had when we first saw it: that first gray strand of hair boldly claiming its' place amidst all the other nice normal hair on our head. Chances are, you grabbed the nearest pair of tweezers and plucked that gray intruder out as fast as possible.
Or just pulled it out with your bare hands.
But wait a minute. What about the old wives tale that plucking one gray hair will lead to even more gray hairs growing in even faster?
Is this just a myth, or is there some truth to the theory?
Today.com spoke with cosmetic scientist Randy Schueller about this crucial question. And his answer?
Basically, it is fine to pluck or pull those gray hairs. It is not going to do much difference either way.
The uninvited strand of hair will be gone, but only temporarily. Another one will soon appear in the same place. This is because the follicle (the little tube beneath the skin that produces the hair) is still alive and will simply send in reinforcements as needed.
So there is that.
As for the myth that plucking gray hairs will make more gray hairs grow in even faster, Schueller says that that is not true either.
Apparently one follicle's situation does nothing to neighboring follicles. They each do their own thing in their own time, in other words.
There is one word of caution here.
If you become overly-obsessed with your tweezers and gray hair, you could potentially damage the follicle to the point where it will no longer grow any hair at all, warns Schueller. Yikes!
So there we have it. Pull out any unwelcome gray hair if you so choose. Just be be careful to not over-pluck.
There is another option worth considering too.
Simply embrace the gray and show off your sexy confidence.