Can Plucking Make Your Facial Hair Worse: The Science Behind It!
It seems like a quick fix: you spot an unwanted hair, grab the tweezers, and pluck it out. Gone — for now. But have you ever noticed that over time, plucked hairs seem to grow back thicker, darker, or more numerous?
You’re not imagining it. And science is starting to explain why.
At Liberation Electrolysis, this is one of the most common concerns we hear — especially from women dealing with hormonal hair growth on the chin, upper lip, or jawline. Let’s break down what’s actually happening beneath the surface when you pluck.
Plucking Isn’t Neutral — It’s a Micro-Injury
Each time you pluck a hair, you’re physically yanking it from the follicle, damaging the tiny structure it grows from. This may disrupt:
The secondary hair germ (a key group of cells that kick off new growth),
The surrounding tissue,
And even trigger local inflammation.
So instead of solving the problem, plucking sends a “damage signal” that kicks the follicle into repair mode.
What the Hair Follicle Does Next
A study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (Botchkareva et al., 2006) explains how the follicle naturally goes through a cycle of growth (anagen), regression (catagen), rest (telogen), and shedding (exogen). The regression phase — catagen — is driven by apoptosis, or programmed cell death, which helps remodel the follicle and prepare it for the next cycle.
But here’s the catch: many important cells survive catagen, including:
Stem cells in the bulge,
Fibroblasts in the dermal papilla, and
The secondary hair germ.
These surviving cells are exactly what enable the follicle to start growing a new hair — again and again. When you pluck, you don’t destroy these cells. You just stimulate them. And they often come back stronger.
The Wild Mouse Study That Proved It
In 2015, a groundbreaking study published in Cell (and later summarised in Scientific American) showed something fascinating: when researchers plucked 200 hairs from a small patch of skin on a mouse (who was sleeping, don’t worry no mice were harmed), more than double that amount grew back — including in areas that weren’t plucked at all.
Why? The researchers discovered that the skin used a type of “quorum sensing” — a biological communication system where nearby follicles sensed the injury, rallied immune signals, and activated surrounding dormant follicles to replace what was lost.
The result? More hairs. Not fewer.
While this study was done in mice, it offers a compelling explanation for what many women experience: repeated plucking leads to thicker, darker regrowth — especially in hormone-sensitive areas.
Why Electrolysis Works Differently
Electrolysis doesn’t stimulate — it destroys.
Using a tiny probe, we deliver a burst of heat or chemical reaction directly into the follicle to permanently destroy the cells responsible for growth — including:
The bulb (which produces the hair),
The bulge (which houses stem cells), and
The secondary hair germ (which initiates new growth).
Unlike plucking or laser, electrolysis targets even light or fine hairs and prevents them from regenerating — for good.
The Takeaway
Plucking may feel like control — but biologically, it often makes things worse.
If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of plucking, it’s not your fault. It’s what we’ve been told to do. But if you’re ready to get off that hamster wheel and actually solve the problem, electrolysis is the gold standard — especially for stubborn, hormonal facial hair.
Want to learn more? Book a free consultation and let’s talk about your goals, your skin, and how we can stop the cycle — permanently.
References:
Botchkareva NV, Ahluwalia G, Shander D. Apoptosis in the Hair Follicle. J Invest Dermatol. 2006.
Plucking Hairs Can Make More Grow Back. Scientific American. 2015. (Summary of article by Chen et al., Cell, 2015)
