Skin Care News

Nose hair, ear hair, ewe!

I realise I may seem a little obsessive on the theme of hair in strange places but it's only because I have to pluck my nose and shave my ears... and I bet George Clooney does too! Actually, he probably has someone to do it for him. Anyway, the truth is out... Q. Why do the elderly often suffer from excess nose and ear hair? A. "Nose and ear hair is a typically male-hormone-dependent type of hair," said Dr. Vera Price, a professor in the department of dermatology at the University of California at San Francisco, "and certainly there is less opposition by female hormones like estrogen as we age, which is probably why the hair is longer." Each sex has both male and female hormones, Dr. Price explained, but the balance changes with age. The increase in nose and ear hair may be noticed more by women than by men, she suggested, because "many men have had noticeable nasal and ear hair all their adult lives," owing to a plentiful supply of androgens. In a related change in many aging women as estrogen levels drop, "nature gives us two hairs on the chin as we lose one on the top," Dr. Price said. The increase in ear and nose hair is a "totally benign and very common change," she said, so it is not well studied. She suggested cutting the unwanted hair with manicure scissors, preferably with rounded ends, or using a battery-operated hair trimmer made for the purpose.