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Snipped from BMJ.com.
Are you ever standing around and happen upon a conversation where people are perpetuating inane myths, urban legends or folk tales as true. It gets you off your rocker, doesn’t it? Well, here is a list of some medical myths, and the science to back up why it is, and always will be, a myth.
Here is one of the myths in the linked article:
Shaving hair causes it to grow back faster, darker, or coarser.
Another common belief is that shaving hair off will cause it to grow back in a darker or coarser form or to grow back faster. It is often reinforced by popular media sourcesw27 and perhaps by people contemplating the quick appearance of stubble on their own body.
Strong scientific evidence disproves these claims. As early as 1928, a clinical trial showed that shaving had no effect on hair growth.w28 More recent studies confirm that shaving does not affect the thickness or rate of hair regrowth.w29 w30 In addition, shaving removes the dead portion of hair, not the living section lying below the skin’s surface, so it is unlikely to affect the rate or type of growth.w26 Shaved hair lacks the finer taper seen at the ends of unshaven hair, giving an impression of coarseness.w31 Similarly, the new hair has not yet been lightened by the sun or other chemical exposures, resulting in an appearance that seems darker than existing hair.
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