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Plucking Chin Hair: Associated Damage, and the Alternative Methods

By Laura
August 23, 2023
8 minutes
Plucking

Although many women have thin hair, it is thin, fine, and light-colored vellus hair which offers no damage to the confidence of women. However, some grow thick, dark, and long hair on the chin. It could be a few or many and underlines some adrenal gland pathology like cushings syndrome or a hormonal disorder like PCOS

Plucking Chin Hair

Women remove this undesired hair with multiple methods like shaving, tweezing, waxing, and laser hair removal. So here, let us particularly talk about plucking chin hair because it has been the go-to method of dealing with chin hair for women for centuries. Also, let us compare it to other chin hair removal methods to see if it deserves its place in your life. 

Table of Contents:

Part1:What is Chin Hair Plucking?

Chin hair is the outgrown hair just under your chin. You might notice a single hair erupting in this region or it might give way to several stray hair strands. Plucking is the most used method for removing chin hair because it allows a few hair strands to be removed instantly with precision. 

What is Chin Hair Plucking

In plucking, a tweezer is used to hold the hair and then remove it from the roots with a single forceful snap. It eliminates the hair strand when done right making results last for a while. However, it can also break the hair mid-way and stimulate the regrowth of chin hair with blunt ends. 

Part 2: Step-by-Step Guide to Plucking Chin Hair

Here we have a step-by-step guide to the removal of the chin hair by tweezing/plucking to reduce the intensity of adverse effects of plucking. 

step by step guide to plucking chin hair

Step 1: Skin Preparation

To prepare your skin, first of all, use micellar water or toner to remove all cosmetics or other products you have on your face. Then wash it with a gentle cleanser and lukewarm water.

After washing the face, place a warm washcloth over your chin and wait for a few minutes. It will help in opening the pores and making Plucking easier. Then leave your face to air dry. Furthermore, you can use a small amount of talcum powder in this area to absorb all moisture. 

Step 2: Preparation of the Tool

Now take a tweezer. Choose a good tweezer with well-aligned arms and optimally filed tips. Clean the tweezer with an alcohol-based cleaner to remove any microbes and dust particles. It reduces the chances of infection. 

Step 3: The Right Technique 

The right technique starts with choosing the right tool. A tweezer having a slanted straight tip works best for the chin hair. Also, the grip should be good so that it does not slip out of your hands. 

Furthermore, plucking should be done in a well-lit room to ensure precision and safety. 

Step 4: Removal of Chin Hair

Work on the hair one by one. Grab the hair with the tweezer close to its base just above the skin. Hold the hair and not the skin. Then remove it in the direction of hair growth quickly in one go. In this way, hair strands will be pulled out instead of breaking. 

Step 5: Calming the Skin

Once you are done removing all hair strands, wash the face with cold water to soothe your skin. Then apply aloe vera gel to reduce any redness. 

Moreover, if the pain does not go away or the inflammation is severe, apply a cold compress or topical cortisone cream. 

Part3:Is Plucking Chin Hair Bad?

bad or good

Benefits:

Below are all the benefits of using a tweezer to pluck chin hair. These benefits make it the most common method of chin hair removal. 

  • Cheap: All you need for plucking chin hair is a tweezer. A high-quality tweezer can be brought at a cheap price in the market. Also, one durable tweezer can go a long way. 
  • Precise: As there are only a few hair strands in the chin area, they can be precisely removed by plucking each strand separately. 
  • Lasts for a Month or More: If the hair is plucked from the roots, the results can last for 3 to 6 weeks easily. However, if it is broken under the skin, the result lasts for up to 2 weeks.
  • Suitable for All Skin and Hair Types: Plucking works for all skin types and all hair colors. As long as the right technique, and pre-, and post-care measures are used, it can even be done on sensitive skin. 
  • Minimal Equipment Required: In contrast to other methods of hair removal which always need more than 1 product, plucking only requires a tweezer. 

Disadvantages:

is plucking chin hair bad

  • Pain: The pain of pulling each strand of unwanted chin hair separately can be excruciating. And the pain does not subside even after multiple sessions. 
  • Ingrown Hair: If the hair strand is not pulled out completely, it grows inside the top layer of the skin giving rise to ingrown hair which is hard to remove. 
  • Skin Irritation and Inflammation: Skin irritation and inflammation are common side effects of plucking facial hair. It presents in the form of redness, itching, pain, tenderness, and swelling. 
  • Folliculitis: Folliculitis is the infection of hair follicles which occurs if microbes get entry into the skin pores by contact with a tweezer under unsterilized conditions. 
  • Hyperpigmentation: Plucking chin hair causes inflammation and this inflammation leads to post-inflammatory darkness of the skin. 
  • Scarring: Repeated plucking or trying to pluck ingrown hair can lead to scarring in the chin area. 

Part 4: How to Get Rid of Dark Spots on Chin Due to Hair Plucking?

Dark spots are caused because of the post-inflammatory release of melanin in the skin. So, the instant way to relieve dark spots on the chin due to hair plucking is using a hydrocortisone cream that will reduce inflammation and prevent further darkening.

However, if you already have developed stubborn dark spots, use skin exfoliating and brightening agents to increase cellular turnover and even skin tone. So, the products containing mandelic acid, kojic acid, lactic acid, vitamin C, and vitamin A are effective. Also, wear sunscreen to prevent UV damage. 

Part 5 : How to Clear Scarring from Plucking Chin Hair?

Excess plucking, recurrent tweezing, and interfering with the ingrown hair repeatedly can damage the skin and form scars. They can also be caused by infections. So, you have to protect your skin from the sun and also treat the infection. For this, apply a topical antibacterial and steroid cream and wear sunscreen in a liberal amount.

Additionally, use products to nourish and hydrate the skin like aloe vera, green tea, and essential oils with skin healing properties. Additionally, exfoliate the area gently, apply a silicone sheet over it to help it heal, and topical retinoids to clear the scar. 

Part 6: Alternative Methods for Plucking Chin Hair

Below are the alternatives to plucking chin hair. Let us see the pros and cons of plucking. 

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Plucking Vs Shaving Chin Hair

The easiest method for removing facial hair is shaving. 

Plucking Vs Shaving Chin Hair

Method

In shaving, a sharp safety razor with a tilted head is used in small strokes to trim the unwanted in contrast to plucking which pulls the unwanted hair from the roots with the help of a tweezer. 

Along with the hair, it removes the superficial layer of dead skin cells and it is not the case with plucking. Also, shaving is a better choice when the whole chin area is full of hair as compared to plucking which is useful for a few stray hair strands. 

Benefits

Following are the benefits of shaving chin hair and plucking chin hair. 

Shaving  Plucking 
  • Removes all chin hair quickly in a few strokes 
  • No pain at all
  • Pocket-friendly 
  • Beginner-friendly 
  • Leaves the skin intact 
  • Lasts for a month or more
  • Perfect for a few hair strands
  • Minimal requirement of the tools

Side Effects

Below are the side effects of shaving vs. plucking chin hair. 

Shaving  Plucking 
  • Risk of razor cuts 
  • Skin redness and irritation 
  • Blunt hair growing back within a few days
  • Incomplete hair removal causes ingrown hair and bumps on the skin
  • Hyperpigmentation 
  • Inflammation and folliculitis 

Plucking Vs Waxing Chin Hair

Waxing

Another effective method for removing unwanted chin hair is waxing or sugaring. It stands shoulder to shoulder against plucking as it removes the hair from the roots just like plucking chin hair. 

Method

For waxing chin hair, an adhering material is used to stick to the hair strands and remove them from the roots with force. Although soft wax along with waxing strips can be used for chin hair, hard wax works best for chin hair as it is more gentle. 

On the other hand, plucking is the manual removal of the chin hair with the help of a tweezer. Several types of tweezers like straight tweezers can be used but angled tweezers work best for chin hair. 

Benefits

Although very similar, let us see the benefits of both methods of chin hair removal separately here. 

Waxing  Plucking 
  • Lasts for up to 4 weeks
  • Exfoliates the skin as well
  • Relatively less painful 
  • Faster 
  • Lasts up to 6 weeks
  • Precise and accurate 
  • This can be done on sensitive skin
  • 1 tweezer goes a long way

Side Effects

Below are the side effects of both methods of chin hair removal. 

Waxing  Plucking 
  • Skin burns caused by hot wax
  • Does not remove shorter or finer hair precisely 
  • Causes ingrown hair and hyperpigmentation 
  • Time-taking for multiple hair strands
  • More painful
  • Can stimulate the growth of more hair
  • Can cause ingrown hair and hyperpigmentation 

Plucking Vs IPL Chin Hair Removal 

Lastly, we have a long-lasting method of hair removal for you. It is an at-home laser device.

Plucking Vs IPL Chin Hair Removal

Method

IPL hair removal involves shaving the skin to be treated like the chin area and flashing the low wavelength light onto it. This light seeps through the pores to the hair roots and works at the “cause” of unwanted chin hair by annihilating the follicles. Although non-invasive, this hair removal method goes deeper than plucking does. 

In plucking, there is simple removal of unwanted hair on the chin with no measures to eliminate the root of the hair. 

Benefits

Here are the benefits of IPL hair removal for you. 

IPL hair removal  Plucking 
  • Nearly painless
  • Lasts for a long time
  • Economical in the long term
  • Minimal side effects 
  • Gentle on the skin
  • Cheap
  • Easy approachable 
  • No need to protect the eyes 
  • Works on all hair and skin types

Side Effects

Below are the side effects of plucking and IPL hair removal. 

IPL hair removal  Plucking 
  • Heavy on pocket as a one-time payment 
  • Does not work on dark skin and light hair
  • Painful
  • Irritates the skin
  • Causes stubborn scarring 

The Best Method of Chin Hair Removal 

With the methods discussed above, we can be sure that IPL hair removal is the best of all as long as you can afford it. So, we have an affordable IPL hair removal device for you. 

Available at a discount, Ulike Air3 IPL hair removal can help you remove the chin hair completely without being frustrated by such hair growing back over and over again. So, boost your confidence with Ulike Air3. 

Part7: More FAQs for Plucking Chin Hair

Does Plucking Chin Hair Make it Grow More?

Sadly yes, plucking chin hair can make it grow more. Although removing hair from the roots in areas like legs makes the hair grow finer, research reveals that plucking hair from the chin stimulates follicles and causes them to produce dark and thick hair. It can also increase in number.

Will Plucking Chin Hair Stop Growth?

Well, yes and no. Plucking hair will make the hair disappear and it won’t grow back out of the skin for up to 4 weeks. However, it is ultimately going to be back and thicker in some cases as well. So, plucking the chin does not stop growth long-lastingly. 

Conclusion

Chin hair imposes damage to self-confidence and removing the chin hair with the wrong method of hair removal or an inappropriate technique poses a risk to the skin. We talked about plucking chin hair and its side effects with hyperpigmentation and scarring being the most obvious ones. 

So, you should research other methods to remove chin hair that is more gentle on the skin, impose less damage to your skin, and help you boost your confidence with no worries.

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