There’s a common myth that hair will grow back thicker if you regularly wax it. This is false!

In truth, the width of each hair shaft is determined by your genetics, and nothing you do to your hair or skin will change the thickness of new hairs. Hair traditionally varies in width between 0.02-0.04 millimeters. Hair density is often related to ethnicity and may be similarly tied to a person’s hair color! For example, redheads tend to have fewer hair follicles on their head at birth, and may also commonly have thinner hair. But whatever hair thickness you’re born with is the thickness you’ll have no matter how much its cut, dyed, permed, washed, treated or removed.

When hair is cut down at the skin’s surface rather than being drawn from the root, it will seem thicker when it begins to grow back in. This is because all you can see is a cross-section from where the hair was broken across the width of the shaft. Even though hair may appear thicker when it’s blunt, your hair will look the same as always once it grows out.

The false appearance of thicker hair growth is associated with practices such as shaving–which necessarily cuts across the middle of the hair–or tweezing and threading, which may break the hair by pulling. However, waxing eliminates the misperception of thicker hair because it’s an efficient, quick way to draw hair out of the follicle without breaking the stem in half or leaving a piece of the hair behind.

At European Wax Center, our Wax Specialists ask guests to allow their hair to grow for two weeks prior to coming in for a wax service. Long hairs are easily and securely gripped by our exclusive, stripless, hard beeswax—ensuring efficient hair removal and eliminating the appearance of thick hair. Unsure about waxing? Come in for a complimentary wax to try our products and services!  We’re certain you’ll return again for all of your waxing needs.