Why Hair Grows from Your Nipples and Other Inconvenient Places

Why Hair Grows from Your Nipples and Other Inconvenient Places



One day you’re lotioning up after a shower, and then you see it: a hair. Right there. On your nipple. There’s no reason to freak, though. “Our body has hair follicles and oil glands all over, including around the nipples, so there is always the potential for hair growth,” says Lance Brown, M.D., a New York dermatologist. Of the approximately 50 million hair follicles covering your body, only one-fifth of them are located on your scalp, which leaves plenty of other places for random strands to pop up.

The Most Common Places You'll Find Body Hair

In addition to your nipples, your ear lobes, chin, and belly button are three other areas that it’s pretty common for hair to sprout from. When it comes your nipples, hair generally pops up on or right outside of the areola. On your ears, we’re not talking about an old-man forest growing, but you may find a solitary coarse hair on your lobe fighting with your earring for attention. On your abdomen, you may find yourself with a more pronounced patch of hair from your navel to your pubes or a few random hairs around your belly button. Your chin, meanwhile, is one of the most common places to find stragglers.