Why Does Hair Grow on My Ears? - Appalachian Spring Dermatology

Why does hair grow on my ears? And not on my head?

Almost daily in my practice, someone laments about hair on their ears. As we age, so many lovely things happen. Hairs stop growing in places they’ve always grown, like our scalp and start growing in new undesirable places like our nose and ears. Why? We don’t know all the answers to these questions, but I’ll tell you what I know.

First, we have two kinds of hairs that grow on the body – vellus and terminal. We have tons of blond hairs called vellus hairs all over our bodies. Vellus hairs are present at birth everywhere from our ears to the tip of our nose. Under hormonal control, some of these vellus hairs convert to thicker darker terminal hairs as we grow and develop. Terminal hairs are the type on the scalp. What happens as we age is that vellus hairs convert into terminal hairs in some undesirable places. But that’s not all. There are tons of changes in hair as we age.

Men. In puberty, vellus hairs convert to terminal hairs in the axillae, pubic, beard, and chest area. For those less fortunate, the back gets tons of terminal hairs a well. Moving into the forties and fifties, most men have a significant number of terminal hair on their forearms and legs. Later in life, body hair and scalp hair converts back into vellus hairs, and ear and nose hair takes on new life as terminal hairs.

Women. In puberty, vellus hairs convert to terminal hairs in the axilla, pubic area, and legs. Moving into the fifties, vellus hairs on the cheeks tend to grow a lot but don’t usually turn into terminal hairs. Terminal hair growth on the chest and back is only seen with hormonal abnormalities in women. The dreaded ear and nose hairs are much less common in women. Let’s not forget one positive aspect of aging. As women age, hairs in the axilla and on the legs convert back to vellus hairs.

Isn’t our body amazing! All these changes occur as part of the normal aging process as our hormones change. In general, we have more terminal hairs with more testosterone, but no one really knows how it all exactly happens yet.

What can you do about it?

Laser Hair Reduction.  To learn more about Laser Hair Reduction, check out our website. Laser works well for ear hair as long as it is darkly colored. If the hair is gray or white, it won’t work. It does take multiple treatments. Treatments are scheduled 6-12 weeks apart, enough time to allow a new group of hairs to grow. It can require 6 treatments to effectively remove the hair in a given area, but patients see noticeable results after just one treatment.

Shaving, Tweezing, and Waxing. These methods involve mechanical destruction or removal of the actively growing hair. Many people find that a rotary nose hair trimmer works well for the ears.

Hair Removal with Depilatories. Depilatories use a chemical called thioglycolate mixed with sodium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide to melt the hair away literally. Thioglycolate disrupts disulfide bonds, which are chemical bonds that hold skin and hair cells together. The major side effect of a depilatory is skin irritation because the chemical can melt away skin cells. A depilatory is applied to the area with unwanted hair and left on for 3 to 15 minutes. During this time, the chemical dissolves the hair and the resulting jelly-like substance is wiped or washed off after the appropriate time. The chemical should be tested first on a small skin area at least 48 hours before applying it to a large area. Applying a hydrocortisone cream after hair removal may help decrease irritation. Just don’t get it in the ear canal. I have found Surgicream to be the most gentle and well-tolerated.

Vaniqa.  Vaniqa helps slow hair growth and helps convert terminal hairs back to vellus hairs, so it is a great choice for the ears. Vaniqa is a prescription-only topical cream that has been FDA-approved for reducing and inhibiting the growth of unwanted facial hair. The active ingredient is eflornithine hydrochloride, which has been used to treat African sleeping sickness and certain cancers. Vaniqa works by inhibiting an enzyme that is needed for cell reproduction and other cell functions necessary for hair growth. Vaniqa is applied twice a day to areas of unwanted facial hair. Noticeable results are usually observed after 4-8 weeks of therapy. The application must be continued for as long as inhibition of hair growth is desired. Vaniqa continues to reduce facial hair growth for up to 8 weeks after discontinuing treatment. Vaniqa works on both terminal and vellus hairs. Vaniqa is usually not covered by insurance and costs about one dollar a day for use for the face.

Hope these tips help! As we all are getting older, we will all be seeing these changes in the future!

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