Brow Beaten asks…I tweeze my own eye brows and I notice that almost every time  I tweeze I start to sneeze. My sister says I’m just imagining it and it doesn’t happen all the time but I thought maybe you could find out.

The Left Brain responds:

Dear Brow Beaten, your “tweeze and sneeze” problem is a new question that I’ve never heard. I wasn’t able to find any documentation in the technical literature to confirm this effect is real but I can think of two possible mechanisms that could explain what’s happening to you.

Tweeze and sneeze

First, the act of pulling hairs out of your brows could be agitating the follicle and triggering a histamine response. Histamines are chemicals in your body that are released in response to certain injuries. They increase blood vessel permeability which in turn allows fluid to escape. This reaction leads to a runny nose and watery eyes, and potentially a sneeze.

Another possibility is that the tweezing is causing your eyes to tear up. When this happens, some of the tears may not be making it all they way out of the tear ducts and they may be draining back down the lacrimal canal inside your nose. This drainage could be “tickling” the cells inside the nasal cavity and causing a sneeze.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Either way, you don’t sound crazy to us. Tell your sister there may be a plausible scientific reason for what your experiencing.

Image credit: Tamikoadyms.blogspot.com

Have YOU ever sneezed from tweezing? Leave a comment and help save Brow Beaten’s sanity.

Noa needs to know…I’m using a Biotin shampoo that was recommended by a dermatologist,but i’ve read that the Biotin isn’t absorbed by the skin,so…can this shampoo really benefit my hair?

The Right Brain responds:

Biotin, also known as vitamin H, is necessary for healthy hair growth. Studies have shown that lack of Biotin sources in your diet can cause hair loss and skin conditions. However, such deficiencies are rather rare and can be easily corrected with supplements and proper diet. Topically applied Biotin, like the shampoo you mentioned, will not help your hair grow.

Dermatologist recommended

Why then, would a dermatologist recommend a Biotin shampoo? It’s impossible to say for sure without more details from you and your dermatologist and without knowing the ingredients used in the specific Biotin shampoo that was recommended, but as usual, we can make a few educated guesses:

• You might have told your dermatologist that you were experiencing a lot of hair breakage and asked for a recommendation, he or she could be recommending a specific shampoo because it’s more conditioning and would therefore help alleviate breakage caused by brusng and combing.
• If you told your doctor you were concerned about scalp irritation, too, then he or she might have recommended a Biotin shampoo that used a milder surfactant blend and just coincidentally contained Biotin.
• Hopefully this is a false possibility, but your doctor could be misinformed and actually believes topical Biotin will help your hair grow.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Regardless of the reason, there’s no downside to trying the Biotin shampoo unless it’s too expensive. And you should always take your doctors medical advice seriously.  But when the question is about cosmetic ingredients, feel free to get a second opinion from The Beauty Brains!

Reference:
Bowman, BA and Russell, RM., ed (2006). “Biotin”. Present Knowledge in Nutrition, Ninth Edition, Vol 1. Washington, DC: Internation Life Sciences Institute. ISBN 9781578811984.

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Bennie wants to know…Why does my skin get all pruney and wrinkly after I soak in the bathtub?

The Left Brain responds:

Believe it or not, scientists have only recently discovered how skin can absorb enough water to turn wrinkly without  dissolving and falling off your bones (which would leave a nasty bathtub ring!)

Water logged learning

We’ve known for a long time that the stratum corneum, the outer layer of skin, can expand as it absorbs water but we didn’t know why skin doesn’t fall to pieces when it’s water logged. Now, according to Discovery.com, the Journal of the Royal Society Interface reports that Australian scientists have identified the unique feature of skin structure that keeps it together the bath.

The short version of the explanation goes like this: The stratum corneum is made up of a three-dimensional helical pattern of  keratin fibers. This helical weave allows the fibers to straighten out  so the skin can expand and soak up water like a sponge.  But as the skin expands the protein fibers maintain contact points between each other. All those contact points give the skin it’s structural stability – to a point. The researchers say that that after soaking in water for 24 hours the skin damage can become irreversible. So you’d better lay off those day-long bubble bath marathons!

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Hoconnor asks…I’ve always heard that hair grows faster in the summer. Is this true? Why? And if so, is there a way to recreate the summer benefit in the winter (such as with the addition of humidifiers, heat lamps, diet changes?)

The Right Brain responds:

We’ve said this before and we mean it: the members of the Beauty Brains Forum are awesome! After Hoconnor posted this question, SarahF and Lelaleia did some research and found several interesting references. Even though Left Brain admitted to being stumped on this one, these additional resources made us think. That’s the beauty of true science – we’re always glad to reconsider our positions when new data comes in. You can read the entire discussion in the original Forum post, but we’ll recap the highlights here.

Summer time tresses

1. Seasonal Changes in Human Hair Growth

“… The rate of growth of the beard was lowest in January and February and increased steadily from March to July to reach a peak about 60% above the winter level. The rate of growth of thigh hair showed a similar pattern though with less pronounced differences.”

2. Seasonal Variation in Trichogram in Chilean Subjects

“During summer the percentage of telogen increases and the percentage of anagen decreases. This study confirms the presence of seasonal variations in normal trichogram.”

3. Seasonality of Hair Shedding in Healthy Women

“These results confirm the findings of former authors who have indicated seasonal changes in human hair growth, though this is the first study performed systematically in a representative number of women.”

It looks like there is reasonable evidence that hair grows faster in the summer. What an interesting and surprising finding! Isn’t science wonderful?

Larissa asks…Is it true that Minoxidil can make hair thicker in people who do not suffer from hair loss? If you have thin, fine hair, can it make the individual hair thicker and coarser? Or should Minoxidil be left to those who suffer from male/female pattern baldness?

The Left Brain responds:

As Msgotrox accurately pointed out in our Forum, Minoxidil works by altering the growth cycle of hair. Hair has three phases of growth: an active growing phase called anagen, a resting phase called telegen, and a dormant phase. Minoxidil delays the phase where the hair falls out. It does not help by making existing hairs thicker/coarser/stronger.

The kind of baldness is key

It’s important to remember that Minoxidil only works on a certain type of baldness, the hereditary kind which is technically known as androgenic alopecia or AGA. If you do have this kind of baldness, Minoxidil can increase growth of news hairs (to a modest degree) and those new hairs may be thicker. But if you don’t have this condition, applying Minoxidil won’t have any effect.

Proven to work

The good news is, for those women suffering from AGA, Minoxidil can really help. Here’s an excerpt from one clinical study:

Two studies in healthy females aged 18 to 50 years with adrogenetic alopecia showed statistically significant differences favouring 5% over placebo, but not over 2% TMS with regard to non-vellus hair counts. Compared to mean baseline counts of 178-185 /cm2, at the end of 36 weeks treatment mean increases in non-vellus hair counts were 18/cm2 in subjects who received 5% TMS (N=64), 15/cm2 in subjects who received 2% TMS (N=74) and 3/cm2 in subjects who received placebo (N=40). In the other study, compared to mean baseline counts of 138-150/cm2, at the end of 48 weeks treatment mean increases in non-vellus hair counts were 25/cm2 in subjects who received 5% TMS (N=97), 21/cm2 in subjects who received 2% TMS (N=106), and 9/cm2 in subjects who received placebo (N=50). Examination of efficacy data based on hair weight measurements demonstrated an overall clinical benefit of 5% TMS and 2% TMS in stimulating hair growth. Additionally, this study strongly demonstrated the stabilisation of hair loss over the 2 year treatment period. Source: http://www.pharmcom.com/rogaine_data.html.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Minoxidil has been proven to help many women with female pattern baldness but it wont help thicken hairs for everyone else. Check with your doctor if you want to find out if you might might benefit from this treatment.