Why does the hair on one side of my face grow in a differant direction?

**Little Turtle** · December 23, 2010, 04:13 PM

The hair on the right side of my head (both facial and head hair) grow sideways, so it faces my ear, while the hair on the left grows down normally. Why is this and is there any thing I can do about it? Stupid Irish genes.

**Manco** · December 23, 2010, 06:19 PM

Bad facelift

**skh1** · December 24, 2010, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by Little Turtle

The hair on the right side of my head (both facial and head hair) grow sideways, so it faces my ear, while the hair on the left grows down normally. Why is this and is there any thing I can do about it? Stupid Irish genes.

Try this:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Elfdude** · December 24, 2010, 06:35 PM

It's a hair whorl. Or a group of hair that rotates on it's axis. Most people have several hair whorls with one very obvious one and one not so obvious one. They are usually found on the back of the head on the crown but hair whorls can appear anywhere on the body. They are caused because at some point when the follicles are growing their angles get arranged oddly. This is usually genetic although occasionally it can be caused by hair-cuts/chemotherapy etc. The hair spirals out from a central point violating the pattern of the hair around it. Another name for it is a cowlick, called as such because cows have a habit of licking their young producing spirals in the fur.. On the inside of my eyebrow I have one that causes the top tip of my right eyebrow (when I let it) to follow the left eyebrow's pattern.

About the only thing you can do is have them painfully remove the hairs via electrolysis one by one and attempt to give them a second chance to grow back properly however there's no guarantee it just won't make it worse. Shaving is the next best bet.

**Ascarona** · December 25, 2010, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by elfdude

It's a hair whorl. Or a group of hair that rotates on it's axis. Most people have several hair whorls with one very obvious one and one not so obvious one. They are usually found on the back of the head on the crown but hair whorls can appear anywhere on the body. They are caused because at some point when the follicles are growing their angles get arranged oddly. This is usually genetic although occasionally it can be caused by hair-cuts/chemotherapy etc. The hair spirals out from a central point violating the pattern of the hair around it. Another name for it is a cowlick. On the inside of my eyebrow I have one that causes the top tip of my right eyebrow (when I let it) to follow the left eyebrow's pattern.

About the only thing you can do is have them painfully remove the hairs via electrolysis one by one and attempt to give them a second chance to grow back properly however there's no guarantee it just won't make it worse. Shaving is the next best bet. Another name for it is a cowlick, called as such because cows have a habit of licking their young producing spirals in the fur.

Did you copy this from wikipedia or something?

**Elfdude** · December 25, 2010, 08:00 PM

No, I thought it was a neat piece of trivia. I usually cite things when I copy them directly. Also didn't realize I had repeated myself, edited it for readability. Although if you're curious here's the wiki entry for cowlick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowlick

**Viking Prince** · December 29, 2010, 05:58 PM

The question seems to have been answered. If this needs to continue, the thread can be moved to PH&A. Contact me if closure does not seem right.

VP