Why it does not hurt when we cut our nails or hair

Going to the barber shop to get a haircut?? A nice trim suits when the summer is around the corner doesn't it?

But, did you ever wonder why there is no pain when we cut our hair? Like take for example if one get's a cut on the skin there would be blood coming out of the area, and one doesn't need a big cut for that a small prick by a needle does the job!

So why does that not happen when one gets a haircut or even when one trims the finger or toe nails? Why does one not feel any pain during a haircut?

Imagine the situation of a barber if that had been the case.. to cut or not to cut!   

So let's understand the why, but before understanding why do we not feel pain let's understand why do we feel pain? Or what makes us feel pain?

We feel pain when nerve fibers in our body sends message to the brain whenever there is any stimulation external or internal in terms of temperature, pressure or something which causes the trigger for the nerve fibers to carry the message to the brain. These message is then interpreted by the brain and accordingly signals and response is being sent and THERE IS PAIN...

But, what makes the nerve fibers know that they have to carry the message. The answer is nerve endings. So the nerve endings present in the outermost part of the body say the skin when they get a cut or someone puts a lot of pressure or twist and turn there is stimulation which causes a signal to be generated and accordingly a response is sent.

Now you might say, does that mean hair and nails do not have nerve endings? Yes, you are absolutely right.. Why do they not have nerve endings? Because they are made up of dead cells and some proteins. Hair grows from the follicle deep inside and nail grows from deep down from the groove of the fingers be it hand or toe.

Now here is the twist, we would feel pain when our hair or nail is pulled because then we would be putting pressure on the hair follicle or the base of the skin which are connected to the nerve endings!

However on the top of it, cut it whichever way we want go an style it any way you would not be feeling pain generally..

So, if summer is around the corner and you are about to go get a trim, see if the barber knows why do we not feel pain when we get a hair cut or trim our nails.

Let's see if there are curious talks between you and the barber then!

You might also like to know,

How do pain killers know where the pain is??

Why sunlight makes the skin darker and hair lighter?

Until next time, continue with the curious talks!

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