The return of warm weather means the return of open-toed shoes, drawing attention to just how your feet look after a long fall and winter.
Beyond pumice stones and at-home foot peel masks, some people choose to focus on the aesthetics of another part of their feet: their toes. Specifically, their toe hair.
The amount of hair on your toes depends on a variety of factors. In rare cases, your toe hair can even offer a peek into your health.
Below, doctors share what you should know about the hair on your toes and how to safely remove it if you choose.
Having hair on your toes is perfectly normal, and just how much you have often depends on genetic factors.
Hair on toes is normal ― it’s neither “good” or “bad,” said Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, the vice president of in-office care and national medical director at Amazon One Medical.
“It really just indicates your genetics, your hormones, factors that you often can’t influence,” she said. The amount of hair you have on your toes may also vary depending on your ethnic background.
What “normal” toe hair looks like for one person can look completely different for someone else.
“Everyone’s normal is different, but hair on toes is normal,” said Dr. Michael Richardson, a family medicine doctor in Boston. “Just because you have hair on your toes doesn’t mean that’s abnormal.”
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It’s normal to have toe hair, and exactly how much you have most often depends on genetic factors.
Blood flow issues can cause a loss of toe hair.
“Toe hair is not going to be the first sign if something is going wrong,” Richardson said, “but if you’re noticing that it’s less than normal for you, that could be signs of something damaging that area.”
Loss of toe hair could be from contact damage, which can happen if there’s lot of friction against shoes. “I’ll see that in runners, for example,” said Richardson.
“There are instances where the hair on your toes could change because of other factors, like if you’re taking a medication that influences hair growth … steroids can sometimes cause hair growth,” Bhuyan said.
Changes in blood flow can also affect the amount of hair on your toes, which is a concern.
“If there’s decrease in the vasculature, so any damage to the blood vessels — we’ll see this with peripheral artery disease — where the blood is just not circulating as well, the tissue isn’t as healthy and can’t grow hair,” Richardson said.
In the place of hair, the toes will have a smooth, shiny look, Richardson said.
You may also notice issues related to poor circulation, like cold feet or pain when walking, Bhuyan added. This tends to be more common in older adults and smokers.
“But more often than not, toe hair is going to be normal. If you don’t know where to go, it’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor,” Richardson added.
If you do want to remove the hair, keep a few things in mind.
If you want to remove the hair on your toes, it’s perfectly safe to do so, as long as you follow the right methodology.
“I would say the safest method to remove hair when it’s sparse … just tweezing it is the best,” said Bhuyan, before adding that the tweezers should be cleaned before doing so.
“Some people will do things like shaving. I think if you do the typical shave with warm water, use a gel, that’s fine, just to minimize ingrown hairs,” Bhuyan noted.
You can also try hair removal creams, but if you do that, do a small patch test first, “because some people can have reactions to hair creams on their skin,” she said. If you want a long-term solution, you could also do laser hair removal or electrolysis.
In the end, it’s OK to remove the hair on your toes; it doesn’t serve a health purpose, Bhuyan said.
