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Tracee Ellis Ross Just Waxed A Body Part Experts Say Is A No-No

Tracee Ellis Ross Just Waxed A Body Part Experts Say Is A No-No

Tracee Ellis Ross showed her Instagram followers just how she handles unsightly nose hair Tuesday.

The “Black-ish” star took fans through every step of the uncomfortable process, which included someone putting hot wax on a Q-tip up her nostril and then taking it out.

“HAS ANYONE EVER HAD THEIR NOSE HAIRS WAXED? ~ let this be a lesson to you: just say no,” Ross captioned her video.

“Take it out, take it out ― oh f**k!” she says in the painful video, before she looks like she’s going to cry and then starts laughing.

Ross’s followers loved the hilarious clip, but many cautioned her from removing her nose hairs again.

“Oh no it’s cold and flu season you need those babies,” one person wrote, while another added, “Oh no Tracy why??? You need those hairs to filter out germs dust etc!”

It turns out her fans are on to something. Most experts agree that you shouldn’t remove your nose hairs, because they act as a filtration system that keeps out germs, while also helping to trap dust and debris. There’s also an added risk when you pluck, wax or shave nose hairs.

“You do remove that level of protection into the nasal cavity whether it be particles or foreign objects getting in there,” Anthony Del Signore, MD, assistant professor in the department of otolaryngology and director of rhinology and endoscopic skull base surgery at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, told HuffPost. He added that by removing the hair, you also become more susceptible to an infection at the follicle level.

“The hairs emanate from follicles in the skin and sometimes bacteria can get in there, especially for people that shave their nose hairs or pluck them. It sort of leaves an entry for bacteria and for infection,” he said. “That usually manifests itself with increasing redness or tenderness and pain.”

He explained that the redness is a sign of cellulitis (a potentially serious bacterial skin infection) or folliculitis (a skin condition where hair follicles become inflamed). These conditions can lead to pus, the formation of abscesses and skin that is warm to the touch.

Del Signore said that doctors get particularly concerned about infections that happen in the triangle above the lip and around the outer edge of the nose, as the infection can then easily travel to the brain.

“You can get that extreme cellulitis around the nose that can sometimes spread to the eyes, the rest of the face, the brain or the brain covering,” he said. “But that’s if it gets out of control and doesn’t get treated appropriately with antibiotics.”

So if you do see an unwanted nose hair and feel the need to take care of it, put down the hot wax and tweezers and just try snipping it with scissors.

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