How to Trim Nose Hair Safely With a Trimmer or Scissors

Only the visible hair needs to go

The goal is to remove the hairs you can see from the outside, not to clear the nostril. The hair further in helps trap dust and particles before they reach your airways, and the lining of the nose is thin, with plenty of blood vessels close to the surface.

A simple check: stand a normal distance from a mirror and look straight ahead. Anything visible there, or poking out when you tilt your head slightly back, is fair game. Everything else can stay.

Trimmer or scissors: which to use

A rotary nose-hair trimmer is the safest choice for most people, because its blades sit behind a guard that stops them touching the skin. Small scissors with rounded tips are fine for a single long hair, but they are easier to slip with.

How to trim nose hair, step by step

Good light and a clean nose make the job fast and safe. Do it after a shower, when the hair is soft and the nostrils are clear.

1. Blow your nose and wash your hands. Make sure the trimmer or scissors are clean and dry.
2. Stand in bright light, ideally with a magnifying mirror, and tilt your head back slightly.
3. With a trimmer, switch it on before inserting it, then place the tip just inside the nostril, a few millimetres at most.
4. Move it slowly in small circles around the opening, without pushing further in.
5. With scissors, point the rounded tips away from the inside of the nose and snip only the individual visible hair.
6. Blow your nose gently or rinse with water to clear the clippings, then clean the tool.

Why deep plucking is a bad idea

Plucking nose hairs with tweezers hurts, makes your eyes stream and can leave a small open follicle inside the nose. That opening can become irritated or infected, and the skin inside the nose is warm and moist, which is exactly where bacteria thrive.

The same caution applies to cutting too deep. Nicks inside the nostril bleed more than you would expect and are awkward to keep clean. If you notice a painful, swollen spot or a red bump inside your nostril that keeps getting worse, see a doctor rather than trying to squeeze or pick it.

• Do not use regular pointed scissors inside the nose.
• Do not pluck deep hairs with tweezers.
• Do not trim when your nose is raw from a cold or allergies.
• Do not share a nose trimmer.

Waxing as the longer-lasting alternative

Waxing removes the visible hairs at the entrance of the nostril from the root, so they take longer to come back than trimmed hairs. A trained barber uses a small applicator that goes only a short way in and removes just the hairs at the opening.

At Markcutit you can book a Nose Wax on its own or add it to any cut. Details are on our face and nose waxing service page, and our answer on whether nose waxing is safe covers who should skip it. Many people keep a trimmer at home for the odd stray between waxes.

How often to trim

Most people find a quick trim every week or two keeps things tidy. Nose hair often grows thicker and faster with age, so if you are in your forties or older you may need it more often than you used to.

Build it into the same routine as trimming your ear hair and tidying your eyebrows, so none of them are forgotten between barber visits.