Question: why do people have hair on their skin

Kirsty Ross answered on 19 Jun 2012:

Good question. We have hair on our skin as it is part of our largest organ, the skin. It serves a variety of functions. It keeps you warm and acts as a barrier against the environment (eyelashes, eyebrows, nose hair!). It also helps detect what is going on in the environment when it is displaced. Hair can act as a dry lubricant in places of high friction (public hair, armpit hair). Manipulation of head hair is also used as a form of non-verbal communication (bald monks, mohawks).

A lesser known function of eyebrows is as a form of communication. Next time you see someone at a distance that you know, you may notice your eyebrows raise up together as an ‘eyebrow flash’. It is a way of saying ‘hi, I can see you’ before you get in range to speak to that person. Frowns are also more noticeable because of eyebrows. It is one of the reasons why the character Wormtail in the LOTR trilogy is so hard to look at. He has no eyebrows!