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In episode five of season two of Buffy (Reptile Boy), Willow is baffled by Angel's lack of a reflection, and asks, "How do you shave?"

So...do vampires' hair actually grow? There have been numerous vampires with goatees and such, so do vampires need to worry about haircuts and shaves?

If so, how does Angel shave and keep his hair constant, considering the local vampire barber probably wouldn't serve him?

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  • 7
    With a machete, because it can't hurt his diamond-like sparkly skin, but it will take off the hair! runs from the incoming rotten fruit
    – Jeff
    Dec 16, 2011 at 16:50

5 Answers 5

23

Well, I don't know of an in-universe answer to the Hair growth question (out of universe: the actor's hair grows and it's too much of a pain to keep it consistent.. and, of course, they like to change style, especially between seasons) but as to shaving.... By touch, like most men are stuck doing, from time to time.

Although a mirror is helpful for shaving, it's not mandatory; it can help you spot where you have missed, but careful shaving and examination with your fingers can do so as well. It's not as easy or efficient as looking in the mirror, but with practice isn't hard. And Angel would have had quite a bit of practice, assuming his hair still grows.

I'm 40, and having gotten tired of bothering with shaving with shaving cream years ago AND not being willing to bother with some kind of fog-free, in-shower shaving mirror, I've been shaving in the shower for about 20 years; it probably takes me a few minutes longer, but I promise, it's quite doable.

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  • If you can find a canon reference to hair growth, I'd be glad to accept. :) Dec 17, 2011 at 6:18
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    On that note - in Season 3 of Buffy, when Angel is being haunted by the First, he is shown with longer hair, a mustache, and a beard while still being a vampire. So vampires definitely continue growing hair. Jan 20, 2012 at 4:28
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I dont know if it's a cannon answer, but A Chemical depilatory like Nair would do the job.

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This is addressed in the Angel tie-in novel, Seven Crows.

Only the men were on view, because Sam had been sleeping most of the day. Angel sat in the living room with the blinds drawn, shaving his face, and Riley sat at the kitchen table, hunched over a laptop computer. The vampire shaved like a blind man, running his fingers over his cheeks and chin to find the stubble and following the tactile search with his razor. After a few centuries of doing this, he was pretty good at it. Riley also looked to be pretty good at the computer, as his fingers flew across the cramped keyboard.

As to whether his facial hair grows in the show, the answer is yes, but it makes him look like a prat.

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Angel's hair style is simple and no mirror is actually needed. I carry the same style and have for over 10 years. Shaving by touch is easy for a man, especially a man with a vampire's healing abilities in case of a wee nick, and Angel probably befriends a barber in town and pays extra for an after-hours, no mirror, no questions asked haircut.

Also it is shown in flashbacks that Angelus had a moustache and long hair and Angel had a mullet in the 80's so they must grow hair.

Just a quick mention, in After The Fall (the official continuation of Angel by IDW comics before Dark Horse got the licence and continued it with Angel and Faith), he does mention that it is hard learning to shave again as a human so that implies he didn't need to shave as a vampire, but I take any universe based continuity from those comics with a pinch of salt as Joss was not directly involved.

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In Anne Rice novels vampires wake up each night with the hair they had when they became vampires. OK, this is not an in-universe answer for Angel, but still, this means that if Angel was well shaved when he became a vampire, he do not need to do it for eternity. BTW, it also explains why his haircut is always perfect ;)

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  • I don't mind the -1, but I would like to know the reason. Dec 19, 2011 at 14:05
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    Probably because of it relating to the wrong universe entirely. :) Dec 20, 2011 at 9:35
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    Wasn't my down-vote, but I can understand; you are falling into the trap of assuming all vampire fiction obeys the same rules. See: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OurVampiresAreDifferent for just how little that is true. The Buffyverse doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Anne Rice's vampire universe.
    – K-H-W
    Dec 23, 2011 at 1:51
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    What they said ^. Plus also, there is evidence from the Buffyverse that directly contradicts this speculation (as some of the other answers show).
    – Adeptus
    Dec 22, 2015 at 2:21

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