Shaving your face has its benefits. Photo: Getty Images
It’s true, women get facial hair too.
With its painless and speedy technique for achieving instant smoothness, the razor should be king of hair removal.
Instead, many women opt for other treatments like threading, waxing and laser.
Though shaving your your face is typically done by men, it’s been said Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe both fought their face fuzz with a razor.
Similarly, recent reports say an increasing amount of women are reaching for the razor when it comes to removing facial hair; with some experts claiming its anti-ageing effects, said The Independent.
“It’s definitely a thing, one reason men are thought to get fewer wrinkles is that they’re constantly exfoliating their faces every time they shave, literally shaving away the outermost layers of skin and encouraging your skin to create new layers,” editor of The Beauty Bean Alexis Wolfer told Byrdie.
For Angela Garvin, 46, her beauty routine consists of cleansing and toning before reaching for a “men’s disposable razor” to shave her face; something she does three times a week.
“It’s cheap, takes seconds and doesn’t irritate my skin, unlike laser or waxing,” Garvin told the MailOnline.
Garvin also claims shaving has improved her complexion, “products absorb better and my skin is in great condition. It’s the smoothest and brightest it’s been in years,” she said.
This is because shaving “is a form of mechanical exfoliation that removes the dead surface layers of the skin, revealing smooth, soft skin,” NeoStrata Skin Expert Karen Varker told Fairfax Media.
One problem, said Varker, is shaving can “be inconsistent across the face leaving dull patches and not covering the whole face, nose and forehead being key areas.”
Despite shaving myths that hair will grow back thicker and darker, Varker put this fable to rest.
“There is no evidence to suggest that shaving encourages hair to grow back thicker and in fact some studies from the US indicate there is no difference in the hair growth due to shaving,” she said.
“However the hair is blunt from shaving, so it does grow back as stubble which is more visible and looks darker and thicker,” she said.
Women interested in shaving their face, could first try dermaplaning, which according to The Cut is just “a fancy name for running a sharp blade over your face”.
Dermatologist at the Laser and Skin Surgery Center of New York Dr. Elizabeth Hale said, “Dermaplaning is just a very simple physical or mechanical method of exfoliation, which helps to remove dead skin cells and give your face a brighter complexion,
“And since it removes some vellus hairs [the baby-fine hairs on your face], it can make the skin feel smoother,” she said.
For the DIY method there are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube.
In one video, reality-TV star, Michelle Money said she shaves her face and she is proud of it.
Unlike Angela Garvin, she warns not use your typical razor, instead, look for a facial razor.
Varker cautioned: “Shaving for the first time or inconsistently can mechanically irritate the skin as it is not used to it on a regular basis.”
But if it’s smooth, soft, wrinkle-free skin you’re after – sans stubble – Varker recommends using a chemical exfoliating cleanser or moisturiser, containing a Poly Hydroxy acid to encourage.
This “not only encourages natural exfoliation through ungluing the dead skin cells and a daily basis but also binds moisture to the skin, keeping it well hydrated and stimulates cell renewal, all helping to normalise the skin for healthy and youthful looking.”