At my recent girls' weekend, I completely threw my best friends for a loop and told them I was shaving my face. They stared at me blankly. One almost spit out her wine, and my sister just shook her head. I had their attention.
There is a lot of hype about women shaving their face…..their whole face. Those who do it swear by it. Those who don’t think it’s absolute insanity.
This trend has existed for thousands of years and supposedly originated in Asia, where women have always had a skin-first philosophy. Rumour has it that famous actresses Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor considered this an essential part of their beauty regime.
Recently, celebrity facialist Kate Sommerville admitted to shaving her face for the past 20 years…..in addition to some of her celebrity clientele (whom she declined to name)…“I hate to say this, but personally, I get hairs above my upper lip and have forever,” Ms. Somerville said, adding that waxing irritates her sensitive skin. “Initially, I did it because of the hair, but then I noticed that it was a great exfoliant and that my makeup went on much better.”
At-home facial shaving gained popularity alongside the common facial service – dermaplaning - conducted at a dermatologist's office or medi-spa. The underlying premise of both treatments is the same – a sharp razor gently “shaves” the skin’s surface, removing the top layer of dead skin and fine vellus hair (aka peach fuzz). At a dermatologist’s office, the service takes about 30 minutes, costs $75-$150, and is performed by a licensed professional who will use a surgical scalpel. It takes about ten minutes at home and costs only a few Tinkle razors. I'm not surprised that Tinkle razor sales have gone through the roof lately.
Professional dermaplaning goes deeper into the skin, which is supposed to trigger cell regeneration and offer benefits for fine lines, skin discolouration and acne scaring. At-home shaving will remove the vellus hair (that we notice most on a bright sunny day when looking in the rearview mirror – yikes) and those extraneous single, black hairs that oddly appear as if no one ever looks closely at our face. It will leave a smooth finish to the skin, allowing products and makeup to sit more smoothly. Both treatments provide a form of exfoliation, removing dead skin cells and providing a smoother canvas.
The most common question about this beauty trend is whether, after shaving, the hair will return darker and thicker. The answer, of course, is no. Duh! Shaving your face does not fundamentally change the structure of the hair follicle. And do you think women would shave if they were going to sport a 5’oclock shadow?” No — Shaving hair doesn’t change its thickness, colour or rate of growth. Shaving facial or body hair gives the hair a blunt tip. The tip might feel coarse or “stubbly” for a time as it grows out. During this phase, the hair might be more noticeable and appear darker or thicker — but it’s not.” Mayoclinic.org
I’m pretty relaxed when trying new things for my face. I have “home-shaved” my moustache for years, so this wasn’t much of a stretch. I wasn’t sure I would benefit from shaving my forehead or nose. But DAMN – you wouldn’t believe what accumulates on top of the skin.
For someone who doesn’t have much facial hair, I could have knit a child’s sweater with the fuzz that came off my face the first time. Not to mention a disgusting amount of dead skin cells that pretty much dulled the blade. Seriously! You have to be careful with your eyebrows because the razors are shaped in a way that makes it hard to tell where the edge ends. You also have to be careful not to trim the sides of your hair near your temples. Other than that, it’s a breeze.
In between weekly shaves, my face feels like a baby’s bottom. I can’t stop touching it – which isn’t good because pores are more open after shaving and therefore susceptible to bacteria/germs. I feel like my skin products and makeup go on more smoothly. I feel more confident because my skin glows.
I’m not going to give you instructions on how to shave your face because there are many YouTube videos and many different methods and tools. So, if you’re going to take the plunge, I suggest you watch a few and decide your plan of attack.