Should women shave their face?


Posted on May 22nd, by The Skiny in Skincare, Treatments. No Comments

Should women shave their face?

Shaving your face a taboo beauty secret

Guest Written by Kelsey McGillis

So you’re certain that you’ve tried every primer and setting spray on the planet…but your makeup still doesn’t look as flawless as you’d like? One solution to smooth skin and makeup application may seem taboo- shaving your face. Though facial hair removal has been a common part of men’s routines for hundreds of years, it turns out that many historic women also partook in shaving. Take Cleopatra and Marilyn Monroe (to name but a few) – all women who supposedly shaved their faces.  After all of these years the question still remains, should women shave their face?

Though it’s somewhat culturally taboo, face-shaving can have massive benefits. Whether you have visible facial hair or not, all women do have some hair on their faces. Known as Vellus hairs (or peach fuzz), they can be found all over your face but tend to be most noticeable on the sides of your cheeks, upper lip and chin. Removing this peach fuzz is a form of exfoliation and creates an extremely smooth skin surface. Further, facial hair removal won’t make it grow back thicker and darker than before, as many might assume.

In terms of the actual hair removal procedure, there are tons of options. To start, there’s the traditional at-home razor shave. Though the thought of shaving your face at home might seem odd, or even frightening to you, our resident skincare expert Dr. Lisa Kellett says there’s nothing to worry about. “Why not? Men do it every day”, Kellett says. She recommends a lather with shaving cream and shaving in the direction of hair growth.

If shaving isn’t your thing, rest assured, there are plenty of other options – each coming with their own sets of advantages and risks.

  • Dermaplaning is performed by an esthetician, using a scalpel to scrape in the direction of hair growth, removing dead skin and peach fuzz along the way.
  • Waxing is something we’re all likely familiar with, and facial waxing isn’t much different from the rest. A hot wax is applied to the skin and torn away with a sheet of waxing paper.
  • Sugaring is similar to the waxing process, but an esthetician uses a sugaring paste rather than hot wax.
  • Threading is a technique common in eyebrow maintenance- where an esthetician with spin thread around individual hairs and pluck them out.
  • Laser hair removal involves the use of a laser in a series of treatments over time, permanently stopping hair growth eventually.

Though the thought of shaving your face might give you goosebumps, remember men have done it for centuries – so why shouldn’t women get to experiment with it? Should you choose to try this often taboo beauty practice, there are plenty of options and procedures on the market. With a little research you’re certain to find which method is best suited for you.





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