Don’t freak out! But today we’re going to talk about shaving our faces.
Yes, I know that most of us are women, and most people think we shouldn’t shave our faces, but they’re WRONG!
I’m one of those people plagued with a fuzzy face. I’ve got peach fuzz all over my cheeks and jaw.
Most of the time you can’t really tell, but if the sun hits me the right way, I look like I’ve got a full-on blonde beard.
It’s not my favorite look. Plus, makeup clings to it, which makes it even more noticeable.
So, one night while I was perusing the interwebs, I came across an article where this girl was talking about how she shaved her face! Needless to say, I was intrigued… I learned that there’s actually a procedure done at the dermatologist’s office called Dermaplanin, which is literally where they go in with a little razor, just like the one I have, and they shave your face.
Not only does it get rid of the fuzz, but it’s also lightly exfoliating, as it scrapes off the top layer of dead skin.
Oh, and you can do it at home! No need to ring up an expensive dermatology bill. All you need is an inexpensive eyebrow razor, which I get from my local Sally Beauty Supply. A lot of people use the Tinkle Razors from Amazon instead, but I haven’t tried them yet. They’re next on my list.
To use the razor, hold the blade at a 45-degree angle to your skin, and run it lightly down your face…in the direction of the hair growth! Keep working around the areas that need it.
Another area to cover is the upper lip. No need to keep a fuzzy mustache if you don’t want to!
I know what you might be thinking. “But if I shave my face, won’t it grow back darker and thicker?”
The answer is NO! I’ve been shaving my face for probably about a year now, and my regrowth is exactly the same as it was before I started. I’ve read quite a few articles about it, and everyone has said the same thing.
I’m a slave to doing it now! You’ll be shocked at how well your makeup goes on and how smooth your skin feels. Another great thing is that I only have to do it about once a month. It’s so low maintenance, but your face feels like a baby’s butt!
Do you think you’ll ever shave your face, or have you done it before? Comment down below, and let me know how it went! 🙂
Prettiful Blog says
I have done laser hair removal on my face, but I still have some areas that have a little bit of growth and it annoys me. So I just shave, its quick and easy and cheap. And my face looks and feels so much better!
Jen Clark says
I’ve never tried any laser hair removal before! Does it hurt?
Kiss & Make-up says
I’m a hairy girl. From all the things I could have gotten from my momma I inherited the facial hair and body hair, ugh. So yeah, I do remove the hair on my upper lip as well as all the peach fuzz I got going on. It’s a pretty taboo topic though. People just don’t really talk about it.
Jen Clark says
I know! I wish people would talk about it more so we wouldn’t feel so weird doing it 🙂
Mariangel Martinez says
I tried it, but for me the hair only grew thicker! Im doing laser now and its much better
Jen Clark says
Oh really? That’s good to know it doesn’t work for everyone! I’m glad you found something that worked well though!
hanna says
I haven’t shaved my face, but I do my eyebrows. Much less damaging then tweezing.
Jen Clark says
I’m too scared to use the razors around my eyebrows! Haha I’m so scared i’m going to accidentally take off half my brow!
jessica says
I use a tweezerman coil-spring-thingy, It works great. Hurts a bit but nothing too major.
Jen Clark says
Oh my gosh my mom has one of those and I tried it once and about died! Haha you must have a higher pain tolerance than me!
Chris25 says
I’m of South Asian descent, so yes, I do shave my face. Lol. I just use my regular Venus razor for it. I have used the Tinkle razors, but I find they’re mostly good for eyebrows.
Jen Clark says
Do you feel like the normal razors work better than the other little razors?
Lulle says
No, I haven’t, and I don’t think I would. First of all I would definitely not do it myself, because being such a klutz I would totally cut myself. And then I’m still concerned about a thicker regrowth, but long-term.
Based on my scientific observation of my underarms, ahem, shaved hair does regrow thicker but it takes years to become noticeable. Once I switched to waxing, my underarms stopped being prickly and the hair there got considerably thinner and weaker. I switched back to shaving 4 years ago, and it’s slowly getting thicker again. So… I don’t know. I could do threading if the peach fuzz really started to disturb me.
Jen Clark says
Hm, I wonder if the hair on your face would act the same as your underarm hair and grow back thicker! But no need to do it if it doesn’t bother you too bad! 🙂
Becca says
So do you feel like you get a lot of stubble? I would hate to have my SO rub up against my face and feel prickled. Just a concern of mine…
Jen Clark says
No not at all! You can feel the fuzz as it starts to grow back in but it feels just the same as it did before I shaved it!
Tatiana says
Years ago, when I complained about facial hair to my dermatologist he suggested that I shave the peach fuzz. He recommends it to his female patients as the easiest and least expensive way to get rid of facial hair and that it would not grow back darker or coarser. So I’ve been doing this for years now. I just use a disposable mens safety razor. The blades are already set at the correct angle and I just pop in a new blade when I need it. I do it about once a month (maybe less) when I notice my makeup starting to stand out because it’s clinging to my facial hairs.
Jen Clark says
That’s good to know the dermatologists recommend it! What razor do you use? That sounds like it would work really well!
Tatiana says
I just use Gillette Mach 3 for sensitive skin or Sensor 3 smooth. They’re not as bulky as the Venus razors for women. My husband subscribes to Dollar Shave club and when I run out of blades, I just use one of his.
My dermatologist teaches at the Stanford Medical School, so I kinda trust he knows what he’s talking about.
Amy says
I waxed for years. (Before that I did nothing for years! The natural/traditional look. My hair wasn’t very dark then.) Waxing is my favorite on legs and body, because it grows back in comfortably and lighter. But for lip, the wax needs longer hair to get a good grip, so you have to grow the hair out to a considerable length. Not pretty. So at this point, I pluck the worst offenders daily and shave with a really good self-cleaning electric razor. Or a Mach 3 razor. (Those little eyebrow shavers don’t do the job at all on many of us!) Stubble isn’t noticeable Unless I go two days. Works better than chemical hair removal, which always burns and leaves my face red!
Jen Clark says
Do you think the little ones don’t work because there is just one blade? That’s good to know, maybe i’ll have to try a more intense one someday to see if that works better!
Amy says
Yep, too lightweight. They don’t take off thicker hairs. You also have to worry about getting the right angle, which isn’t an issue with regular razors! I bought my husband a really high end Braun shaver last year and use it myself. 😉
Erin says
Yeah, I probably need that.
Jen Clark says
If it’s something that bothers you, might as well give it a try! 🙂 I love it!
Jolene Johnson says
I inherited the thick long peach fuzz from my mom and I cannot stand it any longer. Makeup clings and I look like a spray painted peach. So I’m thinking of threading or something. Wax makes me breakout and I tried a depilatory and my lip looks awful. My skin is way too sensitive for it. So I will probably thread or use the coil thing and shave afterwards to clean it up. It’s gotten a lot thicker recently so it’s got to go!
Jen Clark says
If you do the threading, let me know how it works! I’ve never done any sort of threading before, maybe I’ll have to give it a try!
Ami says
Where the longer and thicker myth comes from:
Hair has a regular cycle. The top of your head is 8 – 16 weeks, your underarms is 3 – 6 weeks. Etc. AND when you let your hair naturally grow and fall out and grow in again, the ends of the strands are naturally tapered. When you shave, in most case you’re cutting the shaft of the current hair and when that hair gets long enough to poke out from under the skin, you’re getting the full width of the hair shaft, not the gradual tapered shaft of a non cut hair.
That’s why it SEEMS thicker, when it really isn’t. That’s also why methods that eradicate hair at the root seem to work faster/better long before they really are making a true difference. If you remove a hair at the ROOT early in the cycle, you don’t even have the thinner, tapered heads popping out for many weeks. So it already feels like you’re “thinning your hair out” when in reality, the difference is between the naturally tapered ends of a strand of hair and mirage of a thicker strand b/c it was cut in the middle and you’re seeing the thicker, cut end appear.
Marina says
Thank you for pointing this out!!! I’ve tried to explain this to clients and coworkers, but they always say they’ve seen it grow back thicker. It’s actually just the mid shaft of the hair! It’s growing out, not coming back as thicker hair.
Jen Clark says
That makes total sense! Thanks for mentioning that!
Rose says
I don’t shave, but I just wanted to thank you for talking about taboo topics like this one. Beauty blogging can be quite “mainstream” in the sense that it can often talks mainly about things that people love and enjoys publicly. This kind of post can bring to the surface important things that the beauty industry avoid.
Jen Clark says
It’s so true, and because things like this aren’t talked about often, it makes women feel like they are strange or different for not being exactly like the women they read about when in reality, i’m sure they are just like everyone else!
Sandy P says
Sure do!! Especially my upper lip! In fact just did it this afternoon. I feel so much better. I just use a regular Venus razor tried the little ones but no better then what the Venus does.
Jen Clark says
Someone else said that too! I’m going to have to give them a try!
Angela says
Jen, thank you so much for bringing this topic to light. I have a peach fuzzy face but it’s not bothered me as much as my moustache 🙁 or newly developed chin hairs (!!!). I just started using a little electric razor for my lip fuzz and chin hair. At 37, LOL.
Jen Clark says
Hey no shame! I’ll probably end up getting some fun chin hairs at some point! Haha I will always remember my grandma sitting at the kitchen table with her mirror and tweezers plucking out her chin hairs! Haha it happens to the best of us! 🙂
Rachel R. says
I’ve never shaved my whole face, just the upper lip. I’ve been curious about it, though.
Jen Clark says
I really love it! It makes your skin so soft! I say give it a try 🙂
Celi says
Yuppers! Upper lip and the whole sides of my face (side burn area), for years now! My derm said that laser hair removal wouldn’t offer the full removal I was looking for so the razor is cheaper. I do it about every three days, it takes two seconds and then done.
Jen Clark says
It’s such an easy step to add into your routine and makes such a difference! I’m so glad you love it too 🙂
Mickey says
So, I’ve been so fearful of shaving my face bc I get facial hair growth and resolve to the more painful approaches — waxing and threading because of the notion that my hair will grow back thicker. Being Asian, with medium toned skin, that is my BIGGEST fear… Looking like I’m growing a man’s beard. I may man up and give it a try. You’re the third blogger/blogger who has mentioned it… So it must be a sign!
Jen Clark says
I totally understand the fear, if you scroll up in the comments you’ll see someone explained the myth that hair grows back thicker! That might help to read that!
LindaLibraLoca says
I have started reading about it a few months back now, and I am really intrigued. I used to epilate the peach fuzz, but my skin sometimes would get irritated and I would be left with a lot of tiny spots.
Jen Clark says
Ya it sounds like shaving might be a little more gentle on your skin! I would give it a try!
kwmechelle says
I don’t use a razor but I do wax my upper lip. I feel for women who grow hair on their cheeks & jaw or under their chins because I imagine it’s a pain to have to always take care of. It’s a pain for me having to wax my upper lip but I’m just lazy. Great post btw. Never thought about this topic before but it definitely falls in the beauty category & I’m happy you decided to bring it up! 🙂
Jen Clark says
I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it! Haha it really is a pain! Lucky duck you don’t have any!
Becky says
Ooohhh, scary! There’s a lot going around about dermaplaning and shaving right now. I have to wax my ‘rache, being so dark haired! It’s not so bad. I’m not a peach fuzz owner but I can see how convenient little razors like that would be! Do you find the regrow th is quite stubbly?!
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Jen Clark says
No it’s not stubbly at all! It feels exactly like it did before I shaved it. 🙂
Dawn Peterson says
Yep, I do occasionally shave my face. I’ve been burned by depilatories in the past, and I don’t wax because I use both Retin A and Tazorac. I absolutely agree that it’s a fairly taboo subject for women, and men are usually almost comically shocked when (IF!) you tell them that you sometimes shave! My husband is aware that I do it but has never seen me in action – HA! – and probably never will. I already do IPL, Laser Genesis, Fraxel and a yearly microlaser peel, so I don’t want to do any more laser on my face – so this works, and is cheap and simple. I do it maybe every 4 to 5 weeks.
Jen Clark says
Haha my husband totally walked in on me shaving for the first time and thought it was hilarious! He’s so cute though, he was so sweet about it. I’m so glad it works for you!
Kirsten says
Have you ever nicked yourself shaving? That would be my biggest fear- having to put a little piece of TP on my face like my dad used to do.