Face Shaving for Women

Having unwanted facial hair can be an emotionally negative experience for many women, specially younger teenagers. Having facial hair usually makes you want to eliminate it immediately and sometimes this means with whatever is on hand.

The urgency is perfectly understandable, but it is best to think before acting. Unwanted facial hair for women menas doing something about it (eliminating it) but shaving?

For the face, you should leave shaving to men. Obviously anyone can learn to shave but women should leave this for the legs and other body areas.

First of all shaving is a temporary method of hair cutting. It does not remove hair but cuts it at skin level. This means that is one step away from reappearing and regrowing.

There is an urban legend that says that shaving makes the hair coarser, makes more hair grow and faster.

Let us be perfectly clear, this is not so.

Hair grows in cycles and each one of us has their own genetically defined hair growth cycle and rate.

Things that might affect facial hair growth are based on your lifestyle - healthy living (food, exercise), age (as we grow older we may grow more body hair), genetics (it our ancestor´s fault) and also medical conditions.

A few years back I had an accident that had me bedridden for sometime. During this time I lost a lot of weight and so my body looked for ways of protecting me from the cold. The end result was that more hair grew on my body. This soon disappeared of its own accord as I gradually regained my health (and weight). The point here is that hair growth is natural and it is there for a reason.

Getting back to shaving, what happens is that the visible hair is cut at an angle by the razor. When it reappears it has a sharp point - and that is what makes it feel harder and coarser.

Facial shaving for women is not recommended. There may be times and situations when it is the practical option, but in general terms you should look at other options, that go from depilatory creams, to waxing (and yes this can be painful), plucking a few stray hairs with a pair of tweezers, laser hair removal and for a permanent solution, electrolysis.

The problems with face shaving for women are:

1. The stubble - as explained above, the sharp point of the regrowing hair.
2. It is a very short term solution so you have to keep on repeating it.
3. The risks of ingrown hairs.
4. Rashes and cuts.

Having said that, there are cases where it is the only accessible option. This might be because too much hair is growing on your face so tweezing is impractical or that you are allergic to depilatory creams; waxing is too painful and laser hair removal or electrolysis are not for you.

If you do choose to do so, for what ever reason and not only the face, but any body area, there a few simple things you should take into account:

1. Use razors made for women. We have different needs and our skin and hair is different.
2. The razor should be sharp and new. Change it often.
3. If you are planning to shave in the morning make sure you are up and about for at least half an hour. When we wake up our skin is still slightly bloated or swollen from sleep. Let it recover before shaving.
4. Always apply warm water to your skin so the pores can open and the hair is softened.
5. Always use shaving foam, for women.
6. As you shave you will direct the razor with one hand and also use the other one stretch the skin. This will give you a deeper shave.
7. Shave slowly. There is no rush and impatience (or familiarity) can make for unintended nicks and cuts. Shave in the direction of the hair growth and then you can always pass your fingers over the area and feel the skin. If you need to go over the area again do so, slowly, against the hair growth direction.
8. When you have finished wash your face with cold water. This will not only remove the foam, but also allows the pores to close.
9. Apply moisturizing cream over your face afterwards.

These simple instructions will help reduce the risk of skin irritation, cuts and rashes. Also ingrown hairs are less lightly to occur.

These same basic instructions are also a guide to shave your pubic area, shaving your legs and other areas.