This new fad of shaving the faces amongst women is one of the trends catching up to the array of unusual and unconventional beauty treatments making their way into their beauty routines in the name of improving their skin as a way of facial hair removal - this being a prime example of the lengths women are willing to go to in order to achieve just that. In fact, few rumors went on to suggest that even legendary Hollywood actresses such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe used to shave their faces secretly with the intention of improving their skin. And recently enough, popular beauty vlogger Huda Kattan has sworn by the process of shaving her face. Interestingly, there are various Kao sori salons across Japan, the term being Japanese for face shaving, and is a popular skincare custom in the country.
The process of shaving a woman's face can take place in a professional dermatologist's clinic or can be a job easily done all by yourself with the help of a razor. This method is preferred by women who are particularly tired of resorting to waxing and using depilatory creams or bleaching the fine hair on the face to get rid of them or make them less noticeable.
Apart from shaving on your own, sometimes a method called 'dermaplaning' is adopted by women who seek to get rid of the peach fuzz (that is, the very fine hair that is observable from only a certain close level of distance) and the dead skin with the help of the scraping of a scalpel over the skin. Removing facial hair is not at all mandatory, but some women go ahead with the process of shaving especially if they feel the hair is getting too noticeable and they start getting a little conscious.
What are the advantages of shaving the face as a woman?
Due to the fact that it removes the vellus hair (that is, the fine baby hair on the face), it leads to the skin feeling smoother. One reason men are thought to get fewer wrinkles is that they are constantly exfoliating their faces every time they pull out a razor and shave, literally shaving off the outermost layer of their skin and encouraging it to create newer layers. Therefore, women shave their faces sometimes as a way of exfoliating the skin and removing the dead skin cells, and not just because they have a hairy face they want to get rid of, as part of their anti-aging skin regime. This consequently results in a skin that looks glowing, healthier and shines brighter than before. Another reason why women are preferring shaving as a facial hair removal method is that the other methods - waxing certain areas of the face using strips or hair removal creams - can not only sometimes prove to be harsh on the skin, but can also occasionally result in breakouts, irritation or inflammation.
The key is to use the right razor and do it the right way by gently using the razor in downward strokes. Under no circumstances should a woman use the razor that is used for the body, or uses a razor that men use, since it is too sharp, and one could nick oneself due to the softer skin women have.
What are the drawbacks of it?
Whether it is a slight mustache you intend to shave and get rid of, or shaving the entire face in order to make it smoother, regrowth of hair as the result of a razor is, without a doubt, a huge issue. And the hassle just does not stop with the shaving process: the skin requires a little bit of extra love and care post the treatment since the deeper layers of the skin are even more exposed now, and therefore penetration of active ingredients is much more effective. This period is the ideal time to apply skincare products that are full of plenty of anti-aging ingredients.
The skin will usually be a tad red and feeling somewhat dry for a day or so, though it gradually will start looking better several days after the process. There are other and better ways to exfoliate the skin rather than using a razor and shaving the face with it. Just mixing a tablespoon of full-fat Greek yogurt (because it has lactic acid which breaks down the dead skin cells) and a teaspoon of raw honey to moisturize and kill bacteria on the skin.
While some belief that post-shaving, the hair growth is affected and will appear coarser and grow out way quicker than before, yet others are of the opinion that the hair will not grow back thicker or faster. The latter is based on the premise that shaving does not change the number of hair follicles in the skin or the rate of hair growth.