come out of the closet...do you shave your face?
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free skin care · Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:47 pm

I have never tried acupuncture on my face, did try on my back and neck for pain relief. it is a bit scary to look at the picture.

free skin care · Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:50 pm

Hello Ladies,

I do have a little facial hair, and have been going faithfully to my local "laser lady" for about 5 years. The growth seems to be less, and I can go for 2-3 months completely hair free on my face. But when it does start to come back it, it doesn't always come in at the same growth rate. Usually my sideburns will come out on my left side first, then I have to wait for the right side to catch up, and then I wait for the 8-9 little hairs on my chin to break through. In the mean time I shave my face.

When I do shave my face looks great! So soft, and smooth and the makeup looks FAB. I always felt a little "ashamed" that I took the razor to my face until I read this topic!

I had no idea that there were actually dermatologists that reccommended this practice! What I have been doing wrong though is shaving upwards and not downwards- thanks Mountain Girl for letting us know about that.

I don't find my hair coming back any thicker or longer after I shave and I don't shave my nose or forehead- which I think I will try now (for the exfoliation benefits ofcourse!).

free skin care · Sat Dec 30, 2006 11:36 pm

Chrissie wrote:

I do it occasionally. I've noticed makeup does go on better after shaving. The person that mentioned to me that she did it, was a few years older than me, but didn't look it. She said when men shave, the razor exfoliates their skin and thats one of the reasons they don't seem to age as fast as women. It made sense to me!

Ah, nope. That's a myth. Men don't age as fast as women mostly because they have thicker skin than we do.

As for shaving my face, I think I'll pass. Any benefits from exfoliating the top layer with a razor can probably be had with a normal scrub or chemical exfoliant. I would not shave my upper lip area either as I think the hair grows back in at least looking darker and thicker. Waxing is the way to go for the face.

free skin care · Sun Dec 31, 2006 12:13 pm

Nijey wrote:

Chrissie wrote:

I do it occasionally. I've noticed makeup does go on better after shaving. The person that mentioned to me that she did it, was a few years older than me, but didn't look it. She said when men shave, the razor exfoliates their skin and thats one of the reasons they don't seem to age as fast as women. It made sense to me!

Ah, nope. That's a myth. Men don't age as fast as women mostly because they have thicker skin than we do.

Definitely not a myth, it is one of the many factors though.

free skin care · Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:45 pm

I'm not sure if I would try this but I am intriqued. If shaving isn't supposed to make the hairs grow thicker or coarser then why does the hair on our legs do this? I don't shave them anymore, I get them waxed or use Nair but I'm just wondering if anyone knows why.

free skin care · Sun Dec 31, 2006 8:16 pm

Dancar....I promise you, shaving will not make hair grow thicker or courser. It seems so, because the hair grows in with a blunt tip.
Also, in reference to another post, I don't shave my nose or do I recommend doing that. Noses don't wrinkle like the rest of the face. Remember, the whole idea of shaving, is to minimize wrinkling. I do highly recommend it for your arms! Lastly, my dermatologist didn't recommend shaving dry, but I think that works fine too.

free skin care · Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:58 am

I first thought of dry shaving when a friend (an awesome friend) gave me a gift certificate for a facial treatment at a local spa. I chose a treatment called dermaplane (I think that's the name). Anyhow, the woman used a very sharp straight razor to basically scrape/dry shave my whole face (she even did around my eyes). She first washed my face with the spa's cleanser and then did a second cleansing with witch hazel and wiped it dry. She then scraped away in short controlled swipes. She was very good and there was no irritation, the effect was to completely remove the first layer or two of skin (I guess this is just dead skin cells) and all hair. I thought to myself, why pay this much when I can do it myself? So I do. I am very careful and do not go around my eyes or on my nose, though I go right up to it. I find that a double-blade disposable razor labeled for sensitive skin works best. I've had irritation with more expensive razors that have 3 or more blades.

free skin care · Mon Jan 01, 2007 9:36 am

I did it again since you're supposed to do it a few times a week. I thought I'd try to do my nose, since it needs exfoliation more than any other part of my face. Mistake. I cut my nose! Embarassed

Luckily, it was a very small and on the bottom so it's pretty unnoticable. Anyway, I'm not giving up. I'm just not going to try to do my nose anymore.

free skin care · Mon Jan 01, 2007 9:42 am

So, are you regular shavers telling me that there is no difference at all in the way your facial hair appears or feels after having done this? I think if boyfriend would think I'm crazy if he knew I shaved my face. I still have not told him that my mom does this!
I guess my mom's skin shows absolutely no signs of wierd hair growth or stubble, and she's been doing this for years.

Just wondering what the final word is on this seemingly simple treatment.

Inadvertently, I just started using SC's retinol again, and after two nights, my skin began to peel, and I buffed away the remaining dead skin with Lorac's gentle skin resurfacer, which gave me the same lovely new skin for new year's eve as you girls probably have by shaving!

It occurs to me that by shaving, you have much more control over the dead skin shedding process, where with retinol and other methods, your skin reacts differently and sheds when it wants or needs to...

--avalange

free skin care · Mon Jan 01, 2007 9:48 am

I don't. I don't have excess facial hair. I don't even have much arm hair. So far I haven't had the problem of makeup not going on smoothly. I only tweeze my eye brows. I am very happy with my current scrub for exfoliating. It seems weird to me to use a razor to exfoliate. I wouldn't do that anyway. Who knows how effective such "exfoliating" compared to my scrub? What's more, I might cut myself. I am just that clumsy with the razor since I seldom use it. It's kinda dangerous to me.

free skin care · Mon Jan 01, 2007 9:53 am

I don't either Plug-in-babe, but I think the benefits are more about exfoliation than hair removal. I can't use scrubs, so this is definitely something I'm excited about.

free skin care · Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:07 am

Yes,

It seems that this is an easy and inexpensive solution for those who are prone to broken capillaries and rosacea--caused by AHAs and scrubs (and swim goggles Crying or Very sad

).
Haven't done it yet, tho'.

--avalange

free skin care · Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:15 am

Broken caps here too. That's why this is so appealing to me.

free skin care · Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:27 pm

dealated wrote:

Nijey wrote:

Chrissie wrote:

I do it occasionally. I've noticed makeup does go on better after shaving. The person that mentioned to me that she did it, was a few years older than me, but didn't look it. She said when men shave, the razor exfoliates their skin and thats one of the reasons they don't seem to age as fast as women. It made sense to me!

Ah, nope. That's a myth. Men don't age as fast as women mostly because they have thicker skin than we do.

Definitely not a myth, it is one of the many factors though.

Okay, not a myth. But I still doubt that shaving is the miracle it's purported to be. I'm sure it does help in exfoliating the top layer of dead skin, but am not convinced that a normal exfoliant can't do the same. In any case, I found another article that mentions this:

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/128/117090.htm

free skin care · Fri Jan 12, 2007 6:46 am

Lemming alert: I tried this a couple of times with an old razor and thought, wow this is nice. Bought a new razor and it isn't so nice. Shock

Ouch. No more smooth skin, I have the razor burn bumps and now dry skin.

I read, I tried, I learned, I'll stop now. Laughing

free skin care · Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:14 am

tamifaye wrote:

Lemming alert: I tried this a couple of times with an old razor and thought, wow this is nice. Bought a new razor and it isn't so nice. Shock

Ouch. No more smooth skin, I have the razor burn bumps and now dry skin.

I read, I tried, I learned, I'll stop now. Laughing

ouch!

You know, they sell little facial razors for this very purpose (I learned this by following this thread)... I'm too attached to my peachfuzz to give it a whirl...

--avalange

free skin care · Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:53 am

After reading this thread, I took the plunge too. Amazing results.

I had some acne scars on my upper lip and it's slowly fading. I was tired of plucking or getting it waxed. I went to a Japanese store and saw they had a razor for face (it was cheap $4 for 3). It looks like the old fashion razor that a barber would use to shave a man's face but this is for women, and it's pink and foldable. At first I was afraid I cut myself because it was an actual razor but it had something on the razor to prevent cuts, it was easy and I was able to shave really close but slow. I was able to use the razor to get to the hard areas or shaving the top of my eyebrows (to get a certain angle).

Thank you starting this thread. I would of never had the guts to do it. Very Happy

So your supposed to shave in the direction of the hair growth and not the opposite? I wonder why people had said to shave the opposite.

free skin care · Fri Jan 12, 2007 3:52 pm

Oh would'nt life be grand (for me anyway) Italian and Portuguese if I could shave my entire body and not have any side effects (ie: more hair growth, thicker..and darker). That is simply not the case for me. I shave the bottom half of my arms, because I go so sick and tired of wazing, bleaching and shaving them is easier. I now have thick, black hair that grows like wild fire. I would never put a razor to my fine hair on my face. I would probably grow a full beard. Not me

free skin care · Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:01 pm

I've been shaving my face for about 2 weeks now. I'm glad I did. Without the peach fuzz, my skin looks more clear and my make-up looks better. It helps with the exfoliation too.

I also bought the Braun Epilator to get rid of some body hair. I LOVE it for my arms. I also use it for legs and underarms. It has a trimmer attached, so I use the trimmer for bikini line.

free skin care · Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:09 pm

I did this a few times and it seems to make my pores appear larger.. and I tend to break out from doing this. Sad

free skin care · Sun Jan 14, 2007 7:43 pm

poohlisey wrote:

I did this a few times and it seems to make my pores appear larger.. and I tend to break out from doing this. Sad

Poohlisey: Don't use the same razor that you use on your legs. Have a separate one for your face if you decide to continue shaving. Don't fret sweetie...your pores look larger because your skin is smoother. Another problem is we all examine ourselves WAAAAAAAAY to closely in the mirror looking for "flaws." There is nothing cheaper in the skincare market, than a little ol' razor. Wink

free skin care · Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:08 pm

I do the dermaplaning at my esthetician's office about every 3 weeks. I really like the results and it does not make my hair grow back any darker or thicker.

free skin care · Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:16 pm

Oh lawd. I think I may have razor burn on my right cheek.

Shock

Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:18 pm

I am also a shaver. I had a lot of very soft, light peach fuzz on the sides of my face. It has not come back darker or thicker and I have no stubble. My makeup looks so much better, goes on smoother. And when I'm outside or in a brightly sunlit room my peach fuzz is no longer noticable. If you have peach fuzz on your face take a mirror to a brightly lit window or look in your car's rear view mirror. You'll be shocked how apparent it is! We figure if it's light/blonde it's not noticable. WRONG! Sometimes I use a regular razor with a new blade, sometimes I use one of those battery operated razors for the bikini or "private" areas. I think it's called a Seiko. It doesn't nicks and leaves the skin baby smooth.

free skin care · Tue Jan 30, 2007 9:25 pm

mountain girl- what kind of razor do you use?

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