There is a rapidly increasing trend of women shaving face with a razor because of the ease, rapidity, and flawless results provided by shaving. This hair removal method not only eliminates unwanted hair but also gives you smooth and perfect skin.
Wondering whether you should try it or not? Keep reading because we are going to discuss the pros and cons of shaving, its right technique, and some useful tips that can make your shaving go as smoothly as a professional.
Table of Contents:
- Part 1: Benefits of Shaving Face for Women
- Part 2: Downsides of Shaving Face for Women
- Part 3: Will Shaving Make Your Hair Darker and Thicker?
- Part 4: Can Shaving Face Cause Acne?
- Part 5: How to Shave Your Face With a Razor?
- Part 6: A Better Alternative: Ulike IPL Hair Removal Device
Part 1: Benefits of Shaving Face for Women
Exfoliation
Shaving not only removes unwanted hair from a woman’s face but it also gets rid of impurities and microbes that ultimately lead to acne. Scraping a shaving razor against your skin removes dead cells from the skin while washing the shaving cream off your face thoroughly cleanses it, thus preventing clogging of pores. This gives your face a fresher look with a smoother texture.
Smooth Application of Makeup
Learning every new makeup technique to make your look perfect? Cannot get a smooth finish no matter how hard you try? The problem is not your technique. It can be small vellus hair on your face that makes your makeup flaky and uneven.
Therefore, shaving can help you get a flawless makeup look by getting rid of the peach fuzz from your face. It also lets the makeup adhere better and enables deeper absorption of skincare products.
Hair-free Skin
Shaving offers you painless hair removal. Whether your hair is coarse and thick or thin and fuzzy, shaving offers smooth hair removal in both cases. Hence, you can enjoy silky and soft skin using this technique. The method is also quicker and less messy than others. Additionally, The warm water softens the facial hair thus making hair removal easy.
Part 2: Downsides of Shaving Face for Women
Regrowth
The biggest reason why everyone runs from shaving is the quick hair regrowth. Your razor blade only removes hair above the surface of the skin while shaving cream is used for lubrication purposes only. None of them acts on hair below the surface of skin thus making regrowth faster.
In women, facial hair can regrow within 24 hours to a few days.
Irritation and Sensitivity
Shaving can cause skin irritation through razor burns, ingrown hair, allergic reactions, or skin sensitivity. Razor burns are commonly caused by dry shaving while ingrown hair occurs when the cut hair curls back into your skin.
Furthermore, shaving cream ingredients like sulfates can cause redness, skin irritation, and skin sensitivity. This skin irritation and sensitivity makes your face prone to bacterial invasion leading to infection, acne, and pimples.
Razor Burns and Cuts
A beginner can never shave without cutting their skin. We all have at least once suffered from shaving cuts and nicks when we shaved hair initially, right? It can be prevented by learning the correct shaving technique.
However, if you continue with the wrong technique, use an old and rusted razor, and shave without a lubricant, you will easily get razor burns, cuts, and razor bumps.
Part 3: Will Shaving Make Your Hair Darker and Thicker?
Should we debunk the most popular shaving myth for you? There is a common belief that shaving makes your hair darker and thickerbut it is false. Shaving does not have any effect on the color, thickness, or rate of your hair growth.
Then why does your hair look thicker and darker after shaving? It is because the blade cuts your hair above the surface of your skin making the edges of shaved hair blunt. These blunt edges look thicker than your normal hair. In addition, continuous exposure to the sun makes the color of your already-grown hair lighter. So, when the new hair comes out people compare them with the sun-bleached hair. Therefore, they appear to be darker.
Are you sure about thicker and darker regrowth? Neither the shaving cream nor the blades affect regrowth but your hormonal imbalance can. Hormones play a vital role in determining your hair growth pattern so if you are facing a thicker and quicker regrowth, get yourself checked.
Part 4: Can Shaving Face Cause Acne?
It may or may not. It entirely depends upon your method of shaving, improper pre and post-care, and using the wrong blades. Let’s see how each of these factors contributes to acne.
- Wrong shaving technique: Your shaving technique impacts the aftereffects of hair removal to a great extent. Wrong technique includes shaving your face against the grain, not cleaning your razor frequently, or dry shaving. These break your skin’s protective barrier. So, it becomes weak and can be easily invaded by bacteria
- Improper skin care: If you are not cleaning your face before shaving or getting the shaving cream off your face after hair removal, be ready to face acne. No cleansing, or using oily products can clog your pores leading to acne. Moreover, if you do not hydrate your skin after shaving, your skin’s barrier breaks thus letting pathogenic bacteria enter your skin, grow there, and cause pimples
- Using the wrong blades: If you are using dull blades, they can break your hair instead of cutting them. This lets those broken hair curl back into your skin causing ingrown hair. They appear similar to pimples. Moreover, an old unclean razor can block your pores with dirt which ultimately causes acne
How to Prevent Acne?
Shaving can cause acne but you can prevent it by:
- Using a clean razor to minimize the interaction of impurities with your skin
- Opt for a sharp blade to cut your hair smoothly instead of breaking them
- Hydrate your skin with an oil-free moisturizer
- Cleanse the face thoroughly before shaving and ensure that there is no cream or cut hair stuck on your face after shaving
- Exfoliate your skin regularly to unclog your pores, let the fresh skin glow, and stay smooth for a long time
Part 5: How to Shave Your Face With a Razor?
Follow these steps to enjoy a flawless shave with minimum chances of razor burns, bumps, acne, or ingrown hair
What to Apply Before Shaving Face for Women
Let’s enlighten ourselves with the right sequence of applying products for smooth shaving:
- Pre-shave cleanser: By now, you must be very well aware of why cleansing is necessary. Applying a gentle cleanser on your face before shaving can help you remove your makeup along with all the impurities your face gets exposed to throughout the day
- Shaving cream or gel: After cleansing, you can start the shaving procedure by applying a shaving cream or gel. These create a thin protective layer between the blade and skin. This layer prevents the blade from cutting your skin and lubricates it enough to decrease the resistance between the blade and the skin’s surface
Step-by-step Guide for Shaving Face
Now, after skin preparation, the next step is to use the blade on your face in the right way.
- Take a small quantity of shaving cream and apply it to your face evenly
- Hold your skin taut slightly upwards and outwards if you are shaving the sideburns. On the other hand, press it slightly downwards towards your teeth if you are working with your upper lip hair
- Then take a sharp facial razor and hold it at 45 degrees from your face
- By using small strokes toward the direction of hair growth, start removing your hair
- Clean your razor frequently throughout the process
- Lastly, when you are done shaving, clean your face thoroughly and pat dry it
What to Do After Shaving Face
Let’s move towards the next steps:
- To make sure there is no cream on your face, rinse it with water to eliminate all the remains and pat dry the face using a clean towel
- Your skin becomes dry at this stage. To prevent dryness, apply a chemical-free non-comedogenic moisturizer to hydrate your skin and strengthen its protective surface
- Lastly, protect your face from the sun for at least 24-48 hours after shaving. You can wear a hat, apply sunscreen with SPF 30, or avoid going out to let your skin rest and heal
Part 6: A Better Alternative: Ulike IPL Hair Removal Device
Finding it difficult to remove the hair without cutting your face? Do you want an easy solution? Replace shaving with IPL hair removal. It is nearly a painless hair removal method that lets you enjoy smooth skin for months to years. Furthermore, with Ulike Sapphire Air 3 handset, it can be as quick as shaving and can be done conveniently at home. Let’s discuss some properties of the device:
- It has four-fold ice-cooling technology that makes hair removal almost pain-free and keeps the temperature in control
- The multi-mode device can be used for all areas including your bikini line and upper lip
- One flash every 0.7 seconds makes the process quick and efficient
- With 1 million flashes, it can work for more than ten years
Conclusion
Shaving is beneficial as it is quick, easy, and makes the makeup adherence better and smoother on your face. It exfoliates your skin thus getting rid of dirt particles from the face and preventing acne. But, if you do not cleanse your face before shaving you are more prone to breakouts.
Additionally using dull blades or being unaware of the right technique can lead to skin irritation, sensitivity, razor bumps, and burns. Therefore, if you think that shaving fits your needs and preferences then start by focusing on learning the right technique. Also, properly care for your skin pre and post-shaving to prevent irritation and acne.
