come out of the closet...do you shave your face?
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free skin care · Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:33 pm

Ok...I mentioned (on an unrelated post) that I am a 12 year veteran of shaving my face. My dermatologist highly recommended this practice, but I thought it was ABSURD...so years passed before I broke down and ran a razor across my face. I regret terribly, that I waited until I was 42 to start doing this, when he suggested years before. Now all my girlfriends do it too and love it. I do not recommend it if you have a hairy face, because the hair will grow in with a blunt tip and feel stiffer, but it WILL NOT MAKE YOUR HAIR GROW!!--or make hair grow courser. It WILL make your skin look beautiful, and makeup goes on so smooth. SO....I know I will endure some ridicule or disbelief, just as I felt when it was first suggested to me....but I'm interested in seeing how many ladies will own up to this facing S-A-V-I-N-G practice.

free skin care · Wed Dec 27, 2006 7:39 am

I shave my face only for the exfoliation benefits...NOT to remove hair. When I was much younger I had electrolysis to remove some darkish hairs around my moustache area, and now I don't really have any hair on my face to deal with. When I used to go to my dermatologists office, he had newspaper articles on this subject posted on his walls and I was completely horrified. All of the women who worked in his office had BEAUTIFUL skin, young and old, and I used to give them the third degree about their shaving..."do you get a beard?" "do you do it every day?"..."do you lather up with shaving creme?" etc. I absolutely thought it was insane just as most of you do right now! It was years before I broke down and tried it. I was always aware that older men had beautiful skin, compared to their equivalently aged wives, and knew that shaving played a part (as well as testosterone.) Men who wear beards their whole lives, rarely have skin as nice as their shaved counterparts. I think it is a best kept beauty secret, but still too taboo to bring out in the open...but thought it was a worthy discussion. I believe in shaving any area exposed to the sun. I shave my forehead, crows feet area, cheeks, upper lip and chin (and sometime lips too)--but no, I don't shave my nose!! I also shave my arms, which are so soft and silky, inspite of the 20 years I lived as a tanorexic. I did try shaving my upper chest area, since I get splotchy sun damage there, but the skin was too sensitive. I shave every day or two, but my derm said 3 times a week is sufficient. I am all about doing absolutely everything possible to save my skin and so far it's working. Women very frequently ask me what I do for my skin, since it looks unbelievably good for my age (54.) I am not suggesting here, that anyone with a hairy face, do this. If you don't have a facial hair problem, I think it is one of the most important skin care practices you could do.
I have 5 girlfriends that are doing now, (thanks to me) and LOVE IT~!

free skin care · Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:55 am

I forgot to mention that I dry shave. I take a regular razor and shave above my lip, the sides of my face where the massive amounts of peach fuzz are,my chin and between my brows. My peach fuzz always grows back the same as before I shaved. I've been shaving for a few years now. I do it about once or twice a week. It only takes one minute because I just lighty run a dry razor over my skin. Like I said before, my makeup goes on much more flawless without the hair there. As I age I do have one or two coarser hairs on my chin that I pluck but those hairs did not become coarser because I shave. It's an age thing.

free skin care · Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:10 pm

Seeking~HG wrote:

Does anyone who shaves their face have a follow-up to share with us? How is the face shaving going for you? Has anyone experienced breakouts? Has anyone gotten any ingrown hairs? Has anyone grown thicker/darker facial hair? Any regrets, anyone?
I'm still trying to get up the nerve to try it!

I did not experience anything you mentioned but...... When I first started, I had at least 1 or 2 cuts on my face every time I shaved. After I stopped cutting my face I began to cut my fingers. Now, all cutting stopped but my eyebrows are getting skinner and skiner and skinner and skinner.....

free skin care · Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:10 pm

I tried shaving my upper lip about 2 years ago, what a mistake. I started getting a bit of a blond moustache and the hairs were very fine but seemed in more abundance than I had ever had before. In about a week or so I started getting much coarser and some darker hair regrowth. I did it again of course but now I only wax and will NEVER shave again.

free skin care · Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:06 am

mariah...here's some tips:

Use a separate razor, not the same one you use on your legs.

Shave dry...I began doing this after I started the thread and it is the best way to exfoliate.

Don't press down hard with the razor, lightly go over your face, from the center out, going IN the direction of the hair... (no don't shave your nose Laughing

)

You mentioned your face was red so I'm assuming you have very sensitive skin. I would put a soothing oil or lotion on afterwards (like emu or hemp.)

3-5 times a week should be plenty. Remember, the idea of shaving is not for hair removal, but for preserving your skin by exfoliation.

free skin care · Sat Jan 01, 2011 3:33 pm

Katy wrote:

knathani wrote:

do NOT shave your face daily or you will definitely get stubble. best practice would be to only shave when absolutely necessary.

Absolutely agree!! Just don't shave your face unless it is really necessary...!! Embarassed

Don't shave your face if:
(1) You are hairy.

Do shave your face if:
(1) You want to have beautiful skin when you're an old lady or man! Laughing

free skin care · Sun Jan 02, 2011 2:19 pm

DarkMoon wrote:

mountaingirl,

Shaving doesn't change the diameter or color of a hair! The "stubble" on legs only looks that way because it's blunt when growing out! Bad Grin

EXACTLY DkMn!! It isn't new hair...it's just what you had, with the fine end of the hair "off."

free skin care · Tue Jan 04, 2011 4:44 am

And I say DON'T SHAVE YOUR FACE IF YOUR HAIRY, because it freaks women out when they feel that blunt tip and they immediately tend to think that they are growing more hair. Too avoid that I recommend ridding yourself of some of that darker, courser hair first. When I say "if you're hairy" I'm talking about darker hair on the face, not necessarily fine, light peach fuzz.

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