Yep.
I did it.
Like the carny hopeful I never dreamed I’d be.
Now, to be fair, I wasn’t really rocking that bearded lady life.
Despite what my 9-year-old is telling people on Facebook, I just had what I would consider an average, totally-not-at-all-weird, amount of facial hair.
Enough that I have to manage my eyebrows to prevent Frida Kahlo-ism and discourage the lady doing my brows at the nail shop from upselling me a lip wax.
Totally normal.
However.
I have struggled recently with acne, particularly along my jaw line. And, if I’m honest, I have noted that my facial hair has gotten a little more, um, engaging with age. Not are-you-doing-Movember-this-year engaging, just slightly thicker and more resistant to going unnoticed in places engaging.
It’s not that I have what I would consider an actual mustache, per se, but more of something that could be construed as one in certain light, at certain angles, and via certain people.
So yeah.
Then I read an article about face shaving for women by a woman who swears by shaving her face.
I’d link you if I could recall where I’d seen it (Google face shaving for women) but, boiled down, they basically said tons of celebs do it, it helps exfoliate, it helps reduce breakouts, and allows your makeup to look better when you put it on. Plus, you’ll be a hairless goddess and most people won’t even notice (unless you blog about it).
Sold.
Sign me up for face shaving.
I ran it by at least 2 friends and my mom before I did it -they all reacted it similarly.
I, not being one to cave to the man (or the mom as the case may be) went ahead with my plan as scheduled.
Here’s what I know now.
Face Shaving for Women: 10 Things to Know Before You Shave Your Face
It’s Hard to Admit
Because even though I wasn’t Santa Clausing it around town, I now feel like I have opened myself up to a certain level of judgement. And inspection. So let me reiterate –I didn’t NEED to shave my face, I chose to shave my face for cosmetic reasons.
A Special Razor Made It Better
If I had to bust out my husband’s Gillette for this task I probably wouldn’t have gone through with it. Something about lathering up and shaving down my cheeks like an actual dude would’ve made the entire experience too horrifying. Instead, I ordered these single blade eyebrow razors (they are great for your brows too, btw) and gently handled my business (while my husband was at work and my kids were at school and the only one sitting there with their questioning eyes and confused head tilt was my dog -she watched the whole thing).
I Didn’t Use Shaving Cream
Or soap. Or anything really. I did it clean and dry. It made the exfoliating process more real for me.
I Only Did Parts
I started with cleaning up the brows. I mean, that’s a totally normal thing to do. Then, I tamed down my sideburns. I wear my hair out and it generally covers the sides of my face so really, should things go crazy, I could hide behind my big bushy hair. Because that felt right, I finished off my jaw line and then went in for the mustache upper lip area. Because I DON’T HAVE AN ACTUAL MUSTACHE. I have an upper lip that sometimes grows slightly darker hair than what I am strictly comfortable with. I shaved it off. The whole thing took about 5 real minutes. The rest of the time was spent psyching myself up, assuring myself that I’m not an old, hair man, and watching YouTube videos of other lady face shavers. Because, yes, face shaving for women is totally a thing! This one is a good one to start with: How To Shave Your Face | An Esthtician’s Guide
Moisturize After
Because you should always after you exfoliate. I use this one from Neutrogena.
And Then Put On Your Makeup
Doing something girly totally helps to erase the whole whoa-dude-I-just-shaved-my-face-like-a-real-life-man loop you may start to run in your head. That can take you to scary places you don’t want to go with yourself.
Remember, It’s Not Like It’s a Daily Thing
I did it about a month ago for the first time. And then, I hit it up again this week. I didn’t really need to do it again, but I needed to exfoliate anyway so figured it was a good time.
You Won’t Turn Into a Man
You won’t become Lady Pube Face or anything. It won’t grow back super thick or super dark (in fact, mine apparently doesn’t even grow that fast). It will grow in exactly how it was before you shaved it off.
People Probably Won’t Notice
Unless you pen a blog post about it.
But You Will
And, if you’re like me, you might like it! I feel like my face is cleaner and smoother. My makeup looks better and lasts longer. There are fewer dark shadows on my face. I’m happy with my face shaving choice and I think some of you will be too. But totally, no pressure. It’s a cosmetic choice, like wearing mascara (I hate that), or eyeliner (hate that too), or moisturizing lip stick (oh my gosh, this one from Burt’s Bees is my fave!).
Looking for some sure fire exfoliating tips? Check this out: Best Face Exfoliators for Clean, Clear Skin