Brett is bemused… So here’s my problem. I’m a guy and I cannot seem to ever get a close shave. I have tried all the recommendations I have found on the Internet (ie: use a brush, leave the shaving cream on for a long time, shave in the shower, etc) all to no avail. Even after I have just shaved it looks like I have a 5′oclock shadow. My facial hair is really coarse and my skin is quite pale. It bothers me especially above my upper lip when I’ve just shaved and the blade won’t get any of the super-short hairs that are still there. I was wondering a) what is better electric or blade, b) is it really that bad to shave against the grain if you are someone who doesn’t get ingrown hairs, and c) would it be safe/effective to use a nair-type product or a hair-bleaching product to get rid of the last remnants of hair after I shave and d) how often could these products be used (every day? once a week). (Questions C and D are the ones I’d like answered the most).
The Right’s Brain’s razor sharp response:
In answer to C and D: you can use a depilatory to get rid of facial hair, but it’s not without some risks.
Facial hair aware
The fine folks at Nair, for example, make a facial depilatory. They recommend that for coarse or hard to remove hair you saturate hair with lukewarm water for several minutes, pat dry and then apply product. But, they warn, don’t leave the product on for longer than 10 minutes. They also warn against other factors like not using the product at all if your skin is sunburned or iritated. Both likely conditions for a man’s face to experience, especially if you’re shaving. Finally, they tell you not to use the product more than once a week. That’s not great news if you’re trying to get rid of your five o’clock shadow daily, but hey, it still may help.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Facial depilatories may not be the answer to your problem, but it’s not gonna kill you if you try it. Basically, give it a shot but back off if you get irritation. Follow the products directions as closely as possible to reduce the danger to your skin. You might also want to consider bleaching to lighten the color of facial hair.
For more shaving stuff, we suggest you visit Shaveblog, a site that specializes in how to scrape hair off your face.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s an easy problem- he’s shaving all wrong. If he’s even asking blades or electric or is it ok to go against the grain, he’s shaving wrong. My husband had the same problem and switched to a safety razor and now his face is totally smooth for a day before stubble shows up. Its pretty amazing. It worked for your grandpa and before him, it’ll work for you. The proper way he told me to shave with a brush and safety razor (or straight razor) is in a couple passes in every direction of grain.
I thought I’d heard about some guys waxing their facial hair. I don’t know what kinds of irritation and ingrown hairs might result, but if the reader is so inclined, it’s another option to try.
The only problem with waxing–I waxed my chin hair in my 20′s, and it stimulated the hair follicles; the hair proliferated wildly until I couldn’t keep up with it waxing (ultimately, I got electrolysis). Any time you actually pull a hair out (with tweezers or waxing), my understanding is you can stimulate that follicle. I have heard conflicting views on whether this is true; however, the american electrology association still has this to say: “Waxing, threading and tweezing are alike. However, ingrown hairs and discoloration may result. Additionally, they may cause an increase in hair growth activity.”
though, admittedly, american electrology association may not be an objective source…
there are also hair removal cream that perfectly removes facial hair and leaves the skin smooth after.
Waxing should eventually kill off the hair follicle and stop hair from growing. At least that’s what I’ve been told.
I find exfoliating is the only way I get a decent shave with my legs and armpits. That and a four blade razor. Even when I leave the Nair on for the full amount of time – and then some – not all the hair gets removed. I often find one or two here and there.
i’ll preface with an apology for my long post!!!
from experience i can say that i don’t think it’s a problem to shave against the grain, unless you are prone to ingrowns. also, i lather up, shave one direction, rinse, lather up again, then shave in a cross direction. even then i sometimes have to go back for some patches that grow wonky. you will always get a closer shave, in my opinion, from a blade over an electric razor. if none of that works for you i can only guess that perhaps it is just because you are so fair and your facial hair so dark that it shows even when you’ve gotten it flush to the skin….i’ve seen guys like that..even freshly shaved you can see the coloring of the hair.
also try exfoliating regularly, not with a scrub, but preferably a BHA(salicylic acid) based exfoliant…i find i get a cleaner shave when i use that a few times a week.
if you’re up for experimenting, brett, i was watching HSN and they offer a device called the “no!-no!”…originally it was only designed for body use but recently they have added facial accessories. it’s not cheap (could be from 200 to 250 dollars) but you have a thirty day period in which to try it and return if you don’t like. the reviews do run from ‘hate it’ to raving about how fantastic it is. i’ve been considering this for my own facial hair as i just hate the shaving experience..my hair isn’t particularly thick or dark…couldn’t grow a decent goatee to save my life…but i just hate the time shaving takes.
if brett reads this and is interested, and if i don’t offend anyone by offering the link to the product, here it is(and i promise, i’m in no way affiliated with no! no! or hsn…well, i watch a lot of hsn, but i digress):
http://beauty.hsn.com/no-no-8800-face-and-bikini-professional-hair-removal-kit_p-5932086_xp.aspx?cmsstr=950968&webm_id=5932086&web_id=5932086&sz=2&sf=BS&dept=BS0058&cat=&o=&ocm=seis if brett, or another guy, should try this,please keep us updated…i’m really tempted!
Hi Jami,
I’ve heard mixed things about waxing. I of course can’t know if what happened to me on my chin was just a coinicidence, but it seemed like a crazy-fast proliferation and thickening of the hair to just be hormonal changes. What you’re describing happened on my upper lip (the hairs either not changing or getting finer), but the electrologist told me some areas respond differently than others (I know, sounds like mullarkey). Their training teaches them that anything that pulls out a hair can stimulate the root of that hair (several electrologists have told me this; they recommend shaving or clipping between treatments to avoid this). So, I’m not sure where the truth lies…I did check out emedicine just for a more objective view, and as I remember it, their bottom line was something like that it wasn’t known what effect these methods have on the hair follicles.
See, my mom always told me that if you continuously pull a hair out eventually the root will die off.
Now I don’t know if this is true. I have facial hair I have to wax caused by my PCOS and I haven’t seen a lot of it going away – even after laser treatments. However I’ve had these three dark black hairs that have been showing up on my right breast since puberty. I’ve plucked them ever single time I’ve spotted them for years. The last few years they’ve been growing in a lot thinner – very wispy – and now take months rather then weeks to reappear. And even then it’s just two of them, not the three that used to be there.
I also notice that my eyebrow hairs that I’ve been waxing since I was ten aren’t growing in as much or as thick as before. Even if I don’t wax my eyebrows regularly I don’t get the monobrow I used to get.
Yes, the reason I started waxing in the first place was because friends told me that the hair would grow back in finer (and it was advertised on the hot wax box that this would be the result); electrologists as I mentioned told me that was a myth, then other people told me what my electrologists told me was a myth, and so on. I have heard eyebrow hairs are special somehow, that the follicles get damaged by the “trauma” of plucking more readily than other areas. Not sure why that would be so, since a hair follicle is just a hair follicle!
Don’t ask me. The BBs might know even though it’s more of a medical question then a chemical one.
I do know one of my mom’s friends plucked out all her eyelashes when she was younger and now has to constantly wear fakes. I thought maybe that stuff that makes thin eyelashes grow might help her, but I think that’s up to her eye doctor to suggest anyway.
I like waxing, the hair in my upper lip is begining to grow thin like it use to be when I was a teneger, plus some of my hair in the rest of the face has not grow back so it does work for me.
I supose is difrent for everybody.