In the past 2 years, I had been hearing of loads of celebrities shaving their faces and hundreds of beauty gurus recommending shaving as a way to get rid of dead skin cells and remove peach fuzz. Obviously, I was amazed. Were they really talking about shaving, the thing guys do everyday? When I learned that a freshly shaved face allowed smoother, brighter skin to resurface that helped skincare products penetrate deeper and makeup to glide on easier, you best believe I was sold. 

 While I was researching, I found that women have been shaving their faces since the days of Cleopatra and today, thousands of women are falling back into the shaving routine because of famous celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. Any advice to achieve the holy grail of better skin and you've got me on board (after I thoroughly do my research, of course). 

I read that in places like Japan and the United States, there were professional salons dedicated to shaving women's faces. In fact, the professional term for this is dermaplaning in which a professional aesthetician, with the help of a scalpel or blade, gets rid of all the dead cells on the outermost layer of the skin. Since most people do not have the time or resources to visit salons each month, many claimed that shaving their face at home led to similar results. I also learned that shaving your face religiously once a week (or two, depending on your need) can stimulate the production of collagen and soften fine lines on your face.

The First Time I Shaved

Fascinated, I decided to give shaving a try. I waited for a week so that my menstrual acne could settle down because apparently, you should never shave on active acne zones. I had already purchased some tinkle razors that I threw at the bottom of my vanity box to keep safe from my old-school mother- how would I explain to her that her daughter wanted to shave her face, something that men always do?

To put everything into context, I have dry, sensitive skin. Usually, when I thread my upper lips, I'm left with little irritated spots that last for at least two days, even when I put aloe vera to calm my skin down every hour. I also absolutely hate going to the salon to get rid of my facial hair every week. I'm a hairy girl who has always had thicker growth, as opposed to my friends who have extremely thin hair growth and only get waxed and threaded once a month (WOW).

How I Shaved My Face

First, I went and cleansed my face with my favorite Cerave cleanser to get rid of the sunblock, pollution, and bacteria that may have built up on my face during the day. To create a barrier between the razor and my skin, I put on some facial oil. Apparently, this is always recommended because shaving can cause friction which leads to irritation. I had read that you can use a foaming shaving cream as well, but I decided to go with what I had available on hand. 

The trick to shaving your face is to hold your skin taut and keep the tinkle pointed at a 45-degree angle. You must shave in small, quick stokes, and always downwards. I started from my sideburns and made my way down. I could see all the peach fuzz disappear with every stroke and truth be told, I was so excited that I could barely concentrate on shaving the rest of my face.

 I kept cleaning the razor with a small cloth to get rid of the oil, hair, dead cells, and gunk that was building up with every stroke. I went back to shave my forehead when I was done with the lower half of my face and felt confident enough to shave near my eyebrows. I, however, did not shave any extras because I still prefer getting my eyebrows done from the salon. Within 30 minutes of intense concentration and bright light against the mirror, I was done.

I quickly went in and cleaned my razor with some clean tissue and then an alcohol swab, before washing my face with cold water.

The Instant Result

I put on a thick layer of some aloe vera gel to soothe some of the instant red patches that had showed up on my face. However, I wasn't too worried. Even with the bit of redness, I could tell how clean my skin looked. I could not see any sign of the peach fuzz that I was too scared to get waxed, and my skin looked SO smooth.

Even though I was trying not to touch my face, I couldn't help it- it felt so soft, almost as if a cloud of dust had been taken off. Within two hours, the redness had disappeared and I applied a thick layer of sunblock. I had read that using actives on a freshly-shaved face would only irritate the skin so as my PM routine, I gently cleansed my face and put on some moisturizer. 

Post-Six Months of Shaving

I can confidently say that all those claims about the hair growing back thicker and faster after shaving are completely false. It has been six months since I started shaving my face and I do not notice any difference in my hair growth. Initially, I started shaving my face once a month but as my skin got adjusted to the routine, I built it up to twice, sometimes thrice a month. 

I noticed that my skin was definitely smoother. The softness wasn't a one-time thing. My skin remained soft for at least two weeks. My makeup went on easier too! Usually, I would struggle with makeup cracks on dry patches of my skin but ever since I started shaving, I don't have that problem anymore. Another thing I noticed was the smooth application of my skincare products- I definitely felt like they were being absorbed into my skin. 

In conclusion, I love shaving my face. My skin tends to get dull, but with shaving, I know I can count on instant results. One of the best things is that I can do this while at home, in my PJS, with oil in my hair. Even though I do plan on going to a professional aesthetician someday to get dermaplaning done and figure out what mistakes I'm making with shaving at home, till the pandemic ends, I got myself covered.