# Women, do you shave your face? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156 "2015-06-10T12:50:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/21 "2015-06-11T01:23:10Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > My skin is looking dull and I wonder if this would help. Dermaplaning can help brighten up the face because it removes dead skin along with the hair. Microdermabrasion also helps. I use the [Neutrogena drugstore thing](http://www.amazon.com/Neutrogena-105525000-Microdermabrasion-System/dp/B004ZD2M6I). A skin brush can also work. I wouldn’t dermaplane and do microdermabrasion on the same day! ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/22 "2015-06-11T01:30:21Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Menopause did that for me - less limb hair, more on the chin. I swear, it’s like a second puberty - my body keeps doing weird stuff it never did before and half the time I’m on an emotional roller coaster. Holy shit, the hormones! I had a meltdown not with the night sweats, hot flashes, or emotional roller coaster (although they sucked and made me think I was crazy because they started when I as in my late 30s), but with the hair redistribution. It was falling off my head, and growing on my toes! Like I was a middle-aged male hobbit! A trip to the GYN pronto fixed that. I take an androgen blocker (which is actually a blood pressure med) along with my HRT. The hair on my head has grown back in, the hair stopped on my toes, and the single black hair on my jaw seems to have died. 🆒 I have light skin, hair, and eyes, but just don’t like the fuzz, man. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/23 "2015-06-11T02:44:58Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > No. Any hair on my face other than my eyebrows and lashes is super fine and barely noticeable. I’m kinda surprised at how many yesses there are in this thread. Some ethnic groups are more prone to fuzzy women than others. Causasians, for example, average hairier for both genders than the other broad groups known as African and Asian. Certain Causasian ethnicities are even more hirsute. I am happen to be half of one that is arguably the hairiest people on Earth. Lady 'staches are sort of inevitable in my family. > [@Octarine](#): > > Ditto - not having to shave your face is one of the few advantages to womanhood! Well… for some women… ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/24 "2015-06-11T03:22:46Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Some ethnic groups are more prone to fuzzy women than others. Causasians, for example, average hairier for both genders than the other broad groups known as African and Asian. Certain Causasian ethnicities are even more hirsute. > > I am happen to be half of one that is arguably the hairiest people on Earth. Lady 'staches are sort of inevitable in my family. > Well… for some women… It always makes me feel better to see threads like these. We’re so frequently told that women shouldn’t be hairy (to the point of being pressured to remove all hair below the neck), that it’s just not common knowledge that a lot of women do have facial hair, and not just the peach fuzz. It’s just assumed that we don’t, and you hear people talk about how it’s gross or manly. I used to genuinely worry about starting new relationships because I knew it could be a deal breaker for some people. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/25 "2015-06-11T05:12:47Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You know, I really don’t grok the whole eyebrow grooming thing. Mine grow wild and so far no one has fled screaming in horror. Then again, they’re also behind my glasses. Leaving them all natural allows them to be seen despite the rims, and eyebrows are part of many facial expressions so there. Or whatever. I wear glasses every waking moment and eyebrows are my absolute key feature. I have a BITCHIN natural arch, but the left one’s outer “tail” is naturally sparser than the other. Maintenance-wise, I only have to pluck an occasional hair on the browbone and give them a little trim every so often since the individual hairs can grow long. I fill them in with a bit of pencil or powder in under a minute. If I only do _one_ cosmetic-y thing, it’s gonna be my brows, always. I think it’s maybe because I’m _incredibly_ pale\* but have darker (aka not blonde) hair. Doing my brows defines my face and provides some contrast to break up the expanse of skin. - NARS has a foundation color called “Siberia”, and it’s _still_ darker than my skin. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/26 "2015-06-11T07:49:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Some ethnic groups are more prone to fuzzy women than others. Causasians, for example, average hairier for both genders than the other broad groups known as African and Asian. Certain Causasian ethnicities are even more hirsute. > > I am happen to be half of one that is arguably the hairiest people on Earth. Lady 'staches are sort of inevitable in my family. There’s stories about Washington Irving being this close to fainting when he got to Seville and discovered that a lot of those brunette beauties had definite moustaches; one of the expressions listed by RAE under _bigote_ (moustache) is “she doesn’t have half bad moustaches” meaning “she’s a good looking woman” (no, this doesn’t mean moustaches were considered attractive, it’s equivalent to “I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating crackers”). I often see women, specially older ones, with fuzzy 'staches that a 16yo boy would be extremely proud of. I wax my upper lip and the Wolverine side (think having one fuzzy chop), pluck those damn loose hard hairs, but have also been known to grab a razor on an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/27 "2015-06-11T08:53:28Z")
I’m a guy but I recently wondered about this myself but not in terms of getting rid of hair but being a far better exfoliant than any lotion. Since it is dead skin cells that clog razor blades and limit the life of disposables I figured a quick light shave, once in a while, with a good shaving gel or oil would do skin more good. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/28 "2015-06-11T09:32:03Z")
Sure, but women are taught _only men shave their faces_. Many women would use a blade anywhere from the neck down, there are razors marketed to women for legs, for the bikini area, for “touch ups”, all sorts of specialized razors but _never on the face._ (Actually, there are razors for the eyebrow area, but they’re wispy little things and again, highly specialized). Women are taught to never scrub the face, rub the face, use a washcloth because it’s too rough, etc. but then are told to pay for expensive exfoliant lotions and “scrubs”. Great marketing stuff, maybe not so good for the woman. I’ve been told oh, no, don’t shave! Bleach it! Um… a white goatee/soul patch/moustache are still visible. This isn’t peach fuzz. It’s not a man beard, no, not that heavy, but it’s not peach fuzz, either. Well, gee, I can either have facial hair, which I’m told is a horror because it’s a man trait and I will become a social pariah and no man will associate me (the social thing, by the way, is untrue - some are like that, but most aren’t) or I can depilitate. To be frank, waxing HURTS. So does threading and sugaring and plucking. Bleach doesn’t fix the problem. For some of us, shaving is quick, easy, and effective - NOOOOOOO! It’s something MEN DO, WOMEN DON’T! Screw it - as a child I get fed up with being told “young ladies don’t do that”. You know what? Usually it was something that women actually did do. Yes, a lot of women have that “unwanted facial hair” and some of us actually _shave_ it off! Because that’s what works for us. YMMV and I fully approve that these days women have multiple options and can tailor their grooming needs to their own preferences. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/29 "2015-06-11T09:37:51Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I wear glasses every waking moment and eyebrows are my absolute key feature. I have a BITCHIN natural arch, but the left one’s outer “tail” is naturally sparser than the other. Maintenance-wise, I only have to pluck an occasional hair on the browbone and give them a little trim every so often since the individual hairs can grow long. I fill them in with a bit of pencil or powder in under a minute. See, this is what I completely don’t get. I have never paid that much attention to anyone’s eyebrows. It would never occur to me to evaluate the arch, or notice that they aren’t perfectly symmetrical. It’s like I have a blind spot. I am baffled that people pay that much attention to that fine a level of detail in faces. Well, OK, I get that people notice details because that’s what makes faces unique and recognizable, but apparently people have been examining my eyebrows for decades and making snap judgments about me for years and I’ve been totally oblivious to it. It _wan’t_ covered either time I went to charm school, I’m wondering when in the intervening 40 years this has become something to be concerned about, and why I didn’t get the memo. For me, eyebrow maintenance is washing them along with the rest of my face. Again, I am totally behind women wearing their eyebrows however they want. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/30 "2015-06-11T17:26:11Z")
I’m surprised at how many women use blades on their faces! I only use an electric shaver (and tweezers). I can’t imagine taking a regular razor to my upper lip or chin…I just know I’d cut myself, and I scar very easily. I already wear more foundation/concealer than I’d like. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/31 "2015-06-11T17:47:50Z")
I’m of northern German extraction - very fair compected with rosy cheeks and pale blonde hair. My facial hair is definitely there (I know completely what you meant about the Wolverine sideburns look), but the hair is so fine and pale that I’ve just left it alone. Same is true for the ‘mustache’ and chin. Makes it tough to wear foundation successfully, but I’ve been blessed with nice even skin tone, so I just skip the foundation entirely. However, since Madame Menopause has overtaken my entire body and made unwelcome changes, I have recently sprouted 3 thick, long, coal black witchy chin hairs that are particularly noticeable if I don’t keep up the maintenance. I bought one of those little pen-sized battery operated lady razors and it takes care of the 3 hairs nicely. I know, hardly enough to get out even the world’s smallest violin for, but it’s amazing how horrifying those witchy chin hairs are to me and how repelled I am by them! ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/32 "2015-06-11T18:00:40Z")
After treatment that caused my peach fuzz to thicken and some harsher hairs to sprout, I do use one of those battery operated face razors to get rid of it. When I’m 80, I probably won’t care so much but when children commented on the facial hair it was embarrassing enough to cause me to do this. Unfortunately, I plunked down money for laser hair removal and it didn’t work for me. Apparently, my hair wasn’t dark enough. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/33 "2015-06-11T19:29:36Z")
Electrolysis is the only form of hair removal approved by the FDA to permanently remove hair on the face. Lasered facial hair will often grow back. ([Cite](http://dermatologytimes.modernmedicine.com/dermatology-times/news/modernmedicine/modern-medicine-feature-articles/electrolysis-successful-where?page=full)) I too have PCOS and at one point could have grown a goatee, but I had electrolysis on my upper lip and chin about 10 years ago, and the hair has not grown back. It is painful (unless you use lidocaine cream or something similar) and it took about a year and $2500 in total to complete, but IMO it was the best present I have ever given to myself. I was plucking at least twice a day before and my skin was perpetually raw and irritated, not to mention all the psychological grief that comes with having so much facial hair and not being able to stop plucking. BUT, there are still fine baby hairs on my upper lip that were not electrolysissified, and those I shave off every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/34 "2015-06-11T21:00:32Z")
I get quite a few stupid chin hairs. I use an epilator to remove them. I had laser hair removal for my chin. It lasted maybe 6-7. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/35 "2015-06-11T22:27:36Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I get quite a few stupid chin hairs. I use an epilator to remove them. I had laser hair removal for my chin. It lasted maybe 6-7. “6-7…” Minutes? Weeks? Years? If minutes, zowie! That’s some aggressive hair! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/36 "2015-06-12T01:23:14Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > NARS has a foundation color called “Siberia”, and it’s _still_ darker than my skin. Heh. That’s way darker than my skin. I use a L’Oreal BB Cream that starts out white but is supposed to change to match your skin tone. It doesn’t need to change to match mine… ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/37 "2015-06-12T06:19:31Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You know, I really don’t grok the whole eyebrow grooming thing. Mine grow wild and so far no one has fled screaming in horror. Then again, they’re also behind my glasses. Leaving them all natural allows them to be seen despite the rims, and eyebrows are part of many facial expressions so there. Or whatever. On me, it looks better. I tend to be less diligent about my eyebrows than I should be, but when I do get my eyebrows done, it makes my whole face look indefinably better, more balanced or proportionate or something. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/38 "2015-06-12T12:49:40Z")
OK, as I have said, I’m not disputing this is a thing for some people, and I fully support the right of people to groom their eyebrows. It’s just that _I can’t see the difference._ Sure, if I was standing there before and after and you pointed these things out I’d see them, but unless you do that, or unless [you start with eyebrows like this guy](http://media.theiapolis.com/aR/cDCDCDC/d4/e4/hM8/i1P06/r1/s1/t4/wG4/z23/freddie-jones-as-thufir-hawat-in-dune-1984.jpg), or you entirely remove your eyebrows, I’m really not going to make note of it. In fact, I’d say I see more _men_ in need of eyebrow grooming than women, and even then, not very often. So, yes, I get that for a lot of women it’s part of their look, their grooming, and they feel better for achieving their eyebrow goals… it’s just that I can’t personally see what difference it makes. Which is another reason I don’t do this - since I can’t grok what the goal is here if I did try it I’d probably horribly botch it. I sort of have that problem with a lot of fashion stuff. I just don’t get it. This is, apparently, baffling to some people for whom these things are as natural as breathing. Some days I feel like a blind person trying to color-cordinate my outfit. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/39 "2015-06-12T13:09:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > OK, as I have said, I’m not disputing this is a thing for some people, and I fully support the right of people to groom their eyebrows. > > It’s just that _I can’t see the difference._ > > Sure, if I was standing there before and after and you pointed these things out I’d see them, but unless you do that, or unless [you start with eyebrows like this guy](http://media.theiapolis.com/aR/cDCDCDC/d4/e4/hM8/i1P06/r1/s1/t4/wG4/z23/freddie-jones-as-thufir-hawat-in-dune-1984.jpg), or you entirely remove your eyebrows, I’m really not going to make note of it…_snip_ Correct. Like so many makeup things, it’s meant to be subtle… someone else is not supposed to notice it. If someone _notices_, then you’ve gone too far. But it does make a difference in someone’s appearance. An [example](https://livinglikealady.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/eyebrows-before-and-after.jpg) of how it makes a difference. [Another](http://www.ramy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Brow-makeover-3cr.jpg) [Another](http://www.ramy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Brow-makeover-3cr.jpg) [One more](http://www.seoulbrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/311.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156/40 "2015-06-12T13:22:39Z")
Hmmm… You know, for the first example I actually like the before look better. I really didn’t see any need for change. The middle two - I don’t like the after because the make up added is too obvious to me, they brows look like they were drawn onto her face. Sure, it’s neater, but I think the end result is overdone. The last one is the only one where I can see any gain. If I really noticed any of those in daily interactions, though, it would probably be the last example, and maybe not even that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-shave-your-face/722156.md?page=3)