Unwanted Facial Hair

Hey everyone!

I got a note in my suggestion box asking me how I get rid of unwanted facial hair and how long it lasts me, so dear reader (who sent the suggestion anonymously, so that’s all I can call them), here is your answer!

First of all I’m really only concerned with 2 things: my brows, and sometimes my upper lip. I don’t have much of an issue with the peach fuzz some gals have on their cheeks, and thankfully for me those crazy chin hairs that some women get with age are still a bit far on the horizon for me. I do have suggestions for those issues though and I’ll add them in with my recommendations below. :)

Eye Brows

I have insane brows. Genetics bless us in awesome ways sometimes, and not so awesome in other ways. I got my dad’s good hair and mom’s big expressive eyes, but I also inherited a crappy metabolism (really mom, why can’t I have yours????)  and some crazy eyebrows. They’re crazy in that they have very little natural shape. Left to their own devices my ‘eyebrows’ would cover half my face, I think. They’re just creative, I guess…not the color in the lines type. So yes, I have strays all over the place and a “unibrow” area that need tending to on a very regular basis. My weapon of choice is:

Semi-regular threading. I get this done at a threading studio local to me. I reviewed it on Yelp, so you can find the review on my Beauty Destinations widget over on the sidebar on the right if you are in Orange County and looking for a great threading studio. Threading is a very old Middle Eastern technique for getting rid of unwanted facial hair where the hairs are pulled out using a piece of thread. There are tons of videos on Youtube about how to do it yourself, but I’d prefer to let the experts handle it. It costs $8. Like most beauty procedures there is an up side and a down side. Pros are: no hot wax that could burn you, cheap, fast, easy to get a precise shape, significantly less irritation/redness afterwards. The catch? It hurts! A lot! Like waxing the first few times are the worst and it gets progressively easier, but it is painful. Luckily the pain doesn’t last very long. Just suck it up and get ‘er done! I only have my brows threaded, but you can have your face/lip etc. threaded as well. I’m just too much of a wuss for my lip and don’t need anything else.

How Often: Every 3-4 months. I can go this long between threadings because I maintain with trimming and tweezing when necessary. My E.L.F. tweezers (all 3 pairs!) are my lifesavers. They’re great little slant tweezers that really get all the hairs, and they only cost $1 a pair. For trimming I’m ashamed to say I use desk scissors. But this is VERY dangerous. Do not follow my lead. Use little tiny cuticle scissors or something. MUCH safer.

Upper Lip

The upper lip thing mostly started as me being overly self conscious and a little bit nuts. I mean really I don’t need to worry about this, but it makes me feel better so why not, right? It’s just a little lip grooming and if it makes you feel good, go for it. For getting rid of the little hairs on my upper lip I like…

Hair removal cream. I got a box from Sally’s for a few bucks. It contains baby oil and some other soothing ingredients. I swipe a little on the desired area for hair removal, let it sit as many minutes as it says on the directions (I think it’s 5?) and then rinse it off with cold water. It’s easy, effective, and totally painless. The reason I prefer to do this for my upper lip is this area is particularly sensitive to waxing and threading, and for me I am prone to break out in this area when I thread or wax it.

How Often: Every 4 months or longer. Like I said, the hair here is very fine and just being honest, not very noticeable. I’m just a spaz and I like to get rid of it.

Other Areas

If you are interested in getting rid of hair in other areas (such as cheeks, the “sideburn” area, or maybe your chin), I highly recommend the Lindo Twist ‘n Roll Tweezers I reviewed semi-recently. They are PERFECT for this. It hurts a little bit and takes some getting used to, but it really is simple and very effective. Or try the cream I mentioned from Sally’s. That’s about as easy as it gets and it is very effective.

Post Hair-Removal Care

A lot of people don’t like to mess with their facial hair because after removing it they might break out or have irritation. The skin on the face is very sensitive and delicate, so this issue is common. Here are my tips to avoid it.

– Start with a CLEAN face and hands. Even better is after the shower. For some reason hair comes away easier after being in a steamy shower.

– If you’re tweezing or using a facial threading device, make sure to keep those clean as well.

– If you experience redness or irritation after hair removal, apply a soothing topical such as azuline oil (available at most beauty supply stores), witch hazel, or noni gel. I do not recommend aloe vera even though it’s very soothing in general just because whenever I get it near my eyes they water like nobody’s business.

– If you don’t want to purchase another product to soothe irritation with, or for severe redness, soak a cotton ball with cold milk and apply to the affected area.

– If you are removing hair with threading or tweezing it is possible to open your skin a little which will bleed a tiny bit. If this occurs, clean the area thoroughly and apply polysporin.

– I actually prefer to apply polysporin to the entire area after I’ve done hair removal. I swear by it for preventing post hair removal breakouts. Every time I get lazy and skip that, those red bumps appear. D’oh!

Hope all of that info really helps you with your grooming and primping. :) If you have any tricks or tips, let me know in the comments!

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