We may not like to hear it, but let’s face it. Like men, females also have facial hair. Thankfully, women tend to have facial hair that’s less noticeable. Even then, a good proportion of us could do better with a lot less facial fuzz. Men tend to shave in order to not grow a beard, but why should women with short, fine, baby hair have facial hair removal done?
1. IT HELPS REDUCE ACNE
Not a cure for acne but you will be surprised at how it can improve acne, especially the comedonal ones. Acne is caused by clogged pores due to excessive oil production. Since hair grows out of pores which are also natural “discharging channels” for oil and sweat, it makes a lot of sense to have facial hair removed to reduce the likelihood of clogged pores.
2. IT HELPS GET RID OF BUMPS
Laser hair removal means no more shaving, and no more razor bumps. So the skin surface appears more even without further risks of ingrown hairs with other more traditional methods of hair removal such as waxing or shaving.
3. IT HELPS THE SKIN LOOK MORE POLISHED
How? Removing hair follicles often shrinks pore size and theoretically, when the laser is performed with gold standard wavelengths (read more about this below), it heats up the deeper layers of the skin and stimulates collagen production, keeping skin plump.
TO SHAVE OR NOT TO SHAVE?
Some of us are simply too terrified of putting a blade to our faces, and we’ve also heard of how shaved hair grows back – with a vengence. So what exactly happens when a women shaves her facial hair? We spoke to Dr Low Chai Ling, Medical Director of the SW1 Clinic, who weighed in on this.
“Shaving will not increase the number of hair follicles, and is unlikely to cause hair to grow back thicker, but they may grow back faster” says Dr Low. “More importantly, the downside of shaving hair is apart from risks of razor burns, or cuts, if not done properly, it can cause ingrown hairs.”
Ingrown hairs are more common after shaving. They are not terribly serious, but they cause pseudofolliculitis. These often irritate the skin and causes little red bumps which resemble pimples. Sometimes these get infected and cause hyperpigmentation issues.
A good alternative is laser hair removal. At the SW1 Clinic, laser hair removal is performed with the gold standard GentleYAG and GentleLase hair removal lasers (or also known as the YAG or the Alex). This targets the hair follicle at its root. According to Dr Low, this treatment is extremely effective for those with dark hair and skin types IV or lighter. The expectation is an improvement within a single session and a series of 5 to 6 sessions (spaced 4 to 6 weeks apart) are recommended for best results.