As a Woman Who Shaves My Face, Here's What to Know (and Avoid)

If you read the reason I can't get a date (kidding, duh) my post about why and how I shave my face and thought, "I wish there was a video to accompany it," great news! I am a woman of the people.

Truth be told, I was somewhat mortified of the thought about putting this out on the Internet. At least in the post, you have to search to see what I look like — with a video, there's no hiding. Do I really want everyone to know this secret of mine? At first, no, I didn't. Because throughout life, we are told, as women, that we have to be hairless. Yet the means to get rid of our hair is torturous, with the exception of shaving. But noooo! "Women can't shave their faces — it's not feminine!" Blame gender roles for that stigma. Because of that, I felt like I needed to keep this secret.

. . . Except I've already written a post about it! And I proudly proclaim to everyone that I do this. Those I tell are either mesmerized, intrigued, or, alternatively, weirded out. (I get it.) The women who aren't ask so many questions. I had women messaging me on Facebook after finding my post (it's a top search result), The New York Times posted a story about it, and then the Today show got in touch about discussing the topic on the show. All of this made me realize that a lot of women deal with the same issue I had: sensitive skin, with lots of fur on the face and no means of getting rid of it — and wanting desperately to do so.

I've turned on many of my close friends to this now, and they don't think twice about giving their face a little scrape once a week. There are plenty of benefits, although I have to stress that I know this isn't for everyone. Some women have had the same reaction that I had when waxing or threading: red bumps all over their chin and cheeks. And my hair is blond, so I know that it doesn't grow back thicker or black. And while it's an old wives' tale that your hair grows back darker and thicker after shaving — that's just how it looks when you shave it — that could be how it looks on your face if your hair is already thick and dark in that area. Just keep that in mind. (And, if you do have darker hair and shave your face, please let me know how you like it!)

So, here it is. This is me, people. No turning back, holding my Tinkle razor up high.