Hair between the eyebrows, hair on the chin, dark down on the cheeks, mustache… We could have done without it, but the face is not immune to unsightly hair. Faced with these undesirables, the techniques are multiple: wax, tweezers, razor, or method of permanent hair removal. We review the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
The razor, for an immediate result but beware of the backlash
Quick, simple and effective in seconds, the razor seems at first glance our best friend against our unwanted hair. However, an old popular belief gives it a bad reputation: the razor would cause increased regrowth and thicker hair.
It’s actually just an impression. “The impression that the hairs are harder comes from the fact that the hairs are shorter after shaving and are cut cleanly”, explains doctor Damjan Nicolic, from the department of dermatology and venerology of the university hospitals of Geneva, to the Swiss media RTS Découverte. .
The razor is therefore good in the immediate future, but the regrowth has a backlash.
Prices: from 3 euros for a set of ten disposable razors for women with two blades
Choose your discoloration well
Another method that seems gentle and risk-free: bleaching. Particularly used for dark downs, it can on the contrary aggravate hairiness. The fault of one of the components of certain creams, castor oil, known on the contrary to promote the growth of hair and body hair.
Paradoxical? “Initially the discolorations were created for the hair. As this is a process that damages them, we have included castor oil in the formulas to compensate for the harmful effect. Unfortunately, the formula has sometimes remained the same for bleaching creams applied to the face,” warns Dr. Aida Cheriet, aesthetic doctor in Paris.
Take a careful look at the composition of a cream before applying it to your face.
Prices: from 5 euros for a set of two tubes of bleaching gel for the face
Hair removal, yes, but…
Faced with these unwanted hairs, the first instinct is often to draw the tweezers to remove them immediately. Again, this gesture can be detrimental to your facial hair. “For one hair removed with forceps, three new ones will grow”, warns doctor Aida Cheriet.
In concrete terms, removing a hair can cause paradoxical regrowth: the appearance of hair (rather thin and long) on a non-depilated area of the face but in the immediate vicinity of a treated area. It can occur after hair removal with pulsed light, laser, wax, electric epilator, or even after shaving and… using the famous tweezers. This is particularly the case on dull skin, when using a flash lamp or a laser that is not powerful enough, or when treating isolated hair in an area without hair but with fine down. .
In women, the lower jaw, neck and cheekbones are particularly prone to paradoxical regrowth. On the other hand, the only areas of the face that cannot be stimulated and where you can wax without risk are the mustache and the eyebrows, specifies doctor Aida Cheriet.
Prices: from 10 euros for quality tweezers; 30 euros for facial waxing in an institute; 50 euros for a pulsed light hair removal session on estimate; 100 euros for a laser session on estimate.
… Rather the high frequency one
High frequency hair removal then represents the only solution for those who would like to get rid of their unwanted hair outside of these areas. This method of permanent hair removal allows you to work hair by hair, and not by area as is the case with pulsed light or laser. How does it work ? The practitioner, an aesthetic doctor or a beautician depending on the areas and the level of hair to be treated, slides a micro-filament along the hair. This will send an electric current to the bulb, causing overheating. The hair is then completely and permanently removed.
Particularly appropriate for women suffering from hypertrichosis or hirsutism who may have significant facial hair in areas precisely prone to paradoxical regrowth, high-frequency hair removal, very precise, also allows permanent hair removal of the eyebrows, impossible with laser or pulsed light due to proximity to the eyeballs.
Prices: from 180 euros per high frequency hair removal session of 60 minutes on estimate.