How To Use an Epilator on Your Face Safely at Home With Amazing Results

Facial epilation is growing massively in popularity
when it comes to getting rid of facial hair.

We all have facial hair to some extent because it’s part of our DNA, it’s normal.

You know, the very fine hair on our faces and especially above our top lip. But if you have dark facial hair and/or it’s thicker than it should be, then that’s when most women want to start using an epilator on their face.

For me personally, I have very blond facial hair so you can’t really see it and I only have one annoying strand which pops out from my chin which I just easily yank out with my fingers – but it does grow back though.

I first started noticing this ‘one-strand’ of hair when I was in my late twenties, and twenty years later, it’s still going strong! But luckily, I’m not getting any more facial hair now that I’m older and especially since I’ve started the perimenopause – but there’s still time I suppose when I’m fully into the menopause (more on facial hair and menopause below).

I’ll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, so this article is for you if you’ve noticed that you’re starting to get some form of ‘unwanted’ facial hair, no matter what age you are.

We’ll go through why you’re getting this and what to do about it.

Ready?

Why Do Women Get Facial Hair?

As I said above, all women have facial hair as it’s perfectly normal to have a very thin layer of fine hair on your face – you may know this as ‘peach fuzz’.  However, when facial hair becomes a problem it’s normally down to hormone imbalances.

Hirsutim

Hirsutism is where women have dark, thick hair on their face, neck, chest, tummy, lower back, buttocks or thighs.  This is a hormone imbalance medical condition caused by an increase of the androgens hormone [Source].

If you feel that this might be what your excessive hair growth is, then it is strongly advised that you go to your General Practitioner.  The GP will then look into the cause of hirsutim (if that is what you have) and will likely start the process with a blood test to measure your hormone levels.

There are some treatments for hirsutim such as prescription topical cream and even taking the contraceptive pill because it can help control hormone levels.

POCS

PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) is a condition that effects a woman’s hormone levels and causes them to skip menstrual periods and makes it harder for them to get pregnant.  Unfortunately, on top of all of that, one of the side effects is excessive hair growth.

Why Do Women Get Hair on Their Chin?

Again, it’s all down to hormone imbalances. Stray facial hairs (remember my one-strand on my chin?) is very common among women.

This is normally caused by too much testosterone circulating in your body, which is the lead hormone for hair growth.

If you have the odd stray facial hair or hair on your chin, then you can simply pluck it out.  You could also get it removed permanently by lazer surgery.

Can The Menopause Cause Facial Hair Growth?

Menopause facial hair is very common now that we know all facial hair on women is frequently hormonal driven. And going through the menopause is all about our hormones changing and adapting to the next phase of our mature lives.

So it’s no surprise that many women see an increase in facial hair during this transition.  In addition to the menopause, as we get older in general, we are more prone to more facial hair.

Mini Summary

Facial hair is all down to our hormones. Obviously this will vary from one person to the next as to the exact hormone and reason why you get facial hair and/or stray strands of hair.

I would suggest you go to your local doctor and talk it over with them first.  This will likely result in getting a blood test so the doctor can analyze what’s going on with your hormones.  She will then advise you after the results of the blood test.

Does Shaving Women’s Facial Hair Make It Thicker?

No.  I must admit that I was totally under the myth that it did.  There are many trusted sources to say otherwise.

The reason is that you shave/cut the hair from the surface of your skin, it doesn’t touch the root follicle.  The hair is then left with a blunt edge on the surface of your skin and when it grows through (stubble) it gives the illusion that it’s thicker (because it has a blunt edge) but it’s not.

Note that if you ‘fully’ shave your face (as in with a razor), then you’ll constantly get stubble as it grows back in, but it won’t be thicker.

Does Epilation Reduce Hair Growth on Face?

Yes, sort of.  The main difference between an epilator and shaving is that the epilator removes the hair from the root.  Shaving and waxing only removes hair from the surface.

So when you carry out facial epilation you are extracting the hair from the root follicle and therefore, it takes the hair a lot longer go grow back – normally four weeks.

Now, when the hair does grow back it tends to be finer and softer than it was before.  This is because it’s not cut off bluntly as it is with a razor, but because the hair is pulled from the root, it grows back more naturally and has narrower, softer tips.

Can You Use a Normal Epilator on Your Face?

Yes you can.  However, the skin on your face is much more sensitive than the skin on your legs so you must take this into consideration.

The trick is to pull the skin taut on your face to achieve a smooth finish.

However since your face is, well, your face and it’s much more sensitive than the skin on your legs (and more on show), I would invest in a face epilator which is specifically designed to do the job properly and safely.

You don’t want to take any chances with your lovely face and for the price of a face epilator, around the $20 mark, you know that you’re using the best self-care product for you.

Does a Facial Epilator Hurt?

Yes definitely at first.  Remember, the epilator pulls your facial hair out from the root follicle.  Just like waxing, that hurts too, right?

It also depends on the type of epilator that you buy, but it does consist of having dozens of tweezers pulling your hairs out from the root automatically and simultaneously.

So imagine if you have one stray hair and you pull it out with a tweezer, then you know how painful that can be.  But that’s just one hair and one tweezer.

Now times that by a few dozen hairs and about 20 tweezers!

However according to many users, it does get less painful the more you use it. But it does vary from person to person and it also depends on what your skin type is too.

If you have very sensitive skin, then the pain threshold will be more intense and may actually never go away, so you might find that using a facial epilator is just too painful for you to keep using and you may have to find an alternative method.

The main way to lower the pain threshold is to hold your skin taut so it glides across your skin.  More on how to use an epilator on your face below.

Mini Summary

Shaving your face doesn’t seem such a good idea now that you know it grows in quickly with the added illusion that it grows in thicker due to the blunt cut from the shaver. Also when using a straight razor to shave your face it may leave razor burn and it does take a while to do the whole process.

However, if you feel that an epilator is not for you (with all those tweezers!) and you want to continue shaving your face, take a look at the Finishing Touch Flawless Women’s Painless Hair Remover.  This is a much more gentle shaver specifically designed to remove facial hair on women – and it has thousands of raving reviews on Amazon.

In contrast by using a facial epilator, it will seemlesley glide across your face and pull out your facial hair from the root.  This in-turn takes longer for your hair to grow back in and when it does, it grows in softer and finer.

How To Use An Epilator On Your Face

There are a few different types of epilators which you can use on your face.

The one you use will depend on the type of facial hair you want to get rid of:

Minature Epilator:

Slim Face Epilator:

Standard Epilator Used for Face, Legs etc.

There are many different combinations to those three above as some come with a standard epilator for your legs and then have separate attachments for your face and bikini line etc.

So the first one, the miniature epilator, is not really designed for tough, course hair.  It’s more to get rid of peach fuzz, shape eyebrows and fine or random hair on the face. So if you do have tough, course hair, then you might be better off with something a bit more robust.

Main Points When Using an Epilator on Your Face:

Here’s a video I’ve found (only 6 minutes) by a lady who has tried all different ways to get rid of her facial hair and here she demonstrates how easy it is to get rid of facial hair by using the Braun minature epilator – the first image above.

Listen to what she has to say as she also gives some good advice and tips:

Here’s a link to the same Braun Facial Epilator Set (comes with cleansing brush)

What Should I Put On My Face After Epilating?

So now you’ve epilated your face and it’s a bit stingy, here’s what to do next.

1. Wash your face gently with luke warm water (no soap).  This will get rid of any hairs and dead skin cells.
2. Dab your skin dry with a soft towel.
3. Use an aloe-vera gel if your skin is extra sore or irritated.
4. Use a good quality moisturizer by applying gently and evenly.

You don’t want to make things too complicated after you’ve done facial epilation.  Keep facial scrubs, cleansing brushes and face masks for another day.