Close Call: Ladies, to shave or not to shave your face?
mis à jour le 14 July 2015 à 18:32After the Daily Mail shockingly urged women to shave, the Guardian debunked the idea the first chance they got. We investigate and weigh out the pros and cons for you.
Recently the Daily Mail published an article that shook the beauty industry. No, it wasn't the absurd beauty technique involving urine to obtain a flawless complexion. Instead, this time the claim was that shaving their faces is a contributing reason to why men age so well and thus women too, should start adding the practice to their regime.
The following day, on February 9th, the Guardian published an article basically debunking what they see as a preposterous assertion by their fellow competitor. The Guardian believes that while the idea of women having any trace of body or facial hair is repulsive to the current society, shaving should still be categorised as a strict NO considering the drawbacks.
Here are the two sides of the coin...
Why you should shave
According to beauty experts at the Daily Mail — one of the biggest news sites online — women are now urged to shave their faces. British local, Angela Garvin, a 46 year-old legal adviser who has been shaving her face every morning for the past eight years "couldn’t be happier with the results" and "is adamant that regular shaving has improved her complexion." She told the Daily Mail, "‘Make-up goes on more evenly and easily, products absorb better and my skin is in great condition. It’s the smoothest and brightest it’s been in years."
The paper also took it to London-based aesthetic clinician Dr Michael Prager, for expert insight. "From an anti-ageing point of view, home shaving has some effect. It’s like a mild form of microdermabrasion, so encourages collagen production, which reduces wrinkles," he said, as quoted in the article. He also went on to say that most men shave their faces and therefore exfoliate a large portion of their face, causing them to have better skin than women by their 30s or 40s.
Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were known to shave their faces regularly. Meanwhile, face shaving is also an old-age ritual for the Japanese.
Why you should NOT shave
According to another equally large publication, the Guardian, shaving is a terrible idea. Beauty Editor, Anita Bhagwandas, says that men and women are programmed to age differently. Men are blessed with androgens that increase skin thickness by up to 25%, resulting in more youthful-looking skin. They also produce more sebum, which is the oil that holds the skin's moisture for a plumper-looking complexion. Additionally, males have higher collagen content in their skin. Inevitably, women seemingly age faster.
"Shaving might exfoliate their skin and supposedly keep it soft, but if you’re already using a washcloth, face brush or exfoliator on top, that’s serious scrubbing already," Anita writes. "Shaving is not only inflammatory (causing sensitivity), but it also makes the skin look more papery and thin."
To shave or not to shave, we'll let you decide. As for Marie France Asia, we are still turned off by the idea of having post-shaving in stubble and cuts on our faces. Not to mention shaving our legs, arms and underarms is already a chore so we prefer to not hold the razor for any longer.
Natasha Gan
