removing facial hair before the wedding
SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT NOTE - there is no beauty service that you have to have done before you get married! even though I’m a makeup artist & licensed esthetician, I think its incredibly important not to push unwanted services on clients just to grab cash or to push ridiculous beauty standards. do you love to channel your inner Frida Kahlo? DO IT!
nowwwww with that being said,,, I also want you armed with the best info when it comes to beauty treatments & your wedding day. in the words of Sunny and Cher, I got you babe 🥰
so without further ado- here’s Blackthorn Bridal’s all-you-need-to-know about removing facial hair before your wedding!
which method of hair removal is best?
truthfully, there is no one single best method. there are several that I’m going to talk about, & a few that I’m not going to recommend. one thing to note is that this blog is about facial hair removal only- body hair removal is a bit of a different beast!
depilatories/surface facial hair removal
surface facial hair removal is a very temporary way to remove hair. besides the one or two women I’ve met who can shave once and it last all winter… well, most of us aren’t that lucky, & we need to remove the hair again within 1-3 days. down below I’ve listed two different depilatory (surface hair removal) methods that you can try.
shaving:
shaving is the first thing that comes to mind for most people. it’s trued & true & works fine for a lot of women! you can buy razors anywhere for cheap & do it practically anywhere.
since using a blunt razor can result in a rash & having to “press” can result in a knick- use a fresh one. you might feel like your hair ‘comes back thicker’, but this is a myth! what actually happens is that the hair which has just been cut is now blunt & appears darker & thicker- making it more noticeable when it grows in. shaving is also a good way to temporarily remove vellus hair (peach fuzz), but it is NOT the same thing as derma-planing! shaving your face isn’t the best option for shaping your brows, since you’d need a special, more precise shaping tool, & you’d probably have to do it the day of the preview & the day of the wedding.
pros: it’s cheap, accessible, can be done in a hurry or last minute, also helps to remove vellus hair (peach fuzz) & is a light exfoliant
cons: it’s a very temporary solution, you do run the risk of a knick, using a blunt razor can result in a rash, some women feel like their hair comes back ‘thicker’, harder to get in precise areas without a brow shaper
hair removal creams:
hair removal creams are definitely HIT or MISS. I once used a hair removal cream on my legs, which resulted in a horribly gross rash & chicken-skin like legs for over a year! I know tons of ladies love them, & I’ve used creams elsewhere with no reaction in the years afterwards, but I’m waaaaay too nervous to use one on my face. I also don’t find it to be any better than shaving. both are depilatories so it lasts the same amount of time & you still get that same blunt, stubbly grow-in just like with shaving. you don’t run the risk of razor burn or cutting yourself, but I find the creams are odorous & expensive for how long the results last. If you are already comfortable using hair removal creams, than by all means, you can certainly do so before your wedding events/preview/wedding day- however, if you’re trying new methods of facial hair removal before your wedding, I wouldn’t try this anytime close to the wedding events. try it at least 4 weeks beforehand to be sure you won’t have any reactions & that you actually like the results!
pros: easy application, somewhat affordable, no risk of razor burn or cutting yourself
cons: can cause skin reactions, also super temporary, can be odorous
epilatories/removal from the root!
epilatories are hair removal methods that remove hair from the root- beneath the surface. when you remove hair from the root, the result lasts a lot longer- you do get new growth after a week or two, but it takes about 3-4 weeks to get back to that full growth that you had before. doing several sessions of hair removal gives your hair time to get on the same or close growth cycle, meaning that resulting smoothness lasts longer between sessions. because you’re removing hair from the root, what happens is that a fresh, thin layer of skin will grow over the open pore, & when the hair grows back, it will have a softer, finer point. sometimes those fine hairs can have a hard time breaking through the surface which is what causes a lot of irritation & bumps. easiest way to deal with this? exfoliate 2-3 days after, & at least once a week between appointments. if you experience irritation with any of the methods listed below, using a toner & then icing the area afterwards helps noticeably!
epilators:
if you’re looking for an at-home hair removal method (or one on the go) that is longer lasting & more comparable to waxing, than epilators are a good option to look into. this Eyebrow & Facial Trimmer/Epilator has fantastic reviews, & I might actually want to try it out myself to test. using an epilator is kind of like using an automated tweezer- it pulls the hairs out, from the root, individually. good epilators are gentle on the skin, but because it is pulling & causing trauma to the hair folicle, it can still cause some irritation to the skin. icing or rinsing your face with cold water after use helps imo!
pros: lots of affordable epilators available online, can be done at home, lasts longer than shaving, less messy than waxing, no skill involved
cons: can be painful, can still be time consuming if you need to make multiple passes, not a good option to remove vellus hair or for detail work like the brows
waxing:
I’ll be honest- I love waxing. It’s quick, you can be pretty precise with it (depending on the brow- I don’t have to tweeze, but I often do) & like the others options, it lasts for several weeks. there are 2 types of wax. hard wax, which you apply, let harden, & then remove on its own. gentler on the skin & often less painful. & strip wax, which stays wet & you remove using a cotton or pellon strip. more precise, but usually more painful!
pros: long lasting results, easy to find spas/salons that offer it, can be done at home with a home kit, also acts as an exfoliant, can be precise
cons: you can’t get waxed when taking certain medications (such as retinols, accutane, etc), you can’t get a peel a few days before or after a wax, you can’t tan after getting waxed. getting waxed after use of these treatments/meds can cause skin lifting. eeek! can be pricy to get done every 4 weeks, can be messy to learn how to do
sugaring:
sugaring is similar to waxing, but there’s a lot of divide between the two services. the base for sugaring is made from, well… sugar. the concoction is scooped up in the technicians hands in a ball (as opposed to using sticks like with waxing) & then slowly & firmly applied to the skin before ripping off. unlike waxing, which removes hair during the wax removal, sugaring actually removes hair during the application. some people find that sugaring is exponentially less painful than waxing- me, personally, I think the two are pretty much comparable pain-wise, you’re just hurting before the technician pulls versus after! I never experienced any post-sugaring irritation, however, I can’t say if that’s because I’d gotten sugared, or because my skin was already used to waxing. medications that are contraindicated for waxing are also contraindicated for sugaring, so unfortunately it’s not a safe option if you know you can’t get waxed.
pros: long lasting results, easy to find spas that offer it, can be done at home, also acts as an exfoliant, some find it gentler than waxing
cons: same thing with waxing- certain meds & treatments like peels & tanning are a no go, can be pricy to get done or messy to learn
overall. IMO, both services are worth doing in a salon or at home!
tweezing:
tweezing is another good option for hair removal for those who can’t get waxed. tweezing is great for brow shaping; when I do brows, I prefer to wax the bulk & tweeze to detail, however, a brow can definitely be done full tweezing- it takes longer than waxing or threading though! there are def times where I’ll pull out a tweezer & clean up a brow on the wedding day! there can be some irritation from tweezing, but rarely anything that is long lasting, especially since tweezing is gentle on the skin (if its done right!) the biggest drawback is how time consuming it is.
pros: safe for people on medications or receiving certain services/treatments, not as painful as waxing, long lasting results, can be done anywhere/last minute, can be really precise when cleaning up/shaping a brow
cons: can cause a little bit of irritation, takes longer to do than the other methods
threading:
If you haven’t seen it before, threading uses a long, thin length of thread, held between two hands & twisted, & then ran along the hair to remove it. like tweezing, threading is safe for those who can’t wax, & it’s done pretty quickly. it allows for precise brow shaping, too. it’s not painless, but the pain is less than using soft (strip) wax is. however, you can still get irritation & break outs from threading, but this typically fades over time & occurs less the more you have it done :) there are salons & spas who offer threading, or there are often threading booths in shopping plazas & malls.
pros: affordable service, easy to find threading salons who offer it, you can learn at home, precise, quick, some find it less painful than waxing
cons: I still find it painful lol, can still cause irritation the same as waxing so if you can, taking an antihistamine beforehand may help
it doesn’t matter which method you choose- remember this!!
no matter which method you decide on when you’re removing facial hair before your wedding- make sure you try it way ahead of time! you never know what can cause a reaction or post-service irritation. I recommend that you get at least a few sessions in, but definitely don’t get any new services less than 4 weeks before your wedding (or wedding related event, like preview or bachelorette party). except for shaving, I would avoid doing all of these any sooner than 7 days before your wedding- just incase! it’s always better to play it safe rather than sorry, & it’s easier for me or your makeup artist to cover scabs/cuts/etc when they’re no longer fresh.
honorable mention! -dermaplaning:
this is an honorable mention, because dermaplaning isn’t designed for hair removal- it’s a method of exfoliation that happens to remove vellus hair, but I’m going to include it anyway. dermaplaning is NOT a service to remove terminal facial hair- those thicker hairs. think your eyebrows or those little ‘stache hairs that drive you crazy! so you would still need to use one of the methods mentioned to shape/clean up your brows or remove lip/chin/sideburn hairs, however, if you’d like all those little peach fuzzies gone (& an amazing exfoliation & smooth skin after!), then I would recommend seeing an esthetician for dermaplaning services as well. again- at least 7 days before the wedding or makeup will not stick to your skin.
need help figuring when to get these services? Or other services you want to try? DM on instagram or send an email with Qs: @blackthornbridal/cait@blackthornbridal.com