Does removing facial hair help acne?

There are many ways to treat acne, if you’re looking to find out if removing facial hair helps with acne this is the article for you

Removing facial hair can lead to acne, when you remove facial hair the pores (hair follicles) become exposed. The removal of facial hair exposes the follicle to dirt, sebum and bacteria. If the sebum, bacteria and dirt combine with dead skin cells on the skin they clog your pores and cause acne.

Acne, acne, acne, it just seems to creep up on us. Either because of hormones or diet or bad skincare or facial hair or for a variety of other reasons. We start getting it around puberty and in theory, it usually stops when we reach adulthood. A common issue is that when we get to adulthood, not all the acne goes away. But does removing facial hair help acne?

Sadly for some people, adult acne is still a thing. When you’re trying to look young this is not exactly the type of young look you want. You want the look and skin of a dewy fresh-faced 20 something-year-old. Not so much like an adolescent with acne. So in retaliation to acne, some people have resorted to shaving their faces. But does this work?

Does having hair cause acne?

Acne is the result of the pores on your face (or body) becoming clogged. This clogging can be caused when excess sebum combines with the dead skin cells on your face. This result is that your pores becoming clogged and create pimples as the oil and dead skin cells mix with bacteria in the pore. Hair products can have an effect on clogged pores and so can long hair to an extent. That is why you need to exfoliate the pores on your scalp. You can exfoliate your scalp with scalp exfoliators like this one.

What does shaving do to your face?

When you decide to shave you’re removing the hair but not protecting the opening of the hair follicle. This results in the pore that once contained the hair follicle to be more open and exposed. This open follicle is now susceptible to any oil, bacteria, dead skin cells and external irritants to enter and clog the pore causing acne.

What does laser do to your face?

Laser hair removal removes the hair off the skin. Just like if you have your face shaved there will be hole giving access to a number of external irritants. These irritants will clog up the hole/pore causing acne

Sometimes you might find that laser treatment can make acne worse. This can happen particularly in the initial stages. This is usually because the hair at the beginning of the treatment is still coarse and thick.

What can really remove my acne?

Now that we have established that removing facial hair does not help acne lets look at things that will. There are a variety of things you can do to remove your acne.

It will all start will keeping a good skincare routine. You will need to start from the beginning by using a cleanser and work your way all your way to using a moisturizer in order to keep up good skin. Here are the steps you need to take:

Cleanser/Face wash: Removes the impurities off the top layer of your face. This facial cleanser will keep your skin clean without being too harsh on it.

Exfoliator: Buff’s dead skin cells off of your face. This exfoliator gently removes those dead skin cells.

Toner: This will help you get the Ph of your face back to normal, it will also balance the sebum levels on your skin. This is a great toner to use.

Moisturizer: Hydrates your skin and make it look dewy, plump and smooth. This moisturiser hydrates using hyaluronic acid and is non-pore clogging.

Face mask: Will nourish and hydrate your face even more. Use a hydrating face mask like a sheet mask. You can also use a sleeping mask

Sunscreen: Will protect your face from the harmful rays of the sun. This sunscreen protects without leaving your skin oily.

If you would like a quick solution that will help you get rid of your pimples then you might want to read this article on how to get rid of a pimple fast.

Other factors:

You need to figure out what the source of your acne is. The reason for your acne will depend on a variety of factors. You can figure out the reason behind your acne by assessing where on your face you’re breaking out, this called face mapping. Read more about it here

How can shaving help my face?

Shaving is helpful as it can be a form of exfoliating if you shave with short strokes and don’t apply too much pressure. If you do it correctly shaving will remove the top layer of dead skin cells from the face and this will allow lower layers of skin to come to the surface. I don’t recommend that this be your primary form of exfoliation.

 Safety:

If you have sensitive skin then shaving might not be the best thing to do. Your skin is sensitive and will become irritated if you decide to shave it. You have a higher chance of developing inflamed skin,  rash or irritation after you shave.

Does removing facial hair make it grow back thicker?

Nope, removing facial hair does not make it grow back thicker. This has been an old wives tale for a while now and thankfully it is not true. Hair will grow back at the same thickness whether we decide to wax, epilate, shave or however else you prefer to remove your hair.

The truth of the matter is simply that when we shave we cut the hair and create a blunt edge. Naturally as hair grows the hair tapers at the end making it look thin, when we shave the blunt tip makes it look thicker when it’s not. This edge makes the hair look thicker and more noticeable.

Does turmeric remove facial hair permanently?

Turmeric cannot remove hair permanently. In addition, turmeric cannot get rid of dense heavy thick hair as well as it can remove thin fine lighter hair, but it can be beneficial for hair removal.

When you apply the paste on your skin it starts to harden and the hair hardens with it. When you remove the turmeric from your skin is takes some of the hair with it, the same way a wax would, and it takes the hair out from the roots as well.

Can shaving your face cause acne?

Yes, shaving in a certain way can give you acne but sometimes acne and razor bumps can be confused for the other especially if you’re shaving. Razor bumps happen when you develop ingrown hairs as a result of your hair growing under the skin.

Acne happens when your pore gets clogged with sebum, dead skin cells and acne-causing bacteria. If you only get the bumps after you shave then it’s because of razor bumps. If you have bumps regardless when its acne. You will get acne as a result of shaving if you’re:

  1. Using a dirty razor blade. Then you shave your face with a dirty blade all the bacteria on the blade can get into your pores mixing with dead skin cells and bacteria causing acne.
  2. If you rinse your face with hot water your pores will open up and will be a perfect home for sebum, dead skin cells and acne-causing bacteria to inhabit.
  3. Shaving your face against the grain will give you acne.

How do I shave my face without getting acne?

Here are some tips on how you shave your face without causing acne:

  1. Make sure you use a clean fresh razor blade, one that does not contain any bacteria. If you reuse your shaving blade make sure to change it after 5 shaves
  2. Use a shaving cream that your skin is comfortable with, using the wrong ones can irritate your skin and result in inflammation and swelling and then breakouts.
  3. Shave with the grain as it gives you a comfortable close shave and avoids skin irritation and bumps on the skin
  4. Use cold water to rinse the skin, this allows your pores to shrink minimizing the chance of dead skin cells and sebum entering the pores.

How long does acne last?

The pimple itself can last as long as 6 weeks, this is if the pimple is quite large in size and is red and angry. A smaller pimple will usually last a few days but this depends on how you treat the pimple, if you pop it and how you treat it after you pop it.

Acne itself can last into adulthood. This is known as adult acne and is very common. Acne isn’t only a teenage issue, we get more acne in our teens because of our increased hormone levels and the production of sebum on our skin. When we age the levels of hormones we produce decreases but not completely and we still get acne.

How can avoid pimples?

Avoiding pimples is a lifestyle choice, it entails taking good care of your skin, eating the right foods, drinking the right beverages and keeping your face clean:

Good skincare: You need to follow a good skincare routine that is designed for your skin type. Once you know your skin type you’ll know how to take care of it and what to avoid.

Every skin type needs to have a good skincare routine, this means doing the basic steps of cleansing your face, moisturising, exfoliating and using a good sunscreen.

Eating and drinking well: You need to eat foods that will nourish your skin and help to maintain clear glowing and healthy skin. You also need to be drinking water to hydrate yourself to avoid a situation where your skin produces excess oil in an effort to moisturise itself

Right behaviours: You need to keep your hands off your face, make sure you’re getting enough sleep, make sure you’re sleeping on clean sheets and pillowcases and keeping stress to a minimum. Not getting the correct sleep can be detrimental to the health of your skin, read more about it here.

Can acne naturally go away?

Acne will naturally go away by the end of puberty for some people but not all. That’s why you need to keep up a good skincare routine throughout your life to keep your skin protected against acne, keep it glowing and keep it looking healthy.

If you have cystic acne then you’ll need to get it treated by a dermatologist, it won’t go away on its own. Cystic acne is when dead skin cells and sebum builds up deep in your skin and ruptures beneath the skin thus creating cysts.

If you have fungal acne then you need to treat the acne with treatments that get rid of this type of acne. This type of acne is caused when yeast makes its way into the pores, get trapped in your hair follicles and causes acne.

How can I clear up acne fast?

If your whole face has acne then there isn’t really a quick and easy way to get rid of the acne. You simply need to follow a good skincare routine and avoid popping the pimples to get the best result.

You may even want to try an over the counter retinol cream to help bring up all the dormant acne, like detoxifying your skin (this is a good cream to use). This process will make your acne get worse before it gets better but when it gets better your skin will look beautiful.

If you have a couple of pimples and you have some aspirin on hand you can try a dermatologist-recommended way of getting rid of the pimple. Aspirin crushed into a paste and applied on the pimple will remove excess oil and dead skin cells thus helping you unclog the pore. This works because aspirin contains salicylic acid which is used in many skincare products to fight off acne.

I hope that you enjoyed this article explaining the correlation between removing facial hair and acne on the skin. I hope that this helped you make a more informed choice about how to really treat your acne. Be sure to maintain a good skincare routine and your acne will be gone in no time. If you enjoyed this article or found it interesting please share it.

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