Women and femmes have been told that facial hair is gross and unfeminine for a long time, which is really just misogynistic, but let's face it (no pun), most of the population have have facial hair, even the peach fuzz that is mostly invisible from afar. What is gross is shaming us for having facial hair, but it's also very gross to shame those who do choose to remove it.
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| Image description: Pale skinned person with pink hair looking at the camera with her hand focused in front holding an opened gold coloured Hollywood Browzer tool. |
The latest trends in facial hair removal have gone back to simpler methods; a razor. Why a razor? Well, you'll have to read this to find out!
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DON'T SHAVE YOUR FACE
Why not? We've heard all the rubbish that hair grows back darker, quicker and thicker.
Hollywood Browzer founder Amy Anzel says "you cannot change the anatomy of your hair", and she's right.
There are three types of hair that grows on the body:
Terminal: This is the hair that makes up the hair on your head, eyebrows, eyelashes, and other thicker/darker hair all over your body that was once vellus hair, but either your genetics or hormones turned it into terminal hair. (Hormones like to do that.)
Vellus: This is the "peach fuzz", and we are all covered in it, even if you can't see it.
Lanugo: This is hair growth that begins in utero and usually sheds before birth, but may still be present at birth and will fall out within a few weeks. It is usually clear, but sometimes can have pigment (dependent on genetics). It is replaced by vellus hair.
Shaving doesn't change how hair grows. It will grow at the same rate whether you wax, tweeze, thread, laser, or shave. Of course, shaving just means you have blunt ends, which makes your hair look thicker, but it isn't growing back in a denser pattern. Waxing produces longer lasting results, but it's not for everyone, hair still grows back, and it doesn't always grow back finer/softer, and tweezing/threading often have the same results. Laser is costly and takes several sessions and will reduce hair growth over time, but it has to be done regularly and it doesn't really work on vellus hair (yet). There are pros and cons to all kinds of hair removal.
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OKAY, SHAVE YOUR FACE
We have established that shaving your face shouldn't be taboo for womxn and femmes, and it does have its benefits (and drawbacks).
Have you ever noticed why people with beards who shave regularly have really soft, glowing skin afterwards? A close shave is as good as having a deep exfoliation. When a person shaves their face, they are not only removing hair from the surface, but also dead skin. In the beauty therapy world, this procedure is called "dermaplaning" - using a razor for deep exfoliation.
Dermaplaning is pretty satisfying to watch being done, but it isn't always an option to go to a salon or clinic for this procedure. There's no reason why anybody who wants to give it a go can't do this at home, especially when people with beards do literally it all the time under the guise of shaving.
Brow razors have been around for a long time, but the ones I have tried haven't got the best blades, are single use, or they cut and scratch everywhere because they're too big to get into those tricky little spots like between the brows.
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HOLLYWOOD BROWZER
My friend Penny Lane has been a bit of a staple on my blog, bringing cutting edge products to the Australian market as the founder of Rockin' Direct, including her own skincare brand, My Perfect Cosmetics Company, but when she told me she was getting in a dermaplaning tool, I was jumping at the chance to try it. Hollywood Browzer landed in Australia sometime in 2019, I believe, but I'm a little late on the bandwagon. Mum had also been wanting to try this.
About:
Hollywood Browzer was founded by Amy Anzel, a former actress. She had been in the makeup chair a lot in her career, and learned a few things along the way, including that dermaplaning was a great way to prep skin for smooth and even makeup application.
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| Image description: Retail packaging for Hollywood Browzer double pack (Gold) on a white/grey marble background. |
Claims:
A virtually painless way to remove hair, this tool can be used multiple ways, not only to remove dead skin and peach fuzz, but to shape eyebrows, clean up the hairline around the face and neck, and the blade is even strong enough to tackle terminal body hair, so it can be used anywhere on the body (even on sensitive skin), but is also ensured to not be able to cut you if you were to drop it. Each Hollywood Browzer lasts up to 2-3 months, so it's not a flimsy single use brow razor. It's not only makeup that applies and looks better, skincare will penetrate better.
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| Image description: Hollywood Browzer opened in the foreground, retail packaging and second tool, folded, laid against the retail box in the included carry pouch, on a white/grey marble background. |
How to use:
Use on clean dry skin, hold the Hollywood Browzer at a 45 degree angle and use light, short strokes in a single direction. Wipe between passes on a microfibre cloth, or tissue. Full video instructions can be found here. It is advised to use moisturiser after treatment (or with Penny's advice, her My Perfect Mask (sheet mask), see below).
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| Image description: Hollywood Browzer opened on a tissue with removed hair from the hairline. |
Test + Results:
I initially wanted to just clean up my hairline and opt to do the rest of my face at a later time (and with better lighting), however, I got carried away and did my whole face, then around my neck. I have so much hair now that I'm off oral contraceptives and at the mercy of my PCOS (hormones, am I right?!), and it's just annoying that all that extra testosterone in my body is giving me acne and my first ever mustache (I'd rather wax it).
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| Image description: Two panels. Top: Cropped image of a pale skinned person's hairline around her left eye with small baby hairs appearing around the perimeter. Bottom: Cropped image of a pale skinned person's hairline around her left eye looking sharper after the removal of baby hairs using the Hollywood Browzer tool. |
It was an easy process doing it on myself, but I kind of nicked myself in some curved areas, so it was important that I used a calming product afterwards (leftover serum from the Me in a minute Formula 1 Biocellulose Mask (PR Sample)). It definitely works better on flat surfaces. I nicked my Mum when she asked me to do her face, and I encouraged her to try and do it herself, but she was insistent that I do it for her and because I didn't have the right position to do it properly, it was very uncomfortable for both of us (my back was a mess afterwards), so she went ahead and finished it herself. I used the My Perfect Mask on her after treatment to calm her skin. She wasn't impressed by how cold it was, but it did help to soothe her irritation!
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| Image description: 3 individual sachets of My Perfect Mask laid fanned out on a pink/purple/gold marble background. |
Thoughts?
I'm sold more on the idea that this product can be used over and over again for up to 3 months. I don't like using things once and then throwing them away. It did what it said it would, but I probably went a bit too wild with it and gave myself some razor burn, but holy heck my skin was smooth afterwards!
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BONUS
My Perfect Mask (PR Sample) is a hydrating sheet mask infused with Propolis, Hyaluronic Acid, and Allantoin, and is the *PERFECT* accompaniment for straight after dermaplaning (note: I used the mask to calm down a breakout instead, just in case you can see that giant red spot on my chin).
It's very hard to smile with a sheet mask on your face!
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| Image description: Pale skinned person wearing a pink headband, looking very awkwardly into the camera while wearing the My Perfect Mask sheet mask on her face and holding up the retail packaging in her left hand. |
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Hollywood Browzer Single (RRP $24.95AUD) and Double (RRP $34.95AUD) - available online directly from Hollywood Browzer Australia (use code "Lara10" at checkout for 10% off your order*), and from retailers Priceline and Openshop Australia.
*This code is provided as a courtesy for my readers and is only valid for use at hollywoodbrowzer.com.au. I won't be receiving any commissions should a purchase be made.
Have you tried a brow razor? Let me know in the comments!
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Putting together blog posts such as these take a lot of time and effort, so I don't publish them often and leave this space for reviewing unique and unusual beauty products and trends. If you enjoy these posts, please consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi!
My regular beauty related content can be found on Instagram.
This product was supplied as a PR sample for review, my thoughts are honest. For more information, please read my Disclosure Policy.
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