Removing Facial Hair Before the Wedding

As always, I want to start by saying- there is no beauty service that you have to have done before you get married. Even though I am a beauty vendor, 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!

With that being said- I also want you to know what services are available to you, and what those options are!

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?

Cue the eye-rolls, people, but the answer to that is- there is no one single best method. There are several that I’m going to talk about, and a few that I’m not going to recommend. One thing to note is that this blog is about facial hair removal only- bodily 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, and 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. And, I’ll be honest, there’s not many negative side affects to shaving your facial hair. The most obvious is that if you shave your facial hair, it’s going to grow back- pretty quickly, for most people, but if you hair is soft/lighter in color, it’s not super noticeable when it comes back. You might feel like your hair ‘comes back thicker’, but this is a myth. Instead, what happens is that the hair that’s been cut is now blunt and appears darker and stubblier- making it more noticeable when it grows in. However, 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, and you’d probably have to do it the day of the preview and the day of the wedding. I find using a shaping tool is time consuming for a full shape-up.

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 and chicken-skin like legs for over a year! I know that’s not everyone’s experience will be the same -and I’ve used creams again on other parts of my body- but I’m too nervous to try that on my face. While people love this method, I don’t find it to be any better than shaving. Both are depilatories so it lasts the same amount of time and you still get that same blunt, stubbly grow in like shaving. You don’t run the risk of razor burn or cutting yourself, but I find the creams are odorous and 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 and that you’re satisfied with the results.

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, and 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 and bumps. Because of this, it is important that you exfoliate 2-3 days after, and at least once a week between appointments. If you experience irritation with any of the methods listed below, using a toner and 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 and more comparable to waxing, than Epilators are a good option to look into. This one has fantastic reviews, and 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 and causing trauma to the hair folicle, it can still cause irritation in the pore, though this usually fades quickly.

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 and tweeze to detail, however, a brow can definitely be done full tweezing- it takes longer than waxing or threading though! There have been a few times where, at the wedding, the bride needs a few stray hairs tweezed- no big deal. There is 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.

Threading:

If you haven’t seen it before, threading uses a long, thin length of thread, held between two hands and twisted, and then ran along the hair to remove it. Like tweezing, threading is safe for those who can’t wax, and 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 and break outs from threading- I know that I always do, even though I don’t get post-waxing irritation anymore. Once that fades, it’s smooth sailing. There are salons and spas who offer threading, or there are often threading booths in shopping plazas and malls.

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) and, like the others options, it lasts for several weeks. There are two types of waxes- hard wax, which you apply, let harden, and then remove, and strip wax, which stays wet and you remove using a cotton or pellon strip. Although both methods can cause irritation, hard wax is gentler on the skin and less painful, and with both methods irritation usually goes away after a few days max. When I first started getting waxed, I would be irritated (red skin and small, itchy bumps) for a few days after. After a few sessions, though, I stopped getting any irritation. Waxing acts as a form of exfoliation as well! Certain medications (such as Retinols and Accutane) are contraindicated, meaning if you get waxed on these meds, your skin can lift. Eeeek! Make sure you always tell your waxer what medications you’re on because there a number that are NO-NOs. You also cannot get waxed before tanning, so if you tan- stagger your appointments.

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) and then slowly and 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.

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 4-7 days before your wedding- just incase! It’s always better to play it safe rather than sorry, and 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- 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 (and an amazing exfoliation and smooth skin after!), then I would recommend seeing an esthetician for dermaplaning services as well.

Need help figuring when to get these services? Or other services you want to try? Download our free beauty services cheat sheet here!