Complete Facial Hair Removal Guide: Brows, Upper Lip and More!

Facial hair removal is a sensitive issue — literally. It hurts a lot more to remove hair there than on any other part of our body. Raise your hand if you’ve ever started tearing up during an eyebrow threading!

But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. The good news is you can choose how to do it. You have plenty of options for facial hair removal, from picking it out with a tweezer to lasers and more. Read on to help you figure out the best hair removal method for you.

Plucking/Tweezing

If you just want to remove a few stray hairs (like on the brows, chin, or even your nose) then this is your best option. It’s too painful and tedious to do it on a large area.

Plucked hairs will grow back, but at least you won’t get the stubble from shaving. Just don’t go tweezer-happy and overdo it. “Too much tweezing can traumatize and eventually kill hair follicles, resulting in a permanent facial hair removal” says dermatologist Judith Hellman. You’ll probably be happy if you never see your chin hair again, but you don’t want to be stuck with permanently thin brows!

Tip: Pluck or tweeze after a shower and applying moisturizer. Your skin is soft and your hair is more pliable.

Use a broad-tipped tweezer if you don’t have steady hands, or a fine tip if you want precision plucking. For most of us, though, the best tweezer combines both: a slanted tip where you can use the pointy tip to grab small hairs, and the wide edge for easier and faster plucking. We recommend: Tweezerman Slant Tweezer in Stainless Steel.

Threading

In the hands of a skilled salon expert, thread turns into a very precise beauty tool. He or she wraps the ends around their fingers and then grabs stray hairs and… rips it out.

Girl, you are going to cry. But it’s fast (like mere seconds) and efficient. The hair won’t grow back for weeks, and you won’t be left with ugly stubble. You can schedule it with your haircut, manicure or pedicure and get the most out of your salon visit. For busy women, this is the most cost and time efficient hair removal option.

Tip: During your threading, ask the salon staff to numb the area with an ice cube. And wear waterproof mascara!

It’s just really important to agree on a brow shape and go to someone who knows how to do this well. You can end up with lopsided brows or overthin brows. So the salon staff can really see your eyebrow shape, remove any brow makeup before getting anything done.

Shaving

You’ve probably seen those mini-razors for shaping brows. They’re really cute, and a super cheap and easy way to clean up an overgrown arch. But shaving will leave stubble, and you’ll have that awkward moment when youve got little dots peeking through your concealer.

Only start shaving if you’re committed to doing it regularly. And for obvious reasons, you don’t want to try this on your chin, upper lip or cheeks.

Waxing

You can wax off facial hair with a DIY kit or get it done at a Singapore salon. But remember: you’re applying a heated product on your face. Whether you’re doing it yourself or getting a professional wax hair removal, you need to do a skin patch test to rule out any allergies.

Tip: Waxing is not recommended if you are using retinoids or acne treatments.

Resist the urge to leave wax on longer than package instructions. “A common mistake I see in at-home waxing procedures is using the wrong temperature of wax,” says Dr. Imaho. Also avoid leaving wax on too long, or reapplying wax to get some hairs that are left behind. “You could get a temperature burn, which can cause scarring.”

Don’t use this facial hair removal treatment if you’re using Retin-A, Accutane and other retinoids or prescription acne medication. These medicines can make you more sensitive to heat. Also avoid waxing your face right after a facial peel or exfoliation. “Your skin is thinner and more likely to get irritated.”

Laser

Laser is the only permanent facial hair removal option. It destroys the hair follicle, so you’ll never have to pluck, wax or shave again.

This is a popular hair removal treatment for the upper lip and chin. You can theoretically do this for brows, but be perfectly sure before you go in for a treatment. Brow shape trends change — and you may not always want that high arch. Consider this: in 2019, straight full brows are extremely popular both in Korea and New York/Milan fashion week.

Will laser hair removal hurt? Kinda, but so does waxing and plucking. But you will be given a numbing cream, and the laser works quickly. It will all be over before you know it!

Laser hair removal cost varies for the treatment area and where you get it. Check out our Beauty Insider Directory to find out where you can get laser treatments in Singapore.