First, she cleanses² her face, then she dabson some toner -- and reaches for a bottle of shaving gel. She applies it across her chin, top lip and a small area around her neck.

 

Then, using a men's disposable razor, she carefully shaves her face, rinsing³ the fine, pale hairs down the basin as she goes. To finish, she rinses⁴ with warm water and applies moisturiser.

 

According to beauty enthusiasts⁵ -- or pretty much any woman you care to ask -- Angela has committed a cardinal⁶ sin.

 

After all, if shaving your legs encourages hair to grow back thicker, darker and stronger, then, for a woman, face-shaving would appear to invite disaster.

 

Nevertheless, Angela, 46 has been shaving her face three times a week for the past eight years and couldn't be happier with the results.

 

And she's not alone; dermatologists⁷ also endorse⁸ the idea and, astonishing as it may sound, a host of products have been rushed out to cater⁹ for the trend of women shaving their faces.

 

'It's cheap, takes seconds and doesn't irritate my skin, unlike laser or waxing,' says Angela. 'The claim that facial hair grows back thicker and darker is a myth. It's been the best thing I could have started doing.' What's more surprising is that far from causing ingrowing hairs, nasty grow-back or red raw patches, Angela is adamant¹⁰ that regular shaving has improved her complexion¹¹.

 

Dr Michael Prager, an aesthetic¹² clinician who has a practice in London, says: 'From an anti-ageing point of view, home shaving has some effect. It's like a mild form of microdermabrasion, so encourages collagen production, which reduces wrinkles. Whenever there's trauma¹³ to the skin, collagen is stimulated¹⁴ to help cell renewal¹⁵.'

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