After years of trying various hacks for skincare, I finally realized the component that makes or breaks all the others: sleep.
I can use #allthethings in attempts to make my skin look good while still hating what I’m seeing in the mirror. Then some days, I neglect my skin yet get high-quality sleep at the right times and my skin magically looks ten times better.
So what is the best time to sleep for skin? According to sleep researchers, the best time to sleep for skin benefits is between 8 PM and midnight. You’ll get the most benefits if you get 7 to 9 hours each night and keep your sleep and wake times consistently the same each day.
Why is this time the best for sleeping? And what happens to your skin when you get high-quality sleep at this time? Read on to find out.
The Optimal Time to Sleep
We sleep in cycles of 90 minutes. During each cycle, we go through all four stages of sleep, including three stages of slow-wave sleep and one stage called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
Although all stages of sleep provide different benefits, many researchers believe that the first three stages may provide most of the restorative benefits of sleep.
This is important to note because, after midnight, your cycles tend to have longer periods of REM sleep, cutting short the non-REM sleep. So if you fall asleep after midnight, you may be missing out on the optimal levels of non-REM sleep.
According to Matthew Walker, a sleep researcher at the Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, “When it comes to bedtime, there’s a window of several hours, roughly between 8 PM and 12 AM, during which your brain and body have the opportunity to get all the non-REM and REM shuteye they need to function optimally.”
This means that you need to be getting to bed by midnight if you want all the restorative benefits of sleep (including the restorative benefits for the skin).
Benefits of Sleep for Your Skin
Research has shown again and again that sleep in crucial to looking your best. Just one night of poor sleep can cause swollen eyes, droopy eyelids, undereye circles, paler skin, droopy mouth corners, and wrinkles or fine lines.
In addition to this, sleep deprivation will make your skin age faster. This is because your skin repairs and replenishes itself each night. And every night you skip out on a good 7 to 9 hours, you are adding unnecessary age to your skin.
Yes, just one night! But on the flip side, it just takes one good night of sleep to improve the appearance of your skin and put a stop to that pre-mature aging.
How to Get High-Quality Sleep
As you know now, for your skin to look it’s best, you should be falling asleep between 8 PM and midnight. You also should be sleeping getting 7-9 hours each night, no matter what.
These two elements sleeping well are a good start, but there is much more you can do to make sure you get the highest quality of sleep and therefore, the most benefits for your skin.
Stay Regular
Regularity is the key to beating insomnia and ensuring you are falling into a deep, restorative sleep that fully renews your body and mind. This means you need to be going to sleep and waking up at the same time every single day, including weekends.
When you miss out on enough sleep, even for one day, you will never be able to completely make up for the consequences on your body and skin. Although the consequences of losing sleep for one night is pretty insignificant, they do add up over many nights and many years.
Besides that, when you are waking up and going to sleep at different times, you essentially are giving yourself jet lag. Your body will not be primed to sleep as well because your circadian rhythm will be constantly resetting. Our bodies aren’t meant to do this.
So at least commit to waking up at the same time every single day and then listen to your body in the evenings. It will tell you when it’s time to go to sleep.
Keep Cool
Humans evolved before climate-controlled buildings. Cooler air after the sunset signaled to the body that it was time to sleep.
Now our bodies still need that signal, but our environment doesn’t always provide it.
The best way to fix this problem is to make sure the thermostat is set to a cooler temperature at night. 67 to 72 degrees works for most people, but you may have to experiment until you find the ideal temperature for your body.
Artificial light, especially from devices like computers and smartphones, has a major impact on sleep quality. Screen time in the hour before you go to sleep will reduce melatonin production. This is the hormone that helps you fall asleep and stay asleep.
So definitely put the smartphone or iPad away at least an hour before you plan to fall asleep. Reading a book in dim light is a better option.
In addition, if you live in an urban area where city lights keep your street bright all night, make sure you have curtains or blinds that block it out so your room can get sufficiently dark.
Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine
According to sleep researcher Matthew Walker, caffeine intake has been shown to reduce deep sleep by 20% in studies. So even if you have no problem falling asleep after drinking caffeine, you are not getting the full restorative benefits of sleep for your skin.
“I would probably have to age you by about 30 years to get that type of a drop in deep sleep. Or you could do it every night with a cup of coffee with dinner,” Walker stated in an interview by Chris Kesser.
Since caffeine will still be in your blood even after 12 hours, it’s best to avoid it completely. But if you’ve gotta have your morning java, limit it to your first hour in the morning to minimize its effects on your sleep.
Along the same line, alcohol is problematic too. It fragments sleep, limiting its restorative effects. So if you want to avoid it most of the time as well, especially right before bed.
Don’t Chill in Your Bed
Your nervous system is always working in the background, taking in environmental cues and then reacting to them. If it associates your bed with sleep, this will make falling asleep and staying asleep so much easier.
This is why it’s important to not hang out in your bed unless you are sleeping or will be sleeping very soon.
If you are lying in bed and just can’t fall asleep after 20 or 25 minutes, then it’s best to get up and go to another room. Do a quiet activity in dim light until you get sleepy. Then you can go back to bed.
Final Takeaways
Good sleep is the component missing out of almost everyone’s skincare routine. To get the biggest benefits for your skin, get to sleep between 8 PM and midnight and sleep for at least 7-9 hours each night.
You should also work on increasing the quality of your sleep by having a consistent bedtime and wake time, sleeping in a cool room, and avoiding artificial light, caffeine, and alcohol.
Lastly, make sure that sleep is the main activity of your bedroom to condition your nervous system to fall asleep easily when you hit the sack.
Being a life long sufferer of dermatillomania (aka skin picking with some nail-biting), I have experienced the consequences of too short nails A LOT. Lucky for you, this has helped me learn the best ways to handle this problem so that pain is minimized and healing happens quickly.
So what should you do if you cut your nails too short? After cutting your nail too short, first, ensure that the area is clean and dry. Next, use an antibiotic ointment and bandages to prevent infection and reduce pain. For further pain relief, soak the nail in warm water or take an over the counter pain medication.
These are the bare minimum you can do in order to prevent infection and reduce pain. Read on for other ways you can make the experience less torturous and recover quickly from a painful short fingernail or toenail.
But Why Does it Hurt so Bad?!
When your fingernail or toenail is cut too far down, the hyponychium is uncovered. This is the red skin under your nail.
The hyponychium has tons of nerve endings in it. This is necessary so you can feel things well enough to do everything we do with our fingers. However, all these nerve endings make it super sensitive.
This is usually fine because it’s protected by your nail. However, when you cut your nail too short, this exposes it to pressure it’s not used to. And this can hurt like crazy (as you know right now).
How to Stop the Pain and Soothe a Nail Cut Too Short
Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to reduce pain from cutting your nail too short.
First, make sure the area is clean. This will help prevent infection, which will make your nail hurt even more.
Gently wash the area with hand soap under warm water for about 20 seconds. Then thoroughly rise the area and dry it well.
Continue to wash the area regularly until the nail grows back.
You want to try to keep your nail as dry as possible and avoid harsh chemicals, cleaning products, and dishwashing. All of these things will irritate the sensitive skin under your nail and make it more prone to infection.
If you can’t avoid those things, you can always wear some cleaning gloves. You can get a pair for just a few dollars at most supermarkets or dollar stores.
When I cut a nail too short or pull off a hangnail, I always put an antibacterial ointment like Neosporin or spray like Bactine on the area and cover it with a bandage or two until the pain goes away.
Bandages help prevent infection and they provide a cushion that reduces pressure on the painful, sensitive skin.
If the pain is really bad and there is manual labor I can’t avoid, I often take a small dose of an over the counter pain medication like naproxen. This reduces pain well enough that I don’t notice it and can go on about my day.
All the pain is usually gone within about 24 hours for me. My nails grow really fast, though, so that may be why it goes away so quickly for me.
However, if you feel like you need to do more to help with the pain, an easy home remedy is to soak the nail in warm water 3 or 4 times a day. Then dry your nails well.
You may also want to try rubbing a nail oil, such as jojoba oil, into the sore area to help with the pain.
Most people find the pain is gone within a few days, though. The main exception would be if bacteria get under the nail and causes an infection.
Infection from Cutting Nail Too Short
If bacteria invade the skin under your nail, you may end up with paronychia, which is an infection in one of the nail folds.
Pain from an infection is often more severe than the pain from simply cutting the nail too short. If your nail becomes infected, you may have throbbing pain or a swollen finger or toe.
Antibiotic ointment often heals a minor infection quickly for me. Warm water soaks may also help.
But you don’t want to mess around with bacterial infections. If it lasts for more than a few days, definitely seek out advice from your physician.
They may need to prescribe you an antibiotic or drain the area if it becomes abscessed. Letting this go for too long may result in a worse infection that is harder to heal, especially if you have a weak immune system or other health issues.
How to Stop Biting Nails
If your nails are too short from biting, there are a few things you can do that may help you stop.
First, make sure you take care of your nails properly. A well-manicured nail will look nice and that may be incentive enough to stop you from chewing at it since you won’t want to ruin the work you’ve done on your nails.
If you’re like me, nice-looking nails isn’t a good enough incentive. However, rough skin or uneven edges on the nails may trigger you to start biting or picking. Therefore, a well-manicured nail may help in that way.
So even if you skip a manicure, at least make sure your hands and nails are well moisturized and file them smoothly. I recommend a glass nail file like this one so you don’t have to keep buying a disposable one.
If these steps don’t help you to stop biting your fingernails, it may be time to talk to your doctor or mental health professional about possible treatments.
Ask her or him about therapies for OCD that may help with nail-biting.
In addition, some medications and supplements, including N-acetylcysteine, may help reduce body-focused repetitive behaviors like nail-biting. So that is another topic to you may want to talk about with your doctor or mental health professional.
Related Questions
How to cut nails properly?
To cut your nails properly, don’t angle the nail clipper upwards. It should be parallel with your finger. Then cut straight across, not rounding the edges. This is especially important for toes because this prevents ingrown toenails.
What N-acetylcysteine (NAC) brand do you recommend?
I have used several brands of NAC over the years and foundthis NAC from Swanson to be the highest quality for the price. Some brands didn’t seem to work at all, but I noticed a change in behaviors while taking the Swanson brand NAC (under the supervision of my doctor).
My hair has always grown so much faster than the hair of my friends. It was nice when I was trying to grow out my hair, but can be annoying when I have a shorter style that I like and have to go to the salon frequently just to maintain it. This frustration led me to finally research why hair grows so fast in some people but not others.
So why does my hair grow so fast?Hair growth rate varies widely among people. DNA largely determines a person’s hair growth rate. However, it is dependent on many factors including the part of the body, ethnicity, gender, age, stress level, and state of health.
I dove deep into the research and found some surprising things that explain a lot about my hair experiences. Read on to learn who is most likely to have the fastest growing hair.
How Fast Does Hair Grow on Average?
Before you learn why your hair is growing so fast, you may want to know exactly what is normal for human hair growth.
Scalp hair grows at a rate of about 0.6–1.4 cm (.03-.56 in) per month in general. However, hair growing as fast as 3.36 cm/month (1.3 in/month) has also been noted in research.
Here is the average growth rate of hairs on different parts of the body, according to data found in a research paper by Pragst F. Balikova, MA.
Part of Body
Average Growth Rate (mm per day)
Scalp, non-bald
0.32–0.46
Scalp, alopecia
0.08–0.15
Beard
0.25–0.29
Underarm
0.29–0.33
Pubic Area
0.3
Eyebrow
0.15–0.16
Thigh
0.13–0.25
Trunk/Arms/Legs
0.27
Forehead
0.03
Body Hair Growth Rate
If you are wondering about why your body or facial hair is growing so fast, the reason is most likely due to hormones.
Hormones affect hair growth in many ways, including the growth rate. If we are talking about body and facial hair, testosterone often increases the rate of growth and estrogen often decreases it.
This is why women with a lot of facial and body hair often have higher levels of testosterone than other women. Not only does testosterone make hair grow in these places, it makes the hair grow faster.
In addition, substances such as minoxidil, cyclosporin, diazoxide, and chromakalin can increase the growth rate of body and facial hair.
Scalp Hair Growth Rate
If you are wondering why your scalp hair is growing so fast, then the main reason is likely ethnicity or hair thickness. But other factors may be at play too.
Ethnicity
Hair growth rates vary significantly between ethnicities.
In a large study on the diversity of human hair growth, people of African descent tended to have hair that grew the slowest as well as the thinnest hairs.
People of Asian descent had hair that tended to grow the fastest along with the thickest hairs.
And people with European descent fell in the middle.
However, as I cover in the next section, this may be more about hair thickness than ethnicity.
Hair Thickness
In a study of Asian and Caucasian subjects with straight and semi-straight hair, thicker hair fibers corresponded to a faster growth rate. Thin hair fibers had slow growth rates. This finding appeared to be unrelated to ethnic origin.
Another study analyzed 59,765 hairs and found that thin hairs grew slower than thick hairs.
This may explain why Asian people tend to have hair that grows the fastest. They also have the thickest hairs.
If you have thick hair, that explains why your hair is growing so fast. However, just because your hair seems thick doesn’t necessarily mean that it is actually is thick.
Especially if you are of European descent, you may just have dense hair. That means you have more hair follicles spaced close together and a lot of hairs, but they aren’t necessarily thick.
You can tell if your hair is thick by pinching an individual hair between your fingers and feeling it. If you feel nothing between your fingers, you don’t have thick hair.
If instead, your hair feels like some heavy sewing thread, you have thick hair.
Gender
One study of young adults found that the hair growth rate of scalp hair was pretty similar between males and females. However, hair tends to grow significantly slower at the nape in men.
In contrast, another study of Caucasian subjects found that women without pattern hair loss had a faster hair growth rate than men without pattern hair loss.
Overall, it seems that women are probably more likely to have fast-growing hair, but there will be exceptions to this rule.
Age
Hair growth speed can slow with age. Researchers have found that people under 25 have the fastest growth rates.
In other studies, the average growth rate in prepubescent, adolescent, adult, and older adults have been reported at 0.41, 0.30, 0.34, and 0.32 mm/day, respectively.
So very young people tend to have faster-growing hair, but once you reach adulthood, it tends to stay at the same rate.
However, aging can make hairs thinner over time. And as we have learned, thin hairs tend to grow slower.
Environmental Factors
Environmental factors may affect the growth rate of hair, but their influence is very minimal compared to genetics. Your sex and ethnicity are far more important.
In brief, different living conditions in people of the same origins appear to have a very low influence upon their inherent hair growth parameters.
-Diversity in human hair growth, diameter, colour and shape. An in vivo study on young adults from 24 different ethnic groups observed in the five continents
Stress
Stress is one environmental factor that may impact hair growth rate by causing hair growth inhibition.
In fact, according to Erling Thom, a Dermatology researcher, many stress-related substances can stop hair growth.
Studies have demostrated that certain stress-mediating substances such as substance P, adrenocorticotropic hormone, prolactin, and cortisol actually inhibit the growth of hair.
-Erling Thom
In addition, severe illness may interfere with hair growth.
The good news about having hair that is growing fast is that you are more likely to be a healthy person!
Final Takeaways
If you have fast-growing hair, the main reason is your DNA and hair thickness. Several other things, like environmental factors, age, stress, and medications may have an impact, but your DNA mostly calls the shots in this department.
Related Questions
Why does my hair grow so fast after waxing?
The most likely reason is that the hairs are breaking and not being pulled out by the root. So instead of taking a week or more to show back up, they are growing back in a few days, just like you shaved.
To ensure this doesn’t happen, make sure you aren’t waiting too long to wax. Longer hairs are more likely to break.
As a little girl, I was envious AF of Shirley Temple’s curly hair. I dreamed of suddenly growing some gorgeous locks like hers. Since I heard that my mother’s friend developed curly hair as an adult, this seemed like a realistic goal. Unfortunately, that glory day never came for me.
But why does hair become curly with age for some people? Your hair may become curly with age if you inherited both straight and curly hair genes from your parents. Some of these genes can be inactive at birth but then become turned on by hormones, aging, or other factors including medication, nutrition, stress, illness, or pollution.
Science is a long way off from fully understanding what exactly causes hair to be curly and what factors can turn hair from straight to curly with age.
However, there is still a lot we do know. And with that information, you can make some educated guesses about why your hair has suddenly become curly.
What Determines Curly Hair?
Curly hair is largely determined by the hair follicle shape. An asymmetrical hair follicle will produce curly hair in all ethnicities.
Hair follicles are first formed in the first trimester of pregnancy. The shape is determined by your DNA. This shape is thought to be mostly fixed for life, however, genes can be turned on and off by your environment and experiences.
Just as your skin sheds and new skin grows, the hair follicles are going through a similar rebirth all the time. If any of the many genes associated with hair follicle shape is turned on or off, the hair follicle shape can change slightly or on rare occasions, a lot.
We don’t fully understand everything that triggers these hair-related genes to be turned on or off, but scientists do know some things that may help you make sense of your hair changes.
Some chick being smug because she has beautiful curly hair while I still don’t (haha).
Hormones
Genes can turn on and off for lots of different reasons. These factors are not even completely understood by scientists! But we do know that hormones can turn genes on and off.
Hormones can have huge effects on the body, including the hair. People often see changes in their hair texture when they go through puberty, and hormones are probably one reason for this.
Women going through pregnancy often notice changes to both their skin and hair. Pregnancy hormones play a role in these changes, so may possibly play a role in straight hair suddenly turning curly.
Keep in mind that women’s bodies produce pregnancy hormones each menstrual cycle as well as when using some forms of birth control. So even if you aren’t pregnant, pregnancy hormones could play a role in changes to your body.
Another cause of changing hormones is menopause. However, it’s more likely to see thinning hair than straight hair becoming curly during this phase of life.
Aging
Aging affects the hair follicles, but it is rarely a cause of curly hair. However, aging does make hair strands finer. This means gravity isn’t pulling each hair down as much. Lighter hair will make wavy or curly hairs become more apparent.
This is something I’ve noticed myself as I’ve aged. My hair was always a little wavy, but it was crazy thick when I was a child and adolescent. So I would have some waves if I kept my hair short, but if I grew it out very much, there were no waves to be found.
When I hit my 30’s, I noticed that my hair was becoming slightly lighter and my waves were obvious even when my hair was long.
The same thing could happen with people who have thick hairs but curl producing hair follicles, especially women who have had long hair their whole lives. As they age, the curls will become more curly and noticeable.
Changes in Nutrition
Factors such as genetic variation, weathering, diet or cosmetic treatments affect the constitution of the hair and underlie the variations in hair characteristics across hair ethnic groups, such as diameter, ellipticity and curliness.
-Human Hair and the Impact of Cosmetic Procedures: A Review on Cleansing and Shape-Modulating Cosmetics
Although there have been no direct links made between what you eat and hair becoming curly, nutrition has an impact on other aspects of hair including texture and strength. So if you changed your diet significantly before the onset of curly hair, that may be the cause.
Just as aging makes hair thinner, so can a poor diet. And thinner hair can be more wavy and curly than thicker hair.
In addition, copper has been linked to curly hair in some studies. Have you been eating a lot of high copper foods like lobsters, oysters, or liver?
Or perhaps you started a multivitamin high in this mineral? That may have something to do with your change in hair texture.
Medications
Medications for seizures and bipolar disorder, on rare occasions, can cause curly hair. The reason for this is still unknown, but some researchers have speculated that it has to do with how metals are processed in the body. Changes in the concentration of metals like copper are seen in the hairs of these patients.
Sometimes hair becomes straight again after they stop using these medications, but there have been reports of patients continuing to have curly hair even after discontinuing their medication.
Some medications used to treat cancer, called epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, can also affect hair texture. This can result in hair becoming straight or curly.
And just as hormones may impact hair texture, any medications that affect hormones, such as glucocorticoids or thyroxine, could also potentially make hair become wavy or curly.
Illness and Stress
Both illness and stress can take a toll on the body. Hormone levels are often altered by illness or stress. This is why people who are chronically ill or under a lot of stress often have thinning hair or hair loss.
These changes in your body could possibly affect gene expression, which could change your hair texture.
In addition, some specific illnesses, like hyperthyroidism, are linked to changes in hair texture.
Pollution
Pollution has been linked to hair loss in some studies. It’s common in some areas of the world for people to experience hair loss when moving from rural areas to highly industrialized cities with lax pollution standards, like in China.
There are no studies linking curly hair to pollution. However, pollution can affect our hormone levels. And as we have learned, hormones may have an effect on hair texture. So it’s something to think about if your hair changes started after you moved to a more polluted environment.
Climate
Did you move to a different climate? Things like temperature and sun exposure can affect hormone levels, so that maybe what’s going on.
Or it could be the new climate directly affecting your hair.
Just as curly hairs typically curl the most when wet, humidity in the air brings out waves or curls in hair.
So if you lived in a desert your whole life and suddenly moved to a humid area like the Southern US, for example, you’d likely notice that your hair is more wavy or curly.
Whose Hair Is Most Likely to Become Curly With Age
We know from genetic studies that people with African ethnicity are most likely to hair curly hair at birth. So of course, their hair isn’t going to suddenly become curly. However, it could become more curly with age.
In contrast, most people with East Asian ethnicity are likely to have very straight hair. Genetically, it’s unlikely that they have any genes that will suddenly make their hair wavy or curly.
People with Western Asian or European DNA, however, are the most likely to have a mix of genes that would create straight hair that becomes curly with age.
Of course, if your ethnicity is some mixture of African, Asian, and European, it’s also more likely that you have a mixture of genes that could mean your hair will change as you age.
Final Takeaways
Unfortunately for little girls born without curly hair, like me, it’s rare for hair texture to change significantly with age. Yet, it still happens in rare occasions for some people.
We still don’t know that much about hair texture and genetics. But anything that can change gene expression may have an effect on your hair, no matter what age you are. If your hair has suddenly changed from straight to curly, it’s likely due to hormones or changes in your environment. It’s most likely a permanent change, but not always.
So make the most with what the good Lord gave you and enjoy those curls while you got them. And if you hate your new glorious curls, just remember, I’m envious of you! I guess we usually want what we don’t have! That’s why there are also great hair straighteners in the world, like this one.😉
Related Questions:
Can hair change from curly to straight?
Yep! Just as straight hair sometimes becomes curly, curly hair can sometimes become straight. However, this tends to be a rare occurrence as hair follicle shape and hair texture is mostly fixed by birth.
How to change hair follicle shape naturally?
There is no known way to do this, unfortunately. I looked and looked. But you can bet there is a billion-dollar cosmetics industry trying to figure it out, so maybe we will know one day!
What’s the best hair removal method for busy women with lots of responsibilities?
I personally have found epilation to be the best hair removal method for my busy life. The results last as long as waxing, but it’s much cheapers and easier to do at home. I used to have to shave every day, but now hair removal takes a fraction of that time.
I’ve been using an epilator for hair removal for years now for my face, as well as my body. Since I started blogging about my epilator experience, I’ve gotten tons of questions from awesome readers like you. Most frequently, people ask me what epilator I recommend, especially for women’s facial hair.
So what is the best epilator for face in 2020?
After pouring through tons of information, talking to other epilator users, and trying out several epilators myself, I’ve pinned down my faves. In 2020, I definitely think the best epilator for face is the Braun Silk-épil 7 7/880 Sensosmart.This is a high-quality epilator that removes all types of facial hair.
However, this epilator isn’t right for everyone. I found some other popular epilators that may be better for you if you have specific challenges like coarse facial hair or want your epilator for a specific area like eyebrows.
Read on for what you should be considering when you choose an epilator and my full reviews of the five best epilators for face.
How can you tell if a specific facial epilator is worth buying? Here are some things to look for when you’re searching for your best epilator for face:
Area of the Face
If you plan to epilate all over your body, then you will want to consider a full-size epilator first to see if it will fit your needs. Then you won’t have to make two separate purchases just for epilating. And if you plan to epilate your upper lip, chin, cheeks, or neck area, a full-size epilator will work great.
However, if you are going to be epilating your sideburns, between your eyebrows, or above your eyebrows, a smaller epilator is more ideal. Although you can use a facial cap on many epilators to epilate in these smaller areas, it’s still a pain and you are not going to get very precise results.
Hair Thickness
Hair thickness is really important to consider. Thick, coarse hairs take more power to remove and many small battery operated epilators just don’t work well for this type of hair. You may have to purchase a corded epilator to get the power you need.
And then if you have a combination of hair types, you want an epilator that is versatile, with a decent amount of power but also adjustable speeds.
Whatever your hair type, when you are considering an epilator, it’s important to search the reviews to see what people are saying about the effectiveness for different hair types before you buy.
Hair Length
When dealing with facial hair, you don’t want to have to grow out a practical beard before it’s long enough to remove. So you want to get an epilator that will remove super short hairs.
Most Emjoi epilators are purported to remove hairs as short as 0.3 mm. I’ve never measured, but they do remove really short hairs. And most other top epilators, including the newer Braun Silk-épil epilators, can remove hair that is 0.5 mm. So if you’re looking at an epilator that can’t remove hairs that short, I’d skip it and find a better one.
Power Source
Most epilators for face use are powered by disposable batteries. These can be a pro or con, depending on your preferences, I guess. But just keep in mind that the battery operated ones will be less powerful and you’ll have the additional cost of replacing the batteries.
To work around that a little, you can purchase rechargeable batteries, however.
You can also purchase a rechargeable facial epilator, which comes with a battery that you plug in to charge. However, you will have to worry about charging them before use. A typical epilator requires over an hour to charge. You then will get around 30 minutes of use before you’ll need to charge it again.
These type of epilators are usually wet/dry which means you can use them in the bath or shower. This is nice for epilating other body parts, but not really a good idea for the face.
And then the third option for power is a corded epilator. These have to be plugged into the wall. They are the most powerful epilators.
My Top Five Picks for Best Epilator for Face
Best Epilator for Face and Body: Braun Silk-épil 7 7/880 Sensosmart
If I could only recommend one epilator for face, I would choose the Braun Silk-épil 7 7/880 Sensosmart.
The main reason I recommend the Silk-épil is that it works effectively for most people and all hair types. And it can be used for both the face and the rest of the body, killing all birds with one stone.
This is a wet/dry cordless epilator with lots of power, durability, plus some fancy bells and whistles. It is one of the Rolls-Royces of epilators. And like the Rolls-Royce, there are very few people who have something negative to say about this epilator other than the price.
It’s powerful enough to work for most women, whether you have peach fuzz or thick, coarse hairs. I’ve ventured into many forums for transwomen who struggle with coarse hair on the face and body, and this epilator is raved about there.
For me, it works like magic. It’s much better than many other epilators I have tried, pulling out hairs instead of cutting them off at the skin. This makes the results last a long time.
Cool features include massage rollers that relax skin and reduce discomfort, a “smart light” so you can see what you’re doing better and two different speeds.
Since the head (where all the tweezer are) has to be big enough to use on your body too, it’s going to be bigger than many other facial epilators. However, there are a few reasons I still recommend this epilator specifically for facial hair.
This version of the Braun Silk-épil has a slimmer head than newer versions. It’s the perfect size for chin hair. And can still be used pretty effortlessly on the upper lip. Additionally, it has a pivoting head that pivots up to fifteen degrees and works nicely for hard to reach areas on the face, jaw, and neck.
If you want a smaller head, it comes with a facial cap that you can just pop on. This exposes fewer tweezers.
The “SensoSmart” technology is another cool feature that prevents the epilator from getting too close to your skin and potentially cutting it. Which is especially important when dealing with your face. Just make sure you are getting the 7/880 model because not all Silk-épil 7 epilators come with this feature.
Like other Silk-épil epilators, it has “close grip technology.” It can grip and remove hairs as short as 0.5 mm. This is especially important when dealing with the face so you can remove those hairs as soon as they start popping up and avoid a five o’clock shadow as much as possible.
For most women, I think this is definitely the best epilator for upper lip hair and chin hair, despite the wide head. But if you were wanting something to use around the eyebrows, then I’d go for a smaller epilator.
And of course, even the best epilator for face can’t be all rainbows and butterflies.
Some people report that the extra power and speed makes for a more painful experience. This is true, but any epilator that works well is going to hurt. This didn’t bother me because I was already used to epilation by the time I bought mine. However, if you are an epilator virgin, this may be a problem for you.
A few people have complained online that the epilator they received was a dud, but the warranty makes that less worrisome.
And then there is the price. It’s one of the pricier epilators on the market. However, as of writing, this epilator has hundreds of five-star reviews on Amazon alone, so I’m not the only person who loves it.
Being the inherently cheap person I am, it took me several years to finally shell out enough money to buy my first Silk-épil. I would have saved myself tons of time and headaches if I had just bought it sooner. It was totally worth the investment.
Want to know more about this model? This is a great video review of the Silk-épil 7 with a demonstration on the arms and face:
Pros
Removes hair well on both the face and body.
Lots of extras including an LED light, attachments, massaging rollers.
Waterproof so you can use it in the shower.
Rechargeable battery.
Cons
Pretty darned pricey, but cheaper than the Silk-épil 9.
Painful, but mostly because it’s pulling out those hairs really well.
Almost too big for the face.
Runner-Up: Braun Silk-épil 9 9-579
The Silk-épil 9 is Braun’s newest epilator model. I’m including it because it’s very similar to the Silk-épil 7 and is equally effective in removing all types of hair. There are a few differences, however.
The Silk-épil 9 has a wider head. This actually isn’t a great thing if you are using it exclusively for the face, though. So that reason alone may make the Silk-épil 7 a better choice for you.
On the other hand, most Silk-épil 7 epilators don’t have SensoSmart technology, which I think is a great feature to have when you’re epilating the face so you ensure that you don’t end up with an injury on your face that could possibly turn into a scab and then a scar.
So if you can’t find the Silk-épil 7 model 7/880, you might be better off with a Silk-épil 9, especially if you plan to use your epilator for legs, arms, or other body parts where the larger head will save you time.
I recommend this 9-579 model specifically because it includes the facial cap, plus a trimmer cap, shaver head, a massage cap, and a bonus facial brush that exfoliates the skin. This brush may be too harsh for some people’s faces, but it can also be used to exfoliate and prevent ingrown hairs on the legs and body.
Here are two awesome videos showing how to use a Silk-épil 9 on the face:
Pros
Newest Silk-épil model so has the newest engineering and extras like a facial brush.
Sensosmart technology reduces the chance of pinching skin.
Bigger head will remove more hair from body.
Rechargeable battery.
Cons
Most expensive epilator in this post.
Wider head can be difficult to use on the face.
Painful, but again, this is because it actually pulls hairs out well.
Best Budget Epilator for Face: Emjoi Epi Slim
If you’ve never used an epilator before or you just need an epilator for face only, the Emjoi Epi Slim is the best place to start. This facial epilator is affordable and works well for the price, which makes it one of the best epilators for beginners.
Unlike the Silk-épil 7 and 9, the Epi Slim doesn’t have any bells and whistles. It’s simply a small non-waterproof epilator with a few tweezers, powered by two AA batteries.
The main advantage, besides the lower price, is the size. It’s one of the smallest epilators on the market and can be easily used on the chin, upper lip, sideburns or above the eyebrows. You can also fit it in your purse for hair removal on the go.
Unfortunately, it’s not the abosolute best at pulling out all hairs. I’ve found I have to go pretty slowly or it will just cut off the hairs at the skin’s surface instead of pulling them out.
However, when it has fresh batteries and I take my time, I do get good results.
And if you really needed to use it for the rest of your body, it’s possible. I’ve epilated my whole legs with one, but it does take a loooonnng time.
Despite the low price, these suckers are pretty durable. I’ve had mine for a few years (and I drop it all the time).
If you’ve been wondering about whether epilation is right for you or not, just bite the bullet and buy one of these things. They are not just cheap but also cute AF, with several different designs and patterns to choose from on Amazon.
And here’s one of the best videos I’ve found on the Emjoi Slim:
Pros
Inexpensive for an epilator.
Small size makes it easy to use on the face.
Removes hairs as short as 0.3 mm.
Cons
Must buy AA batteries for it (they aren’t included) and they will need to be replaced fairly often.
Not uber-powerful, especially if you don’t have good batteries.
Can’t use on the body very easily.
Best Epilator for Coarse Facial Hair: Braun Silk-épil 3
The Braun Silk-épil 7 and 9 both work well for coarse facial hair, but they are expensive. And if you are wanting a epilator for face only, you probably don’t want to dish out $100+. So, I racked my brain to decide on the best mid-range epilator to recommend for coarse facial hair.
Since my facial hair is mostly thin, light hairs, I did tons of research to make sure I was recommending a product that has worked well for many women with coarse facial hair.
I wanted something that had a solid reputation for removing coarse or thick facial hair, but also small and gentle enough to work easily on the face. I don’t want to sound like a paid salesperson for Braun, but after hours and hours of research, the Braun Silk-épil 3 stood out as the best choice.
This epilator has been around for a while, so it’s been well tested and the pros and cons are very apparent. It’s a corded epilator so has lots of power to pull out coarse hair without problems. This makes it a great choice for budget-conscious women who need a more powerful epilator than the Emjoi Epi-Slim.
Here’s an unboxing video that shows you what this epilator looks like:
Since the Silk-épil 3 is an older model, and everyone tends to just buy the newest model, I didn’t find any videos of it being used on the face. But here is a demo of a similar model that has been discontinued (Braun 5318 Silk Epil Soft Perfection) on a woman with coarse facial hair from PCOS:
Pros
Really affordable and powerful epilator.
Small size that works well for the face, but can be used on the body too.
Pulls coarse hairs out pretty well.
Cons
Not waterproof.
Must be plugged in to use.
Painful and may pinch skin if you’re not careful.
Best Cheap Epilator for Peach Fuzz: Bellabe Facial Hair Remover
If your facial hair is just a little peach fuzz, you may not be committed to hair removal enough to pay much for an epilator. In that case, the Bellabe may be perfect for you.
The Bellabe is a manual epilator. So basically, it pulls hairs out with a spring like the original epilators from the 1980s. But instead of the springs moving automatically like those epilators, you hold the spring with little handles and roll it yourself across your face.
While you’re moving the spring, it opens and closes, gripping hairs and pulling them out, similar to threading.
The main advantages are it’s small size, simplicity, and it’s hypoallergenic coating, which makes it great for sensitive skin. Plus, it’s inexpensive.
I recommend this mostly for finer hairs, though, because it tends to break coarser hairs off at the surface.
Also, some people find it more painful than electric epilators. This may be due to the fact that it tends to take longer. I know that I’ve found it unbearable to use the Bellabe on my cheek hairs even though a regular epilator doesn’t bother me there.
And like other electrical epilators, you still need to avoid using it around your eyes or you may pull out eyelashes. So if you were hoping it to use it for that, you may be better off with a good pair of tweezers.
And here’s a video showing how to use the Bellabe on your face:
Pros
Cheap!
Super small and easy to navigate around the face with.
Hypoallergenic metal.
Cons
Doesn’t work well on coarse hairs.
Takes a while to pull all the hairs out.
Not as durable as modern electric epilators.
Best Epilator for Eyebrows: Gillette Venus Face Perfection
This epilator is essentially the same as the Braun Face. Braun and Gillette are both part of the same company (Proctor and Gamble) and both of these epilators are the same design, just marketed with two different names and different attachments.
I am specifically recommending the Gillette version because it comes without the attachments and therefore, has the lowest price. There are several different Braun versions with different attachments for facial cleansing and exfoliation, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend them for most people because they could be too harsh for facial skin.
As for the epilator itself, it’s honestly mostly so-so with catching hairs. Some people seem to get great results, but most people report that it misses hairs so you have to go over areas multiple times and sometimes finish up with tweezers to get some strays.
The main advantage is that this is the only epilator designed to be used near the eyebrows. You can use it above your eyebrows or between them, which is great for those of us with unibrows who don’t like plucking or waxing. But you still can’t safely use it under your eyebrows or to completely shape them, so you will still need to use tweezers or other methods for that.
So basically, unless a unibrow is your biggest facial hair issue, this is probably not the best epilator for you. However, if your unibrow is your kryptonite, this low-cost epilator is probably worth a try.
Here’s a video of a woman who is a bit more enthusiastic about it than me, demonstrating how well it works for her:
Pros
Great for shaping tops of brows and removing your unibrow.
The design makes it easy to hold and move around the face.
Affordable price and includes two AA batteries.
Cons
Not the best at grabbing hairs, especially coarse ones.
The batteries will have to be replaced fairly regularly.
Removing hair from the body will take too long to even try.
Final Takeaways
The best epilator for your face will depend on many factors including your hair type and budget.
However, I recommend investing in the best epilator you can afford to save yourself from wasting time or getting bad results. The Braun Silk-épil 7 7/880 Sensosmart is a nice, high-end epilator that gets the job done for all hair types on not only the face but the body and legs as well.
However, if you do have a tight budget, even some inexpensive epilators can do a good job if you’re patient and take your time.
