Women Who Shave

The NYT‘s has a story on the large number of women who shave their faces:

Kate Somerville, a celebrity facialist whose long list of Hollywood clients includes Jessica Alba and Debra Messing, has a beauty secret that many women would prefer to keep secret.

At least once a week, she lathers up with her own brand of face wash and, using a Gillette Mach3, the men’s razor, proceeds to shave her face. Ms. Somerville, who is in her 40s, has sworn by this routine since her 20s.

“I hate to say this, but personally I get hairs above my upper lip, and have forever,” Ms. Somerville said, adding that waxing irritates her sensitive skin. “Initially I did it because of the hair, but then I noticed that it was a great exfoliant and that my makeup went on a lot better.”

Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor shaved their faces, according to Ms. Somerville, who said that an aesthetician who worked with them told her. She declined to reveal which of her celebrity clients shave their faces, but said that she recommends it widely and that many comply.

Michelle Money, who appeared on “The Bachelor,” made a YouTube video about shaving her face. “I don’t care who you are, ladies, you have hair on your face,” she says in the video, which has had more than 251,000 views. “Men don’t like it. Get rid of it.”

Ms. Money even recommends a razor for women that has a single blade at Amazon called The Tinkle Razor that is supposed to get rid of peach fuzz on the face.

At first I was a bit taken aback that any woman was owning up to shaving her face, but I was more astonished that a woman actually admitted to giving a shit about what men think. Sure, it’s just facial hair, but it’s a start. Kudos to her.