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The face de-fuzzers that keep selling out in Australia
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Coronavirus lockdown measures saw a number of bizarre items suddenly soar in demand, with the world of beauty winning for one of the the most bizarre purchases to sell out.
No, it wasn't cosmetics like lipsticks and bronzer flying off shelves, nor expensive creams and serums, rather, the beauty minded are reaching for, well a shaving kit.
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Yep, the hottest item was a blade designed for shaving your face. The Revlon Face Defuzzers first went viral last year and are currently still 35% off on Amazon AU.
The tool in question is used for dermaplaning – a process whereby ‘peach fuzz’ and dead skin cells are basically scraped off the face with a very fine blade leaving skin exfoliated and smooth.
Sell-out product during lockdown
While traditionally an in-salon treatment – and even then, a niche one – it has become wildly popular as an at-home treatment.
The practice is far from new, however, with many Asian cultures having used Japanese facial razors to exfoliate and shave their faces for hundreds of years.
It seems it took a global pandemic to get the trend truly rocking and rolling in Australia, with the tool exploding in popularity last year.
Revlon saw their Face Defuzzers overtaking them all to claim the top spot.
“In the last few weeks we have seen their popularity increase tenfold, with a 60% increase in sales, consistently taking the number one spot for Revlon products sold in Priceline,” a spokesperson told Yahoo Lifestyle in April last year.
The brand said the new uptake at the time was likely down to beauty salons closing their doors during the lockdown restrictions, meaning what was usually a professional experience turned into a DIY job.
The practice is supposed to leave skin feeling smoother thanks to the exfoliation. Skincare is said to penetrate better, and makeup to sit more smoothly.
Beauty bloggers swear by blading
Beauty bloggers and celebrities swear by the practice, with Zöe Foster Blake spruiking it as a go-to before a big event back in 2018.
“I had dermaplaning (microblading which exfoliates and remove the hair from face for astonishing makeup application)” she wrote.
“I've had it a few times and before you ask, no, the hair doesn’t return thicker. That said, if you have sensitive skin or hormonal imbalances leading to excessive facial hair, maybe give it a miss.”
Beauty Blogger Huda Kattan also recommended the treatment way back in 2016, and showed followers how to do it themselves, at home.
She says after having thicker hairs on the upper lip lasered off, she decided to shave the fuzz on the rest of her face, claiming icons like Marilyn Monroe were known to do the same.
The at-home kit may be popular but some have warned against going too gung-ho on the new trend.
Beauty practitioners warn against DIY treatment
Professionals say the DIY aspect can lead to serious damage, and urge customers to wait, and leave it to the professionals.
“Please wait on the professionals,” one salon wrote on Facebook.
“I’ve seen so many home care kits being offered specifically dermaplaning & microneedling and below is just a few results and why you SHOULD NOT try it.”
The post shared several pictures of scratches and damaged skin.
Thicker regrowth not a concern
Others are concerned the device could see hair grow back thicker, and more visible.
However, the consensus is firm that the practice will not see your hair burst into a full-blown beard.
Rather, the hairs on your face will simply grow back as before, though they may feel slightly different and grow back more evenly across your face
Several bloggers also provide how-to videos and instruction and can be more or less broken down into three easy steps.
Clean and dry your face. The static from the towel will raise hairs to make them easier to remove.
Run the Defuzzer downwards over unwanted hair in small strokes, avoiding the delicate eye area. Most importantly, steer clear of the eyebrows!
Wipe the blade after each pass to remove debris.
The tool’s new popularity doesn’t look to be flagging anytime soon, looks like we should all get scraping!
Reporting by Penny Burfitt
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