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Is It Better To Shave at Night or in the Morning? (With Pros and Cons)

If you’re looking for the best time to shave, there are two options that most guys default to: shaving at night or shaving in the morning. Is one better than the other?

Shaving in the morning can provide a clean look throughout most of the day, while shaving at night can help those with more sensitive skin and provide a calmer, more relaxed, and less irritating shaving experience. It’s important to understand how hair growth rate, hair color, and personal preference should impact your choice of ideal shaving time.

Keep reading to learn which time works best given your unique situation.

Should you shave your face at night or in the morning?

Most men benefit from shaving at night more than they do shaving in the day.

There are tradeoffs between shaving at night and shaving in the day. To understand why you might want to shake up your shaving times, you need to be aware of your hair growth, schedule, and personal preferences.

Due to the healing nature of sleep, shaving at night will allow your skin to heal and repair after shaving. Additionally, you might find that you’re more alert and willing to take your time without the pressure of starting work in the morning. 

However, if you need to maintain a clean-shaven face — and your facial hair grows back quickly — shaving at night may not be feasible for your needs. Additionally, continuing to shave after you shower is advised for people who only shower in the mornings.

One final thing to consider is when you feel like you have the energy and focus on shaving. For some men, the sleep inertia (that groggy feeling after waking up) can lead to haphazard shaves that result in knicks, cuts, and not the closest shave. For others, post-work exhaustion can lead to less-than-ideal shaves. 

Reasons to shave your face in the morning

Shaving your face in the morning can be a great way to start your day.

This is especially true for people who grow facial hair quickly and need to look professional for work.

Let’s take a closer look at why you might want to shave your face in the morning.

Your hair grows very quickly

For men who grow facial hair quickly, shaving in the morning may be the only option if they want to look clean-shaven throughout the day. 

If you shave in the evening, you may wake up with a 5 o’clock shadow, a term used to describe stubble that can appear throughout the day. This look isn’t totally professional, so if your job needs you to look clean-cut, stick to shaving in the morning. 

Your hair is very dark

If you have darker facial hair, shaving in the morning is also advised.

Shaving in the morning ensures that any hair that grows overnight is removed, allowing you to look professional and clean for the rest of the workday.

Because darker hair stands out on the face, even if your facial hair grows back slowly, the 8-10 hours between an evening shave and starting work may leave you looking a little scruffy. 

You have a date or engagement in the evening

If you have evening plans, you may want to stick to shaving in the morning.

If you shave right before your date or plans, you leave yourself open to many complications. If you cut yourself or your skin gets irritated and red from shaving an hour before your date, your skin won’t have time to heal.

You give your skin plenty of time to heal and repair before your evening plans by shaving in the morning.

Another benefit to shaving in the morning is that if you miss a spot, you’ll notice it and be able to fix it in the afternoon. Had you waited until the evening to shave, you might not notice the spot until it’s too late — or worse, your date may point it out to you!

You only shower in the mornings

If you’re a person who enjoys showering in the morning, following up your shower with a shave will work to your benefit. 

Whether you like to start your day with a shower or prefer it at the end of your day, it’s good practice to shave after you shower.

If you shower in the morning but don’t shower at night, try to shave in the morning. Having the extra hassle of shaving in the evening may result in you not showering. In turn, this can give you a less than optimal shaving experience.

Shaving is a part of your morning routine

Similar to shaving in the morning because you shower in the morning, shaving in the morning can help reinforce a positive morning routine.

For men who struggle to get their day started, creating a habit stack that includes self-care activities like showering, shaving, and getting dressed can create positive momentum in your day. 

If you already have a solid routine that helps you get focused and energized for the day – and shaving is a part of that routine – don’t feel that you need to shake things up. If you do decide not to shave in the morning, be aware that you may feel a little off because of the routine change. 

You don’t have enough energy in the evening

Working long hours or a job that requires intense physical labor can be draining. The last thing that you may want to do after you finish work is shaving.

If you find yourself short on energy in the evenings, it might not be a good idea to drag a razor across your face. 

To cut down on shaving accidents and irritation, you want to be alert and awake when you shave. For some folks, mornings can be very energizing and a great time to shave compared to their evenings. 

Reasons to shave your face at night

If you read through the reasons above, and none of them seemed compelling, you may be better suited to shaving your face at night.

Shaving at night can be better for your skin, may fit into your existing routine, and may yield a more relaxing shaving experience.

Keep reading to see why shaving at night might work best for you. 

Fewer time constraints

When you shave your face at night, you usually aren’t pressed for time.

Shaving at night can be a restorative experience that can feel like a mini spa treatment at the end of the day. You won’t be trying to cut corners or rush your shave. Taking care of your skin this way can make you relaxed, refreshed, and ready for a good night’s sleep.

Unless you work a night shift, you don’t have to rush out the door to beat traffic or get to the office early. As a result, your shave can be more relaxed.

Time to Heal

For men with sensitive skin, shaving at night is a great option.

Sometimes, shaving can lead to irritation depending on how sensitive your skin is, no matter how carefully or gently you shave. To combat this, shaving at night allows your skin to heal and calm down while you sleep.

That way, when you wake up in the morning, your skin is healed and rejuvenated by sleep. 

Skin is better suited to shaving at night

Have you ever wondered why you have bags under your eyes when you wake up in the morning? This has to do with blood and fluid pooling in your face as a result of lying horizontally while you sleep. 

This means that your face has more blood and fluid in the mornings than at night. That fluid has a swelling effect on your skin, making it harder for the razor to cut the hair as close to the skin as possible.

If your face is puffy in the morning, shaving at night is a great way to avoid this problem since most of the fluid and blood pooled in your face is drained and distributed elsewhere. 

Less irritation with collared shirts

There’s nothing worse than shaving in the morning and having a collared shirt rub, irritate, and pull on your neck hair throughout the day.

To remedy this situation, try shaving at night to avoid exposing your freshly shaved neck to a stiff collared shirt.

By the time you wake up in the morning, your skin will have healed enough to take on the constant friction of a shirt. 

Sleeping in is a priority

If you’re really not a morning person and you enjoy sleeping in, then you may want to try shaving at night.

This will give you a few extra minutes to sleep in the morning – minutes that otherwise might have been spent shaving groggily.