You get stubble. It does NOT encourage hair growth!! I have a license in skin care - I am telling you fact, not fiction. If you shave early, and you don't need to shave, you are just wasting time. Don't shave if you don't have too, but seriously, if it made hair grow in thicker and darker, every bald guy would be shaving their heads!! You are cutting the hair with a blade close to the skin, that is all. And tweezing or waxing actually damages the root every time you pull out the hair, so hair actually comes in thinner and sometimes wont grow back. Thats why women need to be careful when tweezing eyebrows. One day they might not grow back!