By Laura
Updated: July 19, 2024
6 minutes
Assuming there is an award for the most painful hair removal method, it would indisputably go to either waxing or epilation. Both methods involve ‘uprooting’ hairs from the follicle somewhat mechanically. The only difference is in the tools used. While waxing relies on strips or hot waxes for uprooting, epilation uses special tools with specialized heads to grab and remove hair strands from their roots.
Even if you haven’t experienced epilation before, you can tell from its description that it doesn’t promise much comfort. But for many of us, we can bear whatever discomfort comes with this procedure, so long as it offers a satisfactory result and it’s on less sensitive body parts like the legs and hand. However, if one must apply such a procedure on sensitive areas like the pubic area or the face, the story is usually different. Even pain-tolerant folks cringe at the thought of epilating their down-below.
But what if you know how to epilate your groin area without pain? That means you will enjoy the benefits of epilating, such as longer regrowth time, smooth skin, immediate results, etc., without tasting the only major setback of the removal approach – pain. The tips below can help you achieve a nearly painless epilation as they have been tried and trusted to work.
7 Tips to Achieve a Less Painful Epilation of Your Pubic Area
1. Use An Over-The-Counter Painkiller
Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are two over-the-counter painkillers that you can use before or after epilation to address whatever pain or discomfort ensues after the process. If you want to use it as a prophylaxis, you can take it 15 minutes before you epilate so that its action can coincide with your feeling.
Since these are medications, the proper doses are critical. You should, therefore, ask your drug provider for the correct dosage and stick to it. Even if you still feel pain, do not be tempted to use more than necessary. Ibuprofen will help suppress swelling and pain from removing hairs from their roots.
2. Soak the area with Warm Water
Pubic hairs are often coarse and long, with the skin pores tightly closed when cold. But with a warm shower, the pores open up, and the follicles are less attached. In this state, you can epilate and feel little or no pain, and you can also run the epilator once.
As a warning, you shouldn’t use boiling water down there because of the risks involved. For men, it can interfere with spermatogenesis and may also cause scarring and skin burning. But when correctly used, many people have reported its effectiveness at managing epilation pain.
3. Exfoliate before Epilating
Skin cells – as with most other cell types – constantly divide to make room for new ones. Without the conscious removal of dead cells and dirt from the skin, this sense organ will soon become dry and lose its glowy, healthy look. Exfoliation helps remove these unhealthy remains and restore the smooth, hydrated nature of your skin.
In this healthy form, epilation is less painful. It also increases the efficiency of your device as it allows it to get closer to your skin. Above all, recovery is faster post-epilation if you exfoliate before the process. You can use a physical or chemical approach to exfoliate, but that depends on your skin’s tolerance. Physical exfoliation requires scrubbing, while non-physical needs you to rub an exfoliating cream on your body.
4. Numbing Creams Can Help
Another effective way to feel less or no pain while epilating your pubic area is to apply topical numbing creams. The active agents in these creams are prilocaine and lidocaine. As such, you should look out for any of these substances in the ingredients of the numbing cream you want to buy. Many of them are available over the counter, and they contain instructions on the quantity you must use. As with all medications, keeping to this instruction is germane.
Numbing creams temporarily deactivate your ability to sense pain in the body area you apply it to, giving you a chance to run your epilator through. Most times, by the time their effects are over, you would have finished epilating and overcome the pain. And if any discomfort remains, painkillers can address such successfully.
5. Shave A Few Days Before Epilating
The clumsiness that comes with a bushy pubic area will make epilating more painful. But if you can reduce this by shaving three days before the procedure, it will significantly reduce the pain. Epilating isn’t like waxing that requires long strands; with fem millimeter strands, you can use your device to pick the hairs and remove them. Besides, the procedure makes you get used to your device’s sound and sensations.
A follow-up to shaving will be to start epilating at the lowest speed. Epilators come in speed graduations, and the faster you set yours to, the quicker it gets your job done. However, higher speeds come with greater pain and more noise. Yes, if you start at the lowest speed, it will take time to finish the treatment, but you will also gradually work yourself to acclimatize the device. It also doesn’t hurt much at the lowest speed.
6. Avoid Tilting Your Epilator
How you position your epilator can also add to or minimize pain. Any attempt to tilt the device can result in skin tearing or violently removing your pubic hairs. The best position is to maintain a 90-degree positioning that keeps the gadget flat to your skin.
7. Try Wet Epilation
If your epilator supports wet usage, you should try using it in your pubic area while in the bathroom. Much like wet shaving, damp epilation is less painful because it allows the epilator to glide smoothly on your skin. Please, note that if you have a dry-only device, using it in a wet condition will damage it and can even lead to electric shock.
Bottom Line: It is possible to minimize epilation pain, but you can hardly eliminate it. Unless you combine an effective topical numbing cream with a painkiller, you will still have some moments of pain to deal with before or after using this approach.
While we can’t deny the fact that epilation gives a reasonable holiday from unwanted hair, there is no reason anyone should subject themselves to such excruciating pain when other methods exist that won’t bring any discomfort. And besides being nearly painless, some alternatives do a better job of getting you a long-lasting or long-lasting effect. One such is the use of Intense Pulsed Light (IPL).
Intense Pulsed Light destroys hair from the roots and also interferes with the ability of the hair to regrow by damaging the follicles. This method sends high-energy lights of broad wavelengths into your skin, and they go as far as the epidermis layer to hit the melanin in your skin. The heat produced by the absorption of light by melanin is what disrupts the hair growth cycle. With the suitable IPL gadget, you can remove your pubic hair and other hairs long-lastingly in weeks without subjecting yourself to pain.
Many players in the hair removal industry produce IPL gadgets that they claim are nearly painless, effective, and safe, but none come close to what Ulike Sapphire Air 3 IPL Handset offers.
About Ulike Sapphire Air 3 IPL Hair Removal Handset
This award-winning IPL device is a product of years of research to find a lasting solution to the side effects of using IPL handsets. From the ergonomic design to the accessories in the box, Ulike gave no room for mediocrity in fashioning this product.
To address the pain problem, this brand researched, developed, and patented an Ice-Cooling technology that immediately nullifies the burning effect that flashing the intense pulsed light into the skin causes. Therefore, you can use this device on sensitive body parts like the pubic area, bikini lines, face, and underarm.
Safety is critical when considering the best IPL for hair removal. Thankfully, Ulike left no stone unturned in this regard; the speed graduations and safety goggles included ensure that you flash the appropriate light intensity while also keeping your eyes safe. The US FDA cleared this handset as safe for private home use.
The most significant benefit of this IPL handset will probably be the speed at which it produces results. Other brands require that you wait for at least six weeks before you can witness a 50% reduction in hair quantity and thinness, but Ulike gives over 70% hair reduction in just three weeks.
Conclusion
Epilating the pubic area and not feeling discomfort sounds more like a myth; it’s next to impossible. Granted, the approach is very advantageous for producing smooth skin, which can remain so for weeks. However, besides not being a long-lasting hair removal method, the excruciating pain it causes demands a rethink whenever you’re considering it.
While the seven tips shared in this article will work for pain reduction, they will not remove it. Only a nearly painless method like the IPL promises nearly painless pubic hair removal, and at the forefront of this is the Ulike Air 3 IPL Handset.
