By Laura
Updated: June 13, 2024
7 minutes
Besides the pain associated with hair removal through waxing, another risk it poses is ingrown hair. While this phenomenon is bad enough on any body part, it is particularly painful when it happens in delicate areas like the face, underarms, and pubic regions. The skin in these places is very sensitive, and the body’s sensory mechanism usually escalates any mishap to them.
But waxing is undeniably effective, although the stinging experience is also very real. Among the methods that guarantee an immediate result that can last for weeks, it takes the lead. If there is, therefore, a means to reduce or eliminate the pain it causes and also ensure that it doesn’t result in ingrown hairs, it’s most likely going to be the first choice of many people.
This article focuses on practical ways to minimize or avoid the chances of coming down with ingrown hairs after waxing. But for proper context, let’s start by shedding light on what ingrown hairs mean.
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What is Ingrown Hair?
When hairs that are supposed to grow upward and outside the skin curl back and grow inward, what you have is ingrown hair. Among other reasons or factors, hair removal is the most prominent cause of this phenomenon. Notable among the hair removal methods that lead to this experience are shaving, tweezing, and waxing. In general, methods that require cutting or plucking hair subject users to this phenomenon.
The body interprets the hairs growing back into the skin as a foreign object and, therefore, marshalls its defense mechanism to counteract it. The result of the fight between the body’s innate defense and the ingrown hair(s) is what you see as inflammation, redness, and pain on the spot.
How Waxing Leads to Ingrown Hairs
Before we can effectively prevent ingrown hairs after waxing, we must first understand how the process leads to it. Below are some waxing practices that can make you a candidate for this painful inflammatory skin condition.
Using A Poor Quality Wax
The success or otherwise of your waxing experience depends significantly on the quality of wax used. If the wax is either too hard or too soft, it might end up breaking instead of uprooting the hair. Besides, some low-quality waxes contain harsh chemicals that can elicit specific reactions in your skin, causing the hairs to curl and grow inward.
Wrong Waxing Techniques
There is definitely a wrong way to wax. And with this wrong approach, one of the surest outcomes is ingrown hair. Trimming the hair too short, waxing in the wrong direction, and dragging the strips instead of an instance removal are some of the waxing mistakes made by amateurs and DIY waxers. While waxing is possible at home, it may pay to see an expert if you haven’t mastered the tricks.
Neglecting to Exfoliate Before Waxing
Exfoliation removes dirt and dead skin from your body, allowing an unobstructed growth of emerging hairs. It’s best to carry out this process daily to your waxing schedule. You can achieve this mechanically through coarse sponges or exfoliants like topical wash and lotion. When you don’t exfoliate, sharp hairs that are just regrowing can get blocked by these things, causing them to grow inward.
Using Hot Waxes
Findings have revealed that too hot wax can cause ingrown hairs in addition to burning your skin. However, if the wax is also cold, it might not do the job either. That is why knowing the appropriate temperature that these paste-like substances must be is very critical. If you work with an inappropriate wax, it may cause hair breaking, which is an excellent recipe for ingrown hair.
Hair Texture
Sometimes, the reason for your ingrown hair may be connected to your hair texture. Coarse and curly hairs are more susceptible to ingrown hairs than soft ones. But even at that, if you take the precautions we are about to explore below, you can minimize your chances of developing this painful skin condition.
How to Avoid Ingrown Hairs After Waxing
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Exfoliation – Before & After
One cannot overemphasize the need for exfoliation when waxing is the hair removal of choice. Getting rid of dirt and dead skin clears the way for easy removal and regrowth when it’s time. If your skin is sensitive, you don’t have to wax and exfoliate the same day; giving yourself a day or two in between these processes will greatly help.
You can exfoliate after waxing, but you need to give your skin enough time to heal to avoid causing it great harm. If you experience redness and inflammation after your procedure, it’s better you wait a week before you try exfoliating. Post-waxing exfoliation guarantees that new regrowth can proceed without obstruction either from the skin or the layer of dirt on it.
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Wax and Pull Hair Correctly
A successful waxing requires that you pull the hairs from the root. If a few strands get cut on the skin level, ingrown hair may result. But without the right pressure or pull, you can barely avoid a break in the strands. Therefore, it’s essential that you pull the strips at once and with the appropriate force. Similarly, you should avoid putting too much wax on your skin as this can make pulling once difficult. And if you can’t pull once, the chances of breaking your hair rather than uprooting it are high.
The solution is to apply the right quantity of wax at the right temperature and apply just enough pull. Remember, pulling in a direction opposite your hair growth may break the hair instead of uprooting it. Therefore, gently pull toward the hair growth for maximum results and ease of operation.
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Stay Hydrated
There’s hardly any other better way to pamper your skin from the inside than being hydrated. Water soothes and makes the skin supple – the conditions you need to quickly heal and get ahead of ingrown hairs. Skin dryness is one condition that favors hair curling back into the skin, but once you take enough water, you have dealt with this challenge.
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Moisturize the Area
More than half of everyone who waxes say they feel some kind of dryness and tenderness around the area hours after the procedure is over. It’s normal, and you can get rid of this by keeping the area moisturized. But beyond alleviating pain, moisturization ensures hairs aren’t stuck beneath the skin or have difficulty shooting above the skin surface.
In selecting a moisturizer for your post-waxing treatment, be sure you aren’t choosing one with harsh chemicals. Considering how tender your skin is at this time, you wouldn’t want to introduce something that can cause an allergic reaction. Moisturizers with parabens and hydroquinone are, therefore, not suitable at this time.
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Go for After-Wax Care and Targeted Products
If you had your waxing done by a technician in a salon, you should confirm if they offer a post-waxing service. Most times, spas and beauty salons have targeted products for different skin types, and tapping into this ready-made arrangement can be very beneficial. The desire to maintain their name and ensure you can refer someone else to them will motivate these salons to offer excellent after-waxing services.
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Avoid Hot Bath and Sunbathing
You may be eager to return to the beach to show off your perfectly groomed body in a bikini, but that may damage your skin. Your skin needs extra protection at this time, and exposing it to the hot sun is just the opposite of what it needs. So, you might want to take a chill pill for at least three days before going out in the sun to show off your waxed skin. Additionally, hot baths and other skin treatments that involve getting the skin heated should be avoided.
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Wear Loose-Fitting Clothes
Ditch the body hug clothes and undergarments for loose-fitting ones after a waxing session. The tight-fitting clothes may irritate the waxed area that is extra sensitive already and promote ingrown hair.
Loose-fitting clothes will allow your skin to heal and prepare for hair growth. So, you might consider wearing clothes that allow your skin to breathe.
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Consider Topical Treatment
Some over-the-counter drugs are highly recommended for people who experience ingrown hair frequently. These treatments will help ensure your skin does not get inflamed after waxing. You can also ask your waxer to prescribe any topical drug they think you need to prevent ingrown hair if you are prone to it.
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Do not Scratch or Pick the Waxed Area
Reaching out to scratch the waxed area just a little bit might be very tempting, especially when it gets itchy. But that will end up opening your skin for infection. Try to distract yourself whenever the urge to scratch the area comes.
A Better Alternative
Instead of worrying about ingrown hair each time you wax, why not try a better and neater method of removing hair? Hair removal methods like laser, electrolysis, and IPL are the popular alternatives to waxing with a low risk of developing ingrown hair. Among them, IPL has proven to remove hair conveniently with no ingrown hair troubles. You do not even need the help of a technician to use IPL devices as they are very easy to use.
One excellent IPL device you can rely on to give you a salon-like result is the Ulike Sapphire Air 3 IPL Hair Removal Device. The engineering is different from others on the market thanks to its ice-cooling technology, UV filter, and quick result timeline. In two weeks, you will have witnessed a noticeable reduction in your hair growth and length. If used consistently, within a month or two, you should have achieved 100% hairlessness with no pain or ingrown hair.
Conclusion
Ingrown hair can be very painful; it can also get in your way of looking good. But with waxing, this phenomenon is very common. Unless you take precautions as highlighted above, your next waxing session may be as good as your next ingrown hair session. For peace of mind from this problem when removing body hair, use a premium IPL device like the Ulike Sapphire Air 3 IPL Hair Removal Handset. It’s FDA-cleared, and you don’t need to be an expert to handle it.
