Waxing breakouts? They don't have to happen.
Are you one of the many who have experienced breakouts after waxing? It’s a fairly common reaction and can be really disheartening. The breakouts can appear as little bumps, whiteheads, or larger red bumps.
When you get a wax, a very top layer of skin on the surface gets removed. Thus, the pores are left exposed and anything that touches the area during this time can cause pimples. Additionally, the breakouts after waxing could be occurring because of allergies to ingredients in wax, skin sensitivity to the act of pulling the hair out, touching the area and getting bacteria from your fingers on the area, or even from a mild burn.
So, what do we do about it? Is this a fruitless endeavor and should we just give up on the dream of a smooth, hair free existence? Most certainly not! I am here to let you know there are great things we can do to minimize or even totally prevent the problem
First thing you must do is make sure your esthetician is using high quality wax. Good wax will properly grip the hair, removing with no damage to your epidermis. I use a wax from a company out of the United Kingdom called Harley. Harley Wax is one of the very few companies that continues to use the finest natural raw resin, compared to some competitors who have switched over to petroleum based synthetic substitutes. Harley Wax leaves skin soft with no irritation, removes hair from the root to reduce chances of ingrown hairs, and leaves skin hair free for much longer.
It is also very important that after the wax your esthetician apply an antibacterial soothing serum. Even bacteria in the air can cause breakouts, so the faster we can get something on to soothe and protect, the better. Ideally, this serum might contain aloe to sooth and perhaps a bit of salicylic acid to kill bacteria. I use a serum that contains aloe, salicylic acid, green tea, and chamomile. Also, very important – do not touch the freshly waxed areas. Hands off!
And finally, the pièce de résistance of the whole endeavor is the use of a high frequency light machine. If you’ve never heard of high frequency before it might sound a little scarier than it truly is. First developed in the late 1800’s for wound healing, it’s mostly used in the skincare industry for its thermal (heat producing) and oxygen creating benefits which assist in killing bacteria under the skin. High frequency has been shown to prevent post-wax breakouts and I happily use it on all my clients who may need it. It is not painful, you will simply feel a gentle tingle in the areas of application.
If you’ve had bad waxing experiences resulting in breakouts I encourage you to give it another try. Great strides have been made in the waxing industry and the old days of bad results can be a thing of the past. Find yourself a great esthetician who has a lot of experience and who uses quality products, and you too can enjoy the hair-free life.