When you remove unwanted hair from your body by waxing or shaving, you run the risk of ingrown hairs. I've had women tell me to never wax my bikini
line ever, because those hairs are thick and curly, so they tend to get trapped inside the hair follicle and grow in crooked more often than say your leg hair.
I'm not going to let a little ingrown hair keep me from waxing. Oh no. Here's a tip I picked up from a waitress when I was out to dinner one night (really). She said she was way into waxing (don't ask me how we got started talking about that), and she waxed everything, including her armpits (ouch).
Her advice: To prevent those irritating little red bumps you get from ingrown hairs, you must exfoliate the area daily.
Now I'm not saying use something harsh like a sugar scrub on your sensitive parts - I much prefer using loofah gloves. They are gentle enough to use every day.
And exfoliating consistently to remove dead skin cells really helps prevent those suckers. So you can wax and shave all you want and get silky smooth skin without those annoying red bumps.

Triumph
Conran
Hush Puppies
Jup my beautician told me the same thing two years ago: exfoliate, and uber-moisturise! That way the skin is smooth enough to let the hair grow out (the best body cream I found so far is the ultra rich shea butter L'Occitane one).
1As for waxing bikini or armpits, I've been doing that for years (not on my own though, too difficult) and it's no big deal. I find it way less painful than shaving and then have thick hairs growing back on a sensitive skin ouch!
I just got my legs waxed two days ago, but I still have a few bumps, and I get them bad around my thighs and bikini zone. Now I know what to do. Thank you!
2Thanks for the info!!!
3this is great. i need to buy new gloves from bodyshop. those are great!
4Waxing my armpits is actually the only thing that works for me. I have coarse hair, and shaving left me with tons of ingrowns and rashes to the extent that I was never smooth--no matter what razors or shaving cream I tried and using only deodorants for sensitive skin.
Exfoliating daily is definitely a must. I've found that for delicate areas (like the underarms) the sort of scrubs you'd use on your face work well (I use St. Ives Apricot Scrub). Also, I've found that Bliss makes some good products especially for waxing. Their "poetic hard wax" is the only stuff that works on my underarms (other waxing techniques didn't remove the hair *and* made me bleed), and their "ingrown hair eliminating peeling pads" work well also. Both are totally out of my beauty budget (I'm a grad student), but work so well that they're worth it.
5i use St Ives Apricot Scrub too! for the face that is. hehee...i just used that to exfoliate my legs. hope it works!
i think i have to same prob. it sucks!
6mandisoh - that stuff is like a little bottle of miracles...it also completely cured the elephant skin I once had on my elbows!
I miss waxing...damn house payments. Just me and my Schick now.
I just read about a woman who TWEEZED her armpits. (She was complimented by a man on the beach for her lovely armpits, so...yeah, if you really want NICE armpits...I think it was from Allure).
Fit, I absolutely love that you were talking to your waitress about waxing!
7do you mean the st ives apricot scrub butrfly?? cos if you do, im buying a whole carton tmr!
oh yeah, my mom tweezes too, but its so slllooow and i totally get a strained neck from it! hehe, too much effort and it takes sooo long.
8I used to use that St.Ives Apricot scrub, but it was making my shower too messy.
Now I'm way into those shower gloves. I've given them as gifts to all the lady friends in my life - they are a must-have when it comes to exfoliating. Gentle yet affective (I sound like a commercial).
9I don't know why but I blushed my way through this whole article -- great tip.
10mandiesoh - yep! Also, I strain my eyes when I look to make sure I shaved them well...I don't know how anyone could look long enough to tweeze! but...does you mom have LOVELY armpits???
Fit - I totally know what you mean a/b the mess.
I haven't even bought that stuff in forever, but I was just thinking about getting it again to see if it helps with this milia crap.
11Oh no, i never get waxed down there.
12Exfoliate....next day wax.....a few days later exfoliate....works for me
13butrfly - i have no idea! LOL. i dont stare at her arm pits!
but i think im jus gonna buy the gloves soon! hehes
14I love the way a wax feels afterward....but it REALLLLLLY hurts me for some reason. I used to be a receptionist for an esthetician in college, and she just gave up on waxing me. any suggestions to make it less painful?
And actually...in neutragena body wash, theres this stuff called salycilic acid (sp) which is a chemical exfoliater, so if loofas or scrubs are irritating you can just use that. look for it on teh label.
15I actually use Stridex on my bikini line area to help get rid of my bumps from shaving. Sounds weird but it really works! Gets rid of them fast and easily. Use the sensitive skin with aloe version to prevent that burning feeling.
16Stridex, huh? Interesting. I hate those bumps. Have you ever tried just plain aloe?
17No, does just aloe actually work?? I dont know if that would get messy or not......
18I have a friend that does teh whole tweezing the armpits. She tried to get me into it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it!
19I think women who wax their body hair need to be shot in the face. They are conforming to a culture of objectifying women for the pleasure of men. Men are pigs, all they think about is sex. Women should care less about making men happy and more about making themselves happy.
20Jenny - So what if some of us women do this for ourselves and not for anyone else? I personally like the way I look and feel when I do some waxing. If anyone here is letting their actions be governed by men, it's you and your obvious bitterness towards them.
21Jenny OWNED!!!
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