Beauty
10 ways to make waxing less painful
Beauty
10 ways to make waxing less painful
While you might love the warm weather of a Canadian summer, the season's revealing outfits come with a burden, too – hair removal. Waxing offers an affordable way to keep skin smooth for longer periods than shaving, but that doesn’t mean it’s without drawbacks, and pain is certainly one of them.
Check out these 10 ways to make waxing less painful and you’ll be sipping sangria in a sundress before you can say, "Ready, set, rip!"
1. Within 24 hours prior to your waxing appointment, "avoid any kind of exfoliation," says Paola Girotti, owner of Sugar Moon, a body-sugaring boutique with two locations in Toronto. Exfoliation can irritate your skin, says Girotti.
2. Always start with clean, dry skin. Soaking in a warm bath prior to waxing can help soften hair and slightly open your pores. Skip the lotion, though, as "body oils can seep into the hair follicles," says Girotti. And oils interfere with wax's ability to grip hair.
3. Avoid waxing within a week before your period, when you’re extra-sensitive to pain. Instead, aim to have it done a week or two after, when your pain threshold is higher.
4. Try taking an ibuprofen pain reliever (such as Advil), about an hour before waxing. This can help control the pain, as well as any resulting inflammation.
5. If you plan to wax your bikini area, change into a pair of loose-fitting, clean cotton underwear post-wax. Synthetic fibres or too-tight pairs can irritate your freshly wax skin and lead to clogged pores, which can develop into painful ingrown hairs. You can skip the gym that day, too!
6. Leave ingrown hairs alone, says Girotti. And please, don’t pinch the skin! This will leave you bruised, and can worsen the situation. Instead, try smoothing an over-the-counter antibacterial ointment, such as Polysporin, over the affected area.
Page 1 of 2 – How long should you wait before exfoliating post-wax? Find the answer, plus four more great tips, on page 2.
7. Always pull skin taut, and pull the wax strip in the opposite direction of hair growth. This dramatically increases the effectiveness of the waxing and also dramatically reduces the pain.
8. You know how you take a quick, short breath after being injured? It’s your body’s natural way of helping manage pain. Take a deep breath when applying wax, and a short, strong exhale when you pull the strip off your skin.
9. Post-wax, avoid anything to do with heat, such as hot baths. "Heading out into the sun after a sugaring or waxing is one of the biggest mistakes people make," says Girotti. Your skin is in an irritated and raw state, so make sure you protect it.
10. To keep skin smooth, exfoliate the area two days after you wax, and every second day thereafter. Aloe and water-based lotions are safe to use, but avoid applying deodorant if you’ve just banished hair from your underarms, "otherwise you’re applying it directly into an open cuticle," says Girotti.
Once you get the hang of these tips, you’ll find that controlling waxing pain is surprisingly easy. You might even be looking forward to your next waxing appointment.
Page 2 of 2
Check out these 10 ways to make waxing less painful and you’ll be sipping sangria in a sundress before you can say, "Ready, set, rip!"
1. Within 24 hours prior to your waxing appointment, "avoid any kind of exfoliation," says Paola Girotti, owner of Sugar Moon, a body-sugaring boutique with two locations in Toronto. Exfoliation can irritate your skin, says Girotti.
2. Always start with clean, dry skin. Soaking in a warm bath prior to waxing can help soften hair and slightly open your pores. Skip the lotion, though, as "body oils can seep into the hair follicles," says Girotti. And oils interfere with wax's ability to grip hair.
3. Avoid waxing within a week before your period, when you’re extra-sensitive to pain. Instead, aim to have it done a week or two after, when your pain threshold is higher.
4. Try taking an ibuprofen pain reliever (such as Advil), about an hour before waxing. This can help control the pain, as well as any resulting inflammation.
5. If you plan to wax your bikini area, change into a pair of loose-fitting, clean cotton underwear post-wax. Synthetic fibres or too-tight pairs can irritate your freshly wax skin and lead to clogged pores, which can develop into painful ingrown hairs. You can skip the gym that day, too!
6. Leave ingrown hairs alone, says Girotti. And please, don’t pinch the skin! This will leave you bruised, and can worsen the situation. Instead, try smoothing an over-the-counter antibacterial ointment, such as Polysporin, over the affected area.
Page 1 of 2 – How long should you wait before exfoliating post-wax? Find the answer, plus four more great tips, on page 2.
7. Always pull skin taut, and pull the wax strip in the opposite direction of hair growth. This dramatically increases the effectiveness of the waxing and also dramatically reduces the pain.
8. You know how you take a quick, short breath after being injured? It’s your body’s natural way of helping manage pain. Take a deep breath when applying wax, and a short, strong exhale when you pull the strip off your skin.
9. Post-wax, avoid anything to do with heat, such as hot baths. "Heading out into the sun after a sugaring or waxing is one of the biggest mistakes people make," says Girotti. Your skin is in an irritated and raw state, so make sure you protect it.
10. To keep skin smooth, exfoliate the area two days after you wax, and every second day thereafter. Aloe and water-based lotions are safe to use, but avoid applying deodorant if you’ve just banished hair from your underarms, "otherwise you’re applying it directly into an open cuticle," says Girotti.
Once you get the hang of these tips, you’ll find that controlling waxing pain is surprisingly easy. You might even be looking forward to your next waxing appointment.
Page 2 of 2
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