Irritation after depilation and epilation - how to soothe the skin

Despite the fact that there are many absolutely safe and painless ways to remove unwanted hair from the body, they often still cause an ambiguous skin reaction. Because of this, many girls, after performing the procedure, have a question about how to remove irritation after hair removal in order to avoid further undesirable consequences and complications. Let's look at this in more detail in the article.

Signs of irritation after depilation

Before using methods to soothe the skin after hair removal, it is important to pay attention to the external manifestations of irritation.

Most often, after the procedure, a similar reaction appears on the skin:

• Redness;
• Increased skin sensitivity;
• Rash;
• Peeling;
• Roughness of the treated area.

Sometimes small bruises appear on the skin; they most often turn into bruises or even hematomas.

Irritation after depilation is usually harmless and only confuses the girl visually, however, if the procedure is not performed correctly, there is a risk of skin damage. In this case, not only bruises, but also tears may appear on it, which are quite difficult to quickly eliminate.

Massage with a washcloth and scrub

Before removing hair, use a washcloth and scrub. This way you will prepare the skin for the procedures and even it out. After a while, such massage and cleansing will allow the hairs to break through the skin in the right direction and there will be no inflammation. The scrub can be anything. I especially liked the products with coffee and ground cherry pits. Immediately after depilation and epilation, you cannot scrub the skin, but after a day it is even useful to avoid ingrown hairs. Be gentle and scrub with gentle movements.

We suggest you read: Pentovit vitamins for hair - All about hair growth

Causes of irritation

Irritation can occur both after depilation performed in a salon and after a home procedure. In any case, there are several main reasons that can cause such a skin reaction.

Microtrauma

Improper execution of any depilation technique can lead to damage to the skin, resulting in small open lesions and wounds.

Such an aggressive effect on sensitive skin always leads to irritation, which usually subsides within a day.

Pollution

Even before performing the simplest methods of hair removal (shaving, sugaring, waxing), it is important to pay attention to the sterility of the procedure. To do this, the skin is cleaned and disinfected with a disinfectant solution of Chlorhexidine or another antiseptic.

When removing hairs from hair follicles, there is always a risk of introducing dirt or infection into the girl’s body, so such precautions should not be neglected.

Ingrown hair

Ingrown hairs usually occur when depilation is performed incorrectly, when the specialist removes hair in the opposite direction. Ingrown hairs are usually accompanied by severe inflammation of the damaged area, which causes the skin to become red and more sensitive.

Allergic reaction

In almost any method of removing unwanted hair from the body, there is a risk of an allergic reaction to the compositions and products used. It is in this case that the irritation will not go away spontaneously.

Most often, irritation resulting from an allergic reaction takes the form of a small rash, severe redness, and even swelling of the treated area.

What is the best way to treat your skin after waxing?

Depilation traumatizes the skin, so you need to carefully and properly care for it, especially in the first few days. Immediately after the procedure, you need to close the pores: clean, disinfect, refresh with ice cubes or cold water (a cool shower is also good), apply a soothing agent.

For disinfection, you can use alcohol tinctures from the pharmacy (calendula, chamomile, etc.), hydrogen peroxide, miromistin, chlorhexidine, furatsilin. Cosmetologists advise: to avoid ingrowth, the skin must be scrubbed and moisturized. You can use the scrub only three days after the procedure, so that the wounds have time to heal and irritation to completely go away. In the first days, you should not wear tight pants or use cosmetics with fruit acids or strong fragrances. Rubbing the skin and exposure to direct sunlight should be avoided in every possible way. Hot baths and saunas are prohibited during the day.

Immediately after the depilation procedure, it is better not to wet the skin at all, so as not to provoke irritation. If it does appear, treat the skin surface with salicylic alcohol and apply soothing agents:

• Essential oil of tea tree or eucalyptus eliminates inflammation well: three drops per tablespoon of any vegetable oil;
• For home remedies, you can use aloe juice (or buy a solution at the pharmacy);
• any panthenol-based cream, actovegin ointment, or solcoseryl perfectly soothes.

On the fourth day after depilation, you need to do peeling, then scrub the skin every other day. After the scrub, be sure to use moisturizing milk or cream.

Sources

https://wlooks.ru/voski/dlya-epilyacii/kak-ubrat-s-kozhi/

https://skin.ru/article/razdrazhenie-posle-depiljacii/#88_n3osh

zhenskoe-mnenie.ru/themes/beauty/depiliatsiia-voskom-v-domashnikh-usloviiakh-poloski-ili-zhidkii-vosk-vidy-voskovoi-depiliatsii-v-domashnikh-usloviiakh/

https://nevrolog 26.ru/ukhazhivat-kozhey-posle-depilyatsii-voskom/#i-5

How to prevent skin irritation?

Irritation causes not only physical discomfort for the girl, but also spoils the visual condition of the skin in the treated area.

There are several recommendations that you can follow to avoid irritation:

1. First check the quality of the products and ingredients used.
2. Make sure there are no health-related contraindications to the depilation technique being performed.
3. Disinfect your skin before and after work.
4. Follow the step-by-step depilation technique and do not ignore the recommendations of the manufacturers of the formulations used.
5. Perform depilation on regrown hairs. For example, when performing sugaring or waxing, the minimum hair length for hair removal is 5-6 mm.

How to reduce irritation: what to do immediately after depilation?

Immediately after depilation, it is important to clean the skin and treat it with a disinfectant solution of Chlorhexidine or hydrogen peroxide. This will prevent infection or dirt from entering the body.

In addition to this treatment for sensitive skin, there are several other ways to relieve irritation:

• Aloe. You can use both the plant itself and formulations based on it, since aloe has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect and quickly relieves irritation;
• Herbal compresses. A decoction of medicinal herbs can serve as a basis for compresses;
• Essential oils. They also soothe the skin quite quickly and promote healing. You can not only wipe the affected area with oils, but also make lotions with them;
• Thermal water.

In any case, you can use the listed products for preventive purposes to restore sensitive skin after depilation.

Negative results of hair removal and ways to get rid of them

The consequences after hair removal are expressed in a feeling of tightness, dryness of the skin, and sometimes itching, tingling and a slight burning sensation may occur. In addition, external irritation manifests itself in redness, age spots, and pimples.

The problem of red and black dots

Almost every person who has undergone hair removal has encountered consequences in the form of red or black dots. After the first hair removal, this is considered normal; in subsequent times, this phenomenon decreases or disappears altogether. The spots are the result of damage to the epidermis and hair follicle, because after the procedure, droplets of blood and ichor are released from the pores, which dry out and form crusts. New epidermal cells must grow underneath them, after which the appearance of the skin will return to its previous state. In this case, no special care is required; the main thing is not to tear off the crusts ahead of time and not allow them to dry out.

Red dots after hair removal are crusts formed from drops of blood and ichor

To combat black and red dots the following will help:

• cooling cream;
• emollient oil, in particular for baby skin care;
• baby powder;
• rubbing with infusion of medicinal plants.

Under no circumstances should alcohol be used to wipe areas of the body covered with red dots after hair removal. Alcohol has a drying effect, so after it the feeling of burning and tightness will only worsen.

The appearance of acne after hair removal

During the hair removal process, nerve fibers, of which there are many in the epidermis, can be injured. As a result, inflammation occurs, which develops into the accumulation of pus inside the hair follicle, and acne appears. This is a very common occurrence for those with particularly sensitive skin, as well as when epilating the bikini area and armpits, because the epidermis there is very thin and has many nerve endings.

Most often, after hair removal, acne appears in the armpit area, as the skin there is very sensitive and thin.

Also, the appearance of ulcers after hair removal can be provoked by a banal neglect of treating equipment with antiseptic drugs or an insufficient amount of them. Through microdamages of the skin, invisible to the naked eye, infection penetrates and very quickly causes suppuration. Allergies can also be expressed in the form of acne on epilated areas of the body. If this problem occurs, it is important to begin treatment immediately:

• medications: ointment with antibiotics, creams with anti-inflammatory and healing effects, powders, liquid antiseptic solutions;
• traditional medicine: lotions with the juice of beneficial plants, decoctions of medicinal herbs, essential oils.

Inflammatory processes on the skin

Inflammation after hair removal is expressed in redness and swelling. For the most part, such phenomena are temporary, go away on their own and do not require special treatment. The intensity of inflammatory processes depends on the density, thickness of the hair and the depth of its roots. Any removal of vegetation is an intervention in the body, the response of which is inflammation.

Inflamed skin after epilation has a reddened appearance, and also feels tight and itchy

If swelling and redness are severe and do not go away for five to seven days, then you need to seek help in treatment from a dermatologist. In the first hours and days after hair removal, cooling creams or sprays, as well as emollients and antiseptics without the addition of ethanol, for example: tonic lotions, aftershave gels, will help relieve inflammation.

Folliculitis

Folliculitis is inflammation and suppuration of the hair follicle, a fairly common occurrence after hair removal. For a number of reasons, pathogenic bacteria can enter the hair follicle and cause infection. It develops especially quickly in the bikini area and armpits, because in these areas there is increased sweating and limited supply of fresh air. Experts strongly recommend wearing loose clothing and underwear made from natural fabrics, since the factors that provoke folliculitis are friction and poor ventilation due to synthetic fabrics.

Folliculitis develops when pathogenic bacteria and infection enter the follicles after hair removal

It is strictly forbidden to squeeze out pimples with folliculitis with your hands, as this spreads the infection over a large area and delays treatment.

The disease most often begins with redness of the skin around the follicle after epilation, and a moderate feeling of pain when pressed. Then the inflammation leads to the appearance of small purulent pimples. If treatment is untimely or incorrect, decay products, blood and lymph accumulate in the affected follicles, resulting in acne thickening, enlarging, and becoming painful. If the inflammation affects the upper layers of the follicles, then over time the pus comes out and a crust forms, in place of which pigmentation may remain for some time.

In difficult situations, pus penetrates deeper into the follicle, causing the formation of itchy nodes reaching a diameter of 1 cm, and the nearby lymph nodes enlarge. Folliculitis can be single or multiple. To get rid of folliculitis, depending on the complexity, treatment with disinfectants, including alcohol-based ones, will be required, as well as the use of ointments and creams containing antibiotics.

Candidiasis after hair removal

Thrush (candidiasis) is very rare as a side effect of deep bikini hair removal. The disease is fungal in nature; for it to penetrate the body, it is enough to reduce the immune response, which can be provoked by multiple factors.

If sanitary rules are violated when epilating a deep bikini, there is a risk of getting thrush.

After hair removal, the causes of thrush may be the following:

• violations of hygiene rules: repeated use of sheets passed from one woman to another, poor sterilization and antiseptic treatment of equipment;
• infection through open micro-cuts of the skin in the immediate vicinity of the vaginal mucosa;
• an allergic reaction to the ingredients of cosmetics for or after hair removal, as a result of which immunity is reduced and a “window” opens for the penetration of the disease.

It is necessary to treat thrush after a visit to the doctor as prescribed, including with local medications.

Bruises

Bleeding and bruising are consequences of hair removal, most often after electrolysis. This complication is not normal; bruising can be caused by the needle getting into the capillary next to it rather than into the hair follicle itself. If you do not stretch the skin when inserting the electrode, you can also damage the surrounding tissue.

Bruising after hair removal may occur if capillaries were damaged during the procedure.

After laser or Elos hair removal, bruises are extremely rare, since these procedures are performed without contact with the skin. Bruises are treated with special blood-absorbing medicinal ointments or creams, which can be purchased at any pharmacy.

The effect of hair removal on a woman's menstrual cycle

Many representatives of the fair sex are interested in the question of whether the procedure will affect the regularity of menstruation. There are very rare cases when women go on the eve of their period for deep bikini hair removal, after which a delay occurs. This happens, but there is no scientific confirmation. Therefore, experts recommend planning such procedures in advance and undergoing them at least a day before the start of menstruation.

Hair removal, especially the first procedure, is a shock to the body, an interference in its natural functioning, so hormonal disruption may occur, and during premenstrual syndrome, hormones are very unstable. Also, an inexperienced specialist can set up laser or broadband light radiation that is too powerful for a person. Each body is very individual and it is impossible to predict the reaction to epilation and the pain from it.

How to remove irritation after depilation?

If the skin has already developed a fairly strong irritation that you cannot quickly eliminate, it is important to pay attention to proper care of the affected area.

There are several ways you can relieve irritation and prevent severe inflammation.

Aftershave lotion for sensitive skin

If you used regular shaving as a method of removing unwanted hair from your body, be sure to use a soothing lotion after the procedure.

The main problem with the razor is that it damages the skin flakes during hair removal, which is why even the highest quality and sharpest razor damages the upper layer of the epidermis, causing irritation. To soothe your skin, be sure to use appropriate cosmetics.

Hair removal in the direction of growth

Despite the fact that removing hair in the direction of its growth seems ineffective to many, this depilation technique is the most correct. Otherwise, when removing hairs against their growth, the risks of ingrown hairs and skin irritation increase.

The only exception is hot wax depilation. Only it runs in the opposite direction.

Contrast shower before hair removal

One of the most effective ways to prepare your skin for depilation is to take a contrast shower. A hot stream of water will steam the skin, which will make it easier for hairs to come out of the follicles, and a cold stream will close the scales of epithelial cells, preventing damage to the epidermis.

You don’t need to take a contrast shower for long – about 5 minutes, and you need to finish it with cool water.

In any case, be careful - you shouldn’t change the water temperature too much the first time to avoid hypothermia and stress the body.

Disinfection before and after hair removal

Before you begin depilation, clean your skin and then treat it with a disinfectant solution of Chlorhexidine to ensure a safe and sterile procedure.

After the session, disinfection of the sensitive area should also be repeated, after which you can apply a soothing lotion and finish the procedure.

Ointments for cuts and rashes

To restore the skin if severe irritation occurs, use specialized ointments and gels to heal it. Most often, dermatologists recommend using the following formulations:

• Ichthyol ointment;
• Vishnevsky ointment;
• Syntomycin ointment;
• Bepanten.

It is enough to use ointments 1-2 times a day for two days after depilation.

How to avoid?

Proper preparation for hair removal will reduce the extent of its manifestation. Well-cleaned and pre-prepared skin will thank you. The following useful recommendations can be highlighted:

• Before removing hair, cleanse your skin with a scrub - about 24 hours in advance. Abrasive particles will remove dead skin cells of the epidermis and “open” the path to the hair root. They will remove obstacles on the way to the hair follicle. You can use the scrub a couple of hours before the procedure or immediately before it. If the skin is very sensitive and thin, it is better to do this a few hours in advance.
• Clean the skin with a disinfectant composition - it can be hydrogen peroxide, alcohol up to 70 degrees, Miramistin or any pharmacy product.
• You can pre-steam the skin. Then it will be easier for hair follicles to pass through the open pores on its surface, and they will injure the skin less. Cosmetologists do not always praise the steaming method.
• If you're using an epilator, you can apply a lot of cold to your skin. Then the pain sensations will further decrease, since the reaction of the nerve endings on the body will dull.
• After the procedure, be sure to apply a moisturizing cream to the areas of the body “affected” by hair removal: “Bepanten”, “Panthenol”, regular children’s cream - it doesn’t matter. It’s good if the product contains soothing components - aloe vera, plant extracts.
• Before going to the beauty salon, do not visit the sauna or bathhouse for 3 days. It is not recommended to carry out steaming procedures, but you still need to take a shower.

After hair removal it is not recommended:

• wet the skin for 2-3 hours (it is advisable to abstain longer - up to 12 hours);
• sunbathe for 2-3 days;
• use a scrub (you can only do it after a day or two, not earlier);
• use alcohol tinctures and lotions.

Cosmetologists recommend leaving the area that was subjected to the procedure in its natural state and ensuring comfort and peace - for example, do not wear underwear and choose loose cotton clothes (if you had bikini hair removal), do not wear tight trousers and tights (when removing hair on your legs).

The face area is especially sensitive, and irritation above the upper lip or in the eyebrow area is the most unpleasant consequence of hair removal. To get rid of redness that has already formed, cosmetologists recommend treating the area with thermal water or a mild tonic without alcohol. You can use regular peroxide or herbal decoction. They also recommend freezing herbal decoctions in cubes, which will not only help to urgently relieve irritation, but will also be useful in daily dermal care.

If the redness is so strong that it causes discomfort, pain, or if it leads to the formation of spots or pigmentation, this is a serious reason to contact a cosmetologist or dermatologist. There may be an infection in the skin.