There are a few things no one wants to deal with any setting, waxing or otherwise, and ingrown hairs are a good example. And while proper waxing services will be carried out in a way that does not pose a significant risk of ingrown hairs, they’re a possibility if you don’t take the right steps to avoid them — luckily, however, these steps are simple and easy.

At His & Hers Waxing, all our men’s and women’s body waxing services are carried out in safe, time-tested ways that limit or even eliminate risks like ingrown hairs. What makes ingrown hairs a risk if the waxing process isn’t carried out well, and what are some basic tips we recommend to clients to lower their risk of ingrown hairs even further than we already do? This two-part blog series will go over answers to these questions.

Causes of Ingrown Hairs from Waxing

When waxing is carried out properly, it involves removing the entirety of the hair from its follicle. The idea is to pull the hair completely out so it doesn’t cause problems later on, and doing so should prevent ingrown hairs from being a risk.

However, there are cases — including those where wax is improperly applied — where hair breaks off just above or below the surface of the skin instead of being removed entirely. Rather than cleanly breaking through the surface in regrowth, some of these hairs will become ingrown hairs.

Issues With Ingrown Hairs

If you’ve never had an ingrown hair before, it can range from an annoyance to a significant issue of bacterial infection. Ingrown hairs can take different forms, including the appearance of bumps or redness, and they may cause significant discomfort. And in their worst cases, the body will view an ingrown hair as a foreign invader, and this may lead to an immune response that causes an infection in the area.

Luckily, we take a number of steps to ensure our waxing services are carried out with limited or even no risk of ingrown hairs. In addition, our next few sections will go over some tips we offer to clients on reducing such risks even further.

Pre-Wax Ingrown Hair Prevention

One great way to even further reduce your risk of ingrown hairs prior to any kind of wax: Use a gentle, mild exfoliant to remove dead skin and excess oils from the area to be waxed. This helps ensure hair is no longer beneath the surface of the skin, and thus much less likely to become ingrown after your wax.

Ideally, you’ll also let this area air dry prior to any waxing services. If you wipe the area down with a towel, be sure it’s soft and gentle like terry cloth — avoid thin fabric like paper towels and thin towelettes, as these can irritate or damage skin further. And we recommend against using alcohol-based products before your wax.

In part two of our series, we’ll go over some mid-wax and post-wax tips for ensuring you never deal with ingrown hairs. For more on this or any of our body or facial waxing services, speak to the staff at His & Hers Waxing today.