Avoiding "bumbs"with shaving/waxing

[Elendariel]

Hi there..
I was wanting to know what other ladies experience with shaving/waxing are. The few times I've tried (both methods), my mons looks like a teenagers face.. and I can't show myself to anyone for a month!

Is there something I can do, that I can "train" the skin or what have you, so that in 1.5 months I can shave/wax regularly and not have this issue? I figure my legs adjusted to regular shaving, will this part of me as well?

Thoughts? Suggestions? Creams? ect?
Thanks!

 

[SweetErika]

It may or may not adjust with regular shaving. I have a patch of skin on my mons that gets irritated no matter how long I shave it, so that part just gets trimmed.

Your best bet is likely being waxed by a good professional. Exfoliate the skin to be waxed a couple of days beforehand and keep exfoliating regularly after the wax (after the skin has healed and calmed down, obviously) for the best results. Some people have luck with drugstore waxing kits, but a lot of people find them to be disastrous results, pain and irritation-wise. I've had my hubby wax me at home with good results, but we used a professional warmer, the right wax for my skin and hair type and watched a training video beforehand. Still, I'd recommend having a pro do it the first 2-3 times at least (those are the most painful) so you can at least get a good start and see how it should be done.

With shaving, you should exfoliate the day before, use a 3-5 blade razor after trimming as close as possible and getting the skin nice and warm, possibly use a shave product that contains tea tree or clove oil (which both kill bacteria and help irritation), shave in very few strokes on taut skin, rinse, pat dry, and potentially use a lidocaine/benzocaine-containing product like BikiniZone after.

 

[CyberFrog]

I cannot recommend highly enough, finding a professional and having them do it.

When I say professional, I mean someone who does JUST waxing, and uses non-strip wax, and really does, just wax people, all day, everyday.

Poor results come from (a combination of), strip wax, not pulling the skin taut enough, wax not gripping the hair enough, wax too hot or too cold...

This usually happens if you do it yourself because unless you are super bendy AND blessed with more than the standard two hands, its impossible to pull the area tight AND rip off the strip in the right direction at the right speed.

Strip waxes will take off your skin as well, and whilst they do that, they are often NOT sticky enough to grip the hair properly which leaves you with hairs snapped off just under the skin surface, partial hairs with damaged follicles (both will cause ingrown hairs like youw ouldnt believe), tender sore skin which is much more prone to infections.

People who offering waxing alongside other beautician services are generally not experts, again using the wrong waxes or technique, not being willing to get 'personal' enough to stretch skin properly... the list of faults is pretty much endless, but the end results will be a poor job.

I see a professional who just waxes people (men and women) and she will wax ANYTHING off ya, if theres hair there, she will rip it out, using non-strip wax which does not stick to the skin at all, only the hair, and grips hair like you wouldn't believe.

In, 4 visits (so... 4 months, im due back tomorrow), i have not had one SINGLE ingrown hair and no nasty spots at all - regrowth is soft and short and getting less and less each time.

If I sound like a sort of pro-waxing cult type.... I probably am, I seriously love it and would never attempt to DIY or see someone who didnt specialise in waxing again!

 

[Daddysledgwalkr]

i have refrained from asking in the other shaving/waxing threads but would like to understand.

Waxing requires a certain amount of regrowth. This means you are really only smooth and silky for a few days every couple of months, correct?

So .... why?

 

[SweetErika]

i have refrained from asking in the other shaving/waxing threads but would like to understand.

Waxing requires a certain amount of regrowth. This means you are really only smooth and silky for a few days every couple of months, correct?

So .... why?

It's more like a week or three, depending on how fast your hair grows and how much hair you have. You have to remember that the hair grows back much slower than shaving or depilatories. It also gets thinner and finer each time you wax.

You don't need that much hair to wax again (I can't recall the specific number, but it's like an eighth or quarter of an inch), so by the next waxing, it's basically like you've trimmed it short, which is perfectly fine for most people. I'm extremely happy with the amount of hair for about 3 weeks after waxing, then very happy for the next 3-5 weeks, but my hair is relatively fine and soft in the first place.

I stopped waxing when I got pregnant last year for several reasons, but while I did it, I definitely noticed a change in the regrowth, which encouraged me to stick with it.

Then again, my partner's doing it for me at home with professional supplies, so it's extremely cost effective and the results are far better than anything else I could achieve at home. While I'd recommend going to a pro at least the first few times, I'm sure I'd stick to shaving or trimming if I had to pony up $60-100 every 6-8 weeks for professional waxing.

 

[evercurious]

Yes, definately professional waxing. It isn't a cure all, and its pricey, but it is hundreds of times better than waxing your privies by yourself. Legs and arms are easy because they are smooth broad areas, aren't very sensitive, and easy to pull tight. The same is not true about the bikini zone, so don't bother, especially if you have course hair.

Like you, I feel like I've tried it all. I started with shaving, but after a day or two I would get such horrible in-grown hairs, I wouldn't have been able to be naked in front of anyone, even if there was someone for me to be naked in front of at the time (I was in a long distance relationship, so I had about a month to recover...which I needed the whole thing). So then I went to waxing, which resulted in a whole day of pain, followed by one day of smoothness, followed by a week more of pain, followed by two weeks of grossness. I've also used Nair or similar types of chemicals, with only medium results, but please please please be careful. If you have sensitive skin, you might not want to try, otherwise be sure to start with gental formulas such as those designed for the face or bikini area. Also, minimize the time the chems are left on the skin, and you might want to use an exfoliating pad to help remove the hairs that haven't been completely disolved instead of leaving the chemicals on the skin for a longer period of time.

The best luck I've had, however, is with a high quality (and I stress HIGH QUALITY) electric trimmer. You can purchase one from a professional beauty supply store (I got mine for ~$60), but be sure to get the finest cutting teeth you can find. Also, a small cutting head and small handle will help getting into hard to reach areas. I suggest an edger (like what they use to cut the back of a male's neckline or side burns at the salon). If you adjust the blades
properly, you will be able to get the hair right down to the skin. You can follow-up in the shower by rubbing the area with conditioner for a minute or two to soften the hair and skin as it grows back, that way it isn't harsh and prickly like sand paper.

Doing this will decrease the likelihood of getting ingrown hairs by preventing the hair from being cut too close to the skin. You'll still get some every once in a while, but with regular up-keep it should get better as your skin gets used to it, and regular exfoliation helps a bit too. After a few weeks or months of this, I tried shaving (with the grain instead of against), and it seemed to be a lot better, but I still had some problems. I also tried Nair again, and like shaving, it seemed to be a lot better (and by the way, I preffered BakiniZone Shave Gel, which seemed to be much more comfortable). The only thing is that it took so much up-keep that I grew tired of it and gave up completely. I imagine if I kept patience with the trimmer, then slowly moved to shaving, then Nair, then waxing, I could have eventually managed to be well groomed down there, but what a hassle!

But, although I forked up a lot of time and money on all of this just to learn I don't want to groom, at lease I ended up with a nice edger that I can trim my beard with. Beard!? Oh, I forgot to mension I'm a male, but in-grown hairs are in-grown hairs. Although you will have to deal with different challanges than I, with the corse fast growing hair of a typical male, I've learned a lot about hair removal, and even though its a huge pain, now that I've figured out something that works, its totally worth the effort every once in a while.

 

[evercurious]

Also, even though you (probably) don't have a beard, a trimmer like that would still be usefull if you hair is naturally long, but you decide the effort isnt really worth it. They come with comes that allow you to trim the length down, which can be extremely sexy, and also a very comfortable middle zone between completely shaved and Jungle Jane (or Tarzan, for me).

 

[evercurious]

OMG, and I have a little more, and then I'll shut up.

I tried using some anti-razor bump/hair slow-growing stuff, and it didn't seam to do anything. But, I also have a hard time doing anything regularly (as you can see by my lack of commitment to grooming). So be hesitant before you spend a bunch of money on aftershave things. Hopefully, someone else will have a different experience with these types of products and say something like, "Well geez, if this idiot actually stuck with it and did it at a regular interval, as instructed, it would have worked wonders. It worked for me and all of my friends who weren't lazy like him!" And to all those women out there who take birth control pill the same time, every day, for years and years, I don't know how you do it. I would have forgotten and then given up two months into it. You're my heros.

 

[evercurious]

...and thats it.