1 Plan ahead

First up – patience. Whatever the reason may be for your wax (bikini-wearing, or just ‘cause you like it), your sensitive skin will need a few days to recover. Once you get to grips with how long your hair regrowth takes, you can figure out how far in advance to book your wax appointment. Allow a couple of days recovery, and the redness should have eased.

2 Hot wax, always

When it comes to the bikini line, strip waxing is the old school method that should probably be left in the past. Hot wax is typically made with antiseptic tea tree oil and becomes firmer as it cools, contracting around the hairs and gripping tightly. More hairs (and even those short rogues), will be pulled out with more ease – in one, swift movement. Fewer pulls = less redness.

3 Keep it airy

The thought of pulling up a lacy thong after a wax is about as tempting as salad on a hangover. Tight clothing will trap heat and bacteria and make for an uncomfortable walking-down-the-street experience (plus red, irritated skin). Keep things light and breezy down below for around 24 hours – we’d suggest cotton knicks as the material is more gentle. The key is to avoid all friction, so skip the lycra (and gym too), and let your skin breathe.

4 Exfoliate, and again

Make sure to exfoliate 24 hours before your waxing appointment for a smoother finish and calmer skin all round. Keep that up once you’ve had your wax (though make sure to wait 48 hours). This will help to remove dead skin cells that block hair follicles – causing those pesky red bumps and painful ingrowns. Try rubbing a little aloe vera into the skin post-exfoliation to cool the skin.

Ta-da rash-free wax (sort of). With Treatwell, you can book beauty online at all your favourite salons – simple, hassle-free, and you can do it on the go. Discover amazing salons in your area for your next wax.

4 (easy) ways to reduce redness after your bikini wax

06/09/2018 / Beauty

Let’s not beat around the bush – waxing can be painful. Since we’re pulling the hair straight from the follicle, the skin can get a little… angry. For sensitive skin types (hi, me), easing the redness can take a while. If you find that shifting the hair has left your skin inflamed, red, and a little bit irritated, there are things you can do to ease the discomfort (wine not included but each to their own).

By Rachel Spedding

Image credits: Shutterstock, @byrdiebeauty, @champagnemani, @lauria_franck, @tivolihotwax

You may also like

Uncategorized

3 simple ways to reduce redness after your wax 10/02/2016

You've booked in for a last-minute bikini wax. Sure, great, all good here. But...when you check the results at home, you're a little more...angry...down there than you'd planned for. Well, news is – that happens, and it's temporary (you did just rip hair out of your body with hot wax). Advice is – whether you opted for a Brazilian or a Hollywood, a classic bikini or something totally freestyle, it's a good idea to take some oh-so simple measures to reduce inflammation and post-wax rash-potential . To get some advice on this below-the-belt topic, we sat down with beauty expert Natalie Moran to…

Beauty

6 superfoods to brighten your skin, reduce breakouts and slow ageing 16/08/2021

Every time a new spot appears - uninvited may I add - on my face, I can guess with about 99.9% accuracy what caused it. That big, painful, under-the-skin one on my chin? Time of the month. The angry ones around my mouth? Maskne, thanks COVID. Diet is another big one (don’t worry, we’re not about to go all ‘you are what you eat’ on you). Eating too much red meat, refined sugar and saturated fats, or drinking too much alcohol are all classic culprits. Obviously, we’re not going to tell you to cut out chocolate or wine (we’re not…

Beauty

10 things to know before waxing your bikini line at home 23/04/2020

So, you were going to leave your bikini wax to the pros but then lockdown got extended for another 3 weeks and the prospect of DIY started to look a bit more appealing (ok, maybe ‘appealing’ is a bit of a stretch). We get it, one does not simply do their own bikini wax, it takes preparation - mental preparation, mainly, but these tips will help too. Whether you’re just tidying up the bikini area, going full Hollywood or growing a bush (and just reading this feeling thankful it’s not you) - that’s your choice. For the sake of clarity,…