Waxing vs shaving and ingrown hairs

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Dear pro beauty therapists and geeks:


I got my legs waxed for the first time and have developed a lot of ingrown hairs (not deep they are like sideways and stuck to the skin, and no redness but they are many, more than 100:cry:).

This happened two weeks after waxing. I followed all direrctions including exfoliating (using body puff) and daily application of TendSkin.

I have some questions:

1) Is shaving a better option to prevent ingrown hairs? I have searched online and some people say shaving produces more ingrowns than waxing, but other say the contrary. I am confused as to which of the two methods has less possibility of causing ingrown hair.

2) If I continue to wax, will the ingrowns diminsh with subsequent treatments?

3) I read that hairs start to grow thinner after repeated treatments, how many before that happens?


I have previously waxed and shaved underarms and pubic areas and never got problems with ingrown hairs.

Thanks for your support and patience!
 
Sorry to read about your problems, I always wax, I used to shave, but since learning to wax, I've never looked back.
Yes, the more you wax the fewer ingrown hairs you will get, how often did you exfoliate? I always tell clients to only do this every few days because over exfoliating can cause/agrevate, ingrown hairs.
Another question for you, is the person who waxed your legs the same person you use to wax under arms?
I would go back to who ever waxed you in any case as they are the best person to sort this out for you.
Finally yes, once all the hair growth is at the same stage, you will find you have fewer, finer hairs and will go longer between appointments.
 
Sadly some people are more prone to ingrown hairs.There will always be some that can simply not continue to have waxing.
There are preventative meassures.Moisturing the skin daily,exfoliating 3 times a week(no more).This allows the skin to become softer thus allowing the hair to push through.Its no good simply having a good old exfoliation the day before and hoping that you wont have a problem.

The hair becomes distorted when being waxed(because of the follicle being distorted) and then can grow in such a way that it doesn't grow upwards,it grows sidewards under the skin creating the ingrown hair.

Shaving does tend to cause more problems than waxing however there have been clients that suffer so badly they have to go back to shaving.I think all clients are different.Some get on better with waxing some get better with shaving.

We have had a long old cold winter,peoples skin is very dry,keep exfoliating and moisturising and hopefully things will improve.HTH

ps sadly the more you wax does not neccesarily mean the less ingrowns you will have.I recently had a South African lady who has been advised not to be waxed anymore because her bikini was so bad with ingrown hairs.We tried everything,including Ingrown Go which is usually very good but nothing worked.She can have everything else waxed but not her bikini line.This area is the most prone to getting ingrowning hairs,probably because firstly we forget to exfoliate this area or moisturise and also because of the terminal hair(stronger pubic hair)
 
Personally I wax both my underarms and legs and will never shave them again.......but my bikini area is a total problem area of ingrown hairs. Therefore I have to resort to shaving my bikini line....
I agree that everyone is different though.
Hx
 
Thanks for the answers. Here is a bit more information:

This was the first time I got my leg hair removed, I have never waxed or shaved them before.

Since I have always read that shaving causes more ingrown hairs than waxing now I am afraid to try shaving on my legs. :cry: Laser is not an option due to the expense

On my Armpits I shaved for a long time, the first few times I got ingrowns latter stopped getting them. I switched to waxing my armpits and did not had ingrowns either. I wax my armpits myself using hard wax.

I decided on getting my legs professionally waxed instead of shaving mainly to get smoother longer lasting results and also to reduce the chance of ingrowns from shaving:rolleyes:.

PS: I exfoliate every other day and use TendSkin twice daily.
 
Well I would say, don't give up on having your legs waxed, this problem is likely to go away, just as it did with your arm pits. I would cut down on the exfoliation, only every three days and get back to your wax therepist. They will be able to look and advise you far better. :hug:
 
I think it depends on the person. Some people just get them dispite following all of the after care. I get them terrible on my bikni line but not so many on my legs. If I shave I don't seem to get any. I love shaving. People say it's a chore but I love the feel of my legs after and I just can't grow my hairs to wax them! The only thing I wax is my lip.
I think the exfoliating gloves are fab. I use them everyday in the shower instead of a flannel. I'm sure they do help x
 
Thanks for the answers. Here is a bit more information:

This was the first time I got my leg hair removed, I have never waxed or shaved them before.

Since I have always read that shaving causes more ingrown hairs than waxing now I am afraid to try shaving on my legs. :cry: Laser is not an option due to the expense

On my Armpits I shaved for a long time, the first few times I got ingrowns latter stopped getting them. I switched to waxing my armpits and did not had ingrowns either. I wax my armpits myself using hard wax.

I decided on getting my legs professionally waxed instead of shaving mainly to get smoother longer lasting results and also to reduce the chance of ingrowns from shaving:rolleyes:.

PS: I exfoliate every other day and use TendSkin twice daily.

I would see how it goes next time.As I said before the problem may NOT ever get any better.Some of my clients have a lot of problems with ingrown hairs some dont.Some have been waxed for years and years and have had no improvement they are just more prone to them than others.

I would try a product like, 'Ingrow Go', which contains Glycolic acid and help remove dead skin cells.(Men can use this as well for ingrown hairs on the face:))

Good luck,keep up with the moisturising and exfoliation 3 times a week(as mentioned before)
 
My biggest piece of advice would be to stop with the Tend skin immedietly. You are over using it big time!! Tend skin is extremly harsh. If you need to use the tend skin, I would say every few days at most. This is probably your biggest problem. You want to exfoliate gently in the shower every other day and apply a good moisturizer daily.
 
I agree with Huberella totally. You want to soften the skin, not harden it.

As as already been said, some people get them and others don't. Dry brush a few times a week and on the morning of your wax. Apply moisture lotion or baby oil to keep the skin soft.
 
Agree with everyone else but to add it can alsosometimes help to wear looser knickers, ingrowns sometimes occur along knicker lines so wearing boyshortsor big knickers as opposed to thongs etc the majority of the time can help.
 
I also notice that fleshy areas are more prone to getting them.
 
I personally find that I get more ingrown hairs when I wear things like skinny jeans and leggings. I have also noticed that there has been an increase in my clients getting ingrown hairs since skinny jeans and leggings came into fashion.

I believe that this could be a factor. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this?
 
one word

LASER



...there ye go.....
 
I personally find that I get more ingrown hairs when I wear things like skinny jeans and leggings. I have also noticed that there has been an increase in my clients getting ingrown hairs since skinny jeans and leggings came into fashion.

I believe that this could be a factor. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this?

Definately however I do have ladies who dont wear them or tight fitting knickers etc and still get them,as I said before some people are prone to them.
 
one word

LASER



...there ye go.....

As I said earlier, I don't have the money for laser. Plus my skin is tan, so no laser either.



Thanks for the advice, I still have about 3 ingrowns. I will wait for them to come out and give waxing a second chance.
 
If you financially cannot afford it then fair enough,depending on what phenotype you are we can treat up until skin type 4 with a yag 1064 nm

I know here in ireland the price of laser is achievable (finally!!), and i find if you sit down and work out how much waxing over one year alone costs ...its often more than laserr, plus you can do it in installment's, finance etc plus its permanent hair reduction, there is a guranetee with certain FDA approved machinery so ......fantastic with ingrowns,i would shop around!!
Its a recession- a buyters market
I personally do not understand pwoplw that wax whren you can have more longalsting results, yes you may have to pay a lager amount but its all balances out and woerk s out cheaper, once you go to a proper laser technician, medical laser in particular if you have darker skin type, as IPL generally cannot be used is above skin type 3
My advise, but i am biased!
 
@Rokateer:

Thanks again for the advice, but as I said, I am NOT interested in laser. My question is regarding waxing vs shaving.
 

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