I got pretty hair legs and after shaving em for for, like, ever.... I thought I would a proper professional waxing done at the beauty place. Gee, that stuff hurt. Course it was quite red and a bit kind of bumpy right after the treatment, you know? The beautician told me that's normal and it would go away on its own in a day and my waxed legs would look and feel awesome... Guess what? That didn't happen.
My skin went all bumpy and red, looks like the measles or smth and it hurts and itches at the same time.... now think I'm allergic perhaps. It's been four days now and them bumps are still there. How to make it go away and how to prevent it next time... if I'm ever brave enough to go get waxed again?
Hiya,
Doesn't it suck when you go to pamper yourself expecting to come out feeling great, only to be left with a skin rash? Leg waxing isn't for the faint of heart, that's for sure!
There's a few things you can do about the awful redness and swelling, though. If you do these things, you may even come to think of leg waxing as no big deal. OK, here goes...
- Try cold water or ice cubes right after you come home from the salon. Because pulling your hair out, which waxing does, causes a bit of an inflammatory reaction, that's why you get the swelling and redness. Cold stuff helps settle the inflammation, same as an ice pack on a black eye.
- There's also some gels you can use that will sooth that poor skin of yours and also help with the redness as well. I think creams that got aloe in them are great for skin trouble anyway, so it should help with redness after leg waxing as well.
- Tea tree oil is also an option. Mind you, dilute it otherwise your skin will burn like hell.
- Try taking an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen. This will help reduce the discomfort you feel during the actual waxing and will also lessen the swelling you'll see afterwards.
Mind you, if your swelling gets really, really bad, I'm afraid you're just gonna have to go and see your GP. He'll prescribe some antibiotic ointment to help your skin not get horribly infected.
- Swelling of throat, which causes breathing difficulties
- Abnormal heartbeat
- Localized swelling of the site
If you're worried, see your doctor. You'd need an epipen to stop the reaction. If it gets really bad, call an ambulance.
Oh, come on now! It's true that severe allergic reaction are a thing (sometimes), the OP did say it was four whole days since she got waxed. If she was gonna have an anaphylactic shock, it would have happened already. They need to be treated within about 20 minutes. She'd have been long dead by now. I now, because I have severe peanut allergy.
What the OP probably has is a mild allergic reaction or just severe swelling that has nothing to do with an allergy. Sometimes salons use dirty wax that's got, to put it plainly, dead skin cells and other nasties from other people floating about in it. Then you can also get a bacterial infection. So some antibiotic cream from your GP will do the trick. And if your salon was dodgy, look for a proper one with a license and stuff next time.
I did want to mention that there are things you can do to prevent side effects like the ones you were mentioning. Exfoliating the skin on your legs before you get a waxing is one thing, because doing so will remove the oil, dirt and bacteria that may have built up on your skin and that can get into the pores after waxing. You could also use an anti-razor burn cream such as Bikini Zone Bump Busters or Relax & Wax Get the Bump Outta Here.
Good luck if you do decide to get waxed again. It doesn't sound like you are allergic and I am pretty sure you wouldn't have those problems again if you followed those steps. I am not a doctor though.
How can you prevent inflamed reactions to waxing?
As far as I know, there are some people who are allergic to something that is contained in a lot of wax and that is called rosin. That same thing is also in a lot of makeup and creams. Do you ever have any other reactions, like to foundation, or eyeliner, or even moisturizer? If so, check the ingredient list and see if this stuff is on there.
If you are not allergic, it's all about the salon you go to. If they work in unhygienic circumstances, a reaction will happen. Check your salon out thoroughly before you ever get waxed again, and especially make sure that they don't dip that spatula in the wax again after using it on you, because if they do, they are also doing it with other people and you are basically getting a lot of bacteria from other people on your skin, then having your hairs ripped out, and of course that leads to an infection. Check if they have some sort of professional license so you know they know what they are doing. And if the salon looks dirty or they're not wearing gloves, just don't go there any more.
One thing you could try is to Google for reviews of the salon you are considering before you take the plunge and get waxed.
Good luck!
:)
I just wanted to call attention to something here... Many people who think they are experiencing an allergic reaction to waxing itself are actually reacting to something quite different. We're talking about neomycin, an ingredient that is used in almost all topical ointments used after waxing. You think it helps soothe your skin, but it could be that it's giving you a horrendous rash. So anybody who regularly experiences bad rashes and swelling after waxing and is using an ointment with this ingredient should ask for something without neomycin next time they get waxed!