Your Guide To Happy, Healthy Post-Wax Skin

Whether you are a seasoned pro or a waxing novice, following your therapists aftercare advice is absolutely crucial to ensuring that you stay smooth and bump-free for as long as possible! We know that when your therapist starts to run through waxing aftercare advice, it can sometimes feel a little restrictive – really, no exercise for 24 hours? But we only give you this advice for your benefit.

Sarah Gibson, one of our star LYCON UK trainers made the point “because LYCON is so well known for being a more comfortable waxing treatment, many clients expect to have no redness or inflammation on the skin afterwards. Although we do see a significant reduction in redness with LYCON treatments,  contra-actions (a contra-​action is an adverse reaction following a treatment) can occur & are common after any waxing treatment. These can include erythema, ingrown hairs, breakouts & blood spotting. All of these are completely normal and should subside within 12-24 hours.”

We thought we would run through some of the more common suggestions and explain how avoiding these things will improve your waxing results and reduce any irritation. Before we get into it, it’s important to understand what happens to the skin when you get waxed: each of your hairs sits inside its own follicle, so when we forcibly remove a hair from this follicle, it leaves the follicle more vulnerable for next 24-48 hours. During this period of time, there are a few key things that we suggest you avoid to maintain happy and healthy skin:

No touching & no touching

Nestled up and attached to your hair follicle is the Sebaceous Gland. This gland is responsible for creating sebum which is designed to lubricate your skin and hair, but can also lead to clogged pores and acne.  When we remove a hair from the follicle, that can stimulate the sebaceous gland, causing it to release sebum. This alone is not a huge issue, but whilst the skin is susceptible to infection & irritation, you should really avoid touching the area, engaging in sexual contact or wearing tight clothing.

Avoid excessive heat – saunas, steam rooms, hot yoga, hot baths/showers, Jacuzzi

Waxing is a heat-treatment, the heat of the wax we apply helps to open up your follicles and remove your hairs from the root. You need to give your skin a chance (24-48 hours) for your follicles to close, otherwise you risk irritation, redness & even infection. Additionally, the chlorinated water in swimming pools and jacuzzis can really dry and aggravate freshly waxed skin, so try and steer clear.

Not only this, but when you get hot, blood rushes to the surface of your skin to try and your glands start producing sweat to cool you down – so now you are red and sweaty. This manifests inside the follicle along with sebum and any bacteria – just asking to become infected.  

Avoid Exercise/Sweating

This one is pretty self-explanatory – open follicles + sweat + bacteria = breakouts & prolonged redness

Just don’t do it.

Avoid exposure to UV rays – sun and sunbeds included

We know you  want to be freshly waxed for their holidays, but we would always advise you book in your appointment at least 48 hours before you want to expose that skin to the sun! Despite using the gentlest techniques and products available, your skin (your body’s armour) is vulnerable 24-48 hours after you’ve had a wax – your follicles will be open and you need to give them time to close and heal. With strip wax in particular (leg, arm, back and chest treatments),  not only do we remove the hairs, but also lift the top layer of (dead) skin cells that make up the outermost layer of your skin. The new skin underneath (that is now exposed) is a lot more likely to burn or become hyperpigmented. Even after the 48 hour period, make sure you protect your skin and always wear a full spectrum SPF!  A common contra-action after waxing is erythema (redness & irritation), so exposing your skin to another common cause of redness (the sun/uv rays) is a big no-no.

If you do experience a lot of redness after your wax or any other heat treatment, we would recommend our fantastic Aloe Vera Soothing Gel. With Hyaluronic Acid and Arnica, this truly magnificent product is super lightweight and will help to soothe and heal irritated skin.

Don’t use deodorant & fragranced products

At the very least, using these kind of products will sting and irritate the area.  Anything you put on your skin in the 24-48 period after a wax, can clog your follicle and cause breakouts or even folliculitis.

Superstar aftercare:

Our best-selling Ingrown X-it solution and Ingrown X-it foaming Gel are the ultimate duo for combatting Ingrown hairs and are fantastic for reducing inflammation of the follicles. With Salicylic & Latic acids to gently exfoliate, as well as allantoin & arnica to heal and soothe. It also will help to improve the dreaded Keratosis Pilaris – a common cause of dry, rough, bumpy skin.