Epilating advice

[JulieC.]

So I bought an epilator about a year and a half ago and used it on my legs.  While it was painful I loved how smooth it left my legs so I thought it was going to be a great improvement over shaving.  That was until the hair started to grow back.  Everywhere the hairs started to grow back I got red bumps that itched like crazy.  My thighs were the worse plus ingrown hairs.  I decided epilating was not for me.

A few months ago I couldn't take having hairy arms anymore and decided to shave them.  Since that hair is so much lighter than my legs I tried epilating again.  I did not have the same problem as my legs.  It's worked great.  I love it! My arms are as smooth as a baby's butt.

I felt like I had to try my legs again.  This time I've just done it from the knees down.  I'm not sure if it's as bad as last time but it's not good.  Red bumps and itching.  It's almost like my legs have their own 5 o'clock shadow (but red). 

I'm sure I am doing it correctly.  So finally to my question.  Has anyone else had this problem?  My leg hair is pretty thick and while hormones have slowed the growth of most of my body hair it hasn't seemed to affected my legs.  I've read that epilating is something that gets easier over time and the hair gets finer the longer you do it.  Is this true?  If I just girl up and continue to epilate will it improve or is epilating my legs just something that's not going to work for me?

[lizagirl]

Julie,

I have had the same problem, except that I have had a problem with ingrown hairs most of my life and I started to shave my legs to get rid of them; but shaving didn't really help any.

I can tell you that moisturizing and ex-foliating is the only thing that I found to help in reducing the red bumps and ingrown hairs. I have a loofah sponge that I use for ex-foliating my legs and the backs of my arms where I get the most of my ingrown hairs.

Also using the epilator does get better over time, I found that the longer that I use it on an area the easier and less painful it becomes. Not only that but the hair seems to be growing back slower, lighter, and finer.

Be strong and stick with it.

Jessie Elizabeth

[sam79]

I cannot recommend exfoliating and moisturising enough... With daily exfoliating, moisturising and a lazily using the epilator weekly, the hair is down to a manageable amount with staggered growth cycles ( which helps with skin and pain ), and I don't get too many ingrowns.

EDIT: I also learned another trick. Turn the epilator around and go with the grain in slow circles... It won't pick up all the hairs like that, but the ones it does should be much less painful when ripped out, then you can turn it around and clear the rest.

[A]

If your hair gives you bumps when it grows back, it's probably an exfoliation issue. Exfoliate well, and twice a week.

However this might not work on the thighs. The skin there is so much thinner and more sensitive I just couldn't even bear to use the epilator on them. A man's hair on baby skin. I think waxing is the only solution for that.

Also, the quality of the epilator is important. My own epilator was pretty much medium grade, and it wasn't enough. Not only did it break down after just ~20 uses, but it was ineffective. Whenever hair was stronger, it just kept on pulling it and releasing it (hurts!) without really taking it away until it pulled it like that several times. Sometimes, the hairs didn't get removed; they broke in two beneath the skin, leaving me with nasty ingrowns.

Oh yeah, and clean your epilator between uses. Might bring bacteria etc. on your skin when you remove hairs, which might cause pimples.

[JulieC.]

It may be a little early to declare success but exfoliating seems to have helped already.  Thanks!