Aftercare Advice

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Does anyone have suggestions for how to get rid of the red / inflamed follicles after a treatment? It’s been about 5 days and it’s going away slowly but I would like to try to speed it up if possible. I am afraid of putting anything on that will cause acne, though - so I haven’t used much aside from aveda’s all sensitive cleanser.

I used tendskin in the past and it was not helpful… it just burned. I think “Min Solution 2” is popular with people for razor burn/razor bumps, but by the time I order it & it is delivered, the problem will probably be gone. I don’t think it is sold in stores. I have an aloe gel from aveda but I’m not sure if it would make things worse or if it has enough active aloe (whole foods sells some lotions with active aloe I can get if it’ll work…most drugstore products with aloe are not that useful).

Oh, also - I have a back facial scheduled for Wednesday to get rid of the ingrown hairs and generally smooth out the whole area. Is this ok to do? I think she will be exfoliating, among other various treatments… Should I tell her specifically not trying to pluck out active hairs unless they seem ingrown?

#2

Have you tried applying tea tree oil at night?

The food grade 100% aloe vera seems much more potent to me than the other less-than-100% aloe vera gels out there.

#3

Whole Foods has it in the nutritional supplement section…and there are a lot of online retailers. Not sure who is reliable though.

#4

One of my electrologists told me to go to the health food store and look for George’s Distilled 100% Aloe. It is not gloppy at all and you can saturate some cotton and apply it. It is soothing. Because it is distilled, you do not have to worry about refrigeration but in summer, its nice refrigerated.

#5

Vickie - I got some tea tree oil- thanks for reminding me about that. I think it will help. I didn’t get 100% though. I just got 20% mixed with alcohol. I got some aloe lotion by the “Jason” brand at whole foods - I don’t need it as much now though.

I applied this cream called bactroban which is a very strong antibiotic cream, and most of the redness went away quickly after that. It’s not recommended or prescribed for this kind of issue - but putting it on for 2 days isn’t going to cause any major side effects (it kills MRSA so it’s not really something to be used casually) I just am on a tight schedule with losing the hair & getting a tan before my trip. Some antibiotics have anti-inflammatory properties (macrolides)…but this seems to have worked (in combination with healing time).

#6

The best thing is to ice the area a few times a day. Also, witch hazel during the day and a bit of tea tree oil at night.

It shouldn’t last for more than 2-3 days unless it’s a man’s face.