So, what is Aftercare and why is it so important? If you have been to an Urban Waxx location,  there’s a solid chance we have asked you about Aftercare. Aftercare is what we recommend you do and don’t do at home in between your waxes to ensure you are ingrown-free and make the most of your wax!

ALL hair removal, whether it be waxing, shaving, sugaring or something else, has the potential of causing irritation to the skin.  Red bumps, redness, breakouts, and ingrown hairs are something you may experience and they are perfectly normal (albeit undesirable). However, when you are consistent with your Aftercare you are minimizing the risk of any bumps or ingrown hairs, and also setting your skin up for success for your next scheduled wax (4-6 weeks).

Let’s break down what an effective Aftercare routine looks like:

1. Soothe your skin after your wax. Redness and irritation are the most common side effects of hair removal, especially if it is your first time! We try to make the process as painless as possible, but we are still pulling the hair out from the root. That pulling can cause irritation and swelling. Ideally, you will only be red or irritated for a few hours post-wax. The top two products we recommend to calm your skin are our Serious Serum and Oh So Soothing Calendula Oil. At Urban Waxx, we are always sure that we apply Serious Serum immediately after every wax. Serious Serum is full of super soothing ingredients like chia, coconut, aloe, and peppermint. All of these ingredients not only feel wonderful on freshly waxed skin, but they are incredibly calming and soothing. Calendula Oil has antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties that can relieve irritation and redness resulting from hair removal. Along with healing wounds, soothing eczema, and relieving diaper rash, calendula is a game changer for red, irritated, stressed out skin!
2. Use a chemical exfoliant.  Chemical exfoliants remove dead skin cells with the use of chemicals (you could probably have deduced that from the name).  Think AHAs, BHAs, peels…all chemical.  Our favorite? Serious Serum, OF COURSE!  Not only did we develop it, so we know it is 100% fabulous, but it has both AHAs and BHAs – a powerful duo for an amazing chemical exfoliant. Because of that, your dead, dull skin doesn’t stand a chance. The AHAs dissolve the glue that holds dead skin cells together- increasing cellular turnover. The BHAs work deeper in the skin and have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. You may be thinking “Wait, you recommend this product for calming AND exfoliating the skin?” That’s right! It may sound impossible but it’s one of the reasons we call it magic in a bottle. Grab your at Urban Waxx or online and use it every night on clean, dry skin.
3. Use a physical exfoliant. This covers any kind of scrub-type product. Sugar scrubs, salt scrubs, coffee scrubs, dry brushes, scrubby gloves…you get the idea.  Anything that manually sloughs away dead dry skin is a winner. However, try to avoid the scrubs with larger granules…like crushed pits or ground-up nut shells. Those can be a little aggressive and also cause micro-tears in the skin. We sell quite a few scrubs and brushes at Urban Waxx. Our favorite and best-selling product is the Supracor Bath Mitt and Facial Scrubber. We love the Facial Scrubber because of its dual-sided feature. One side is soft to use on the face to thoroughly cleanse your skin and the other is firmer, giving an amazing exfoliation to areas like the bikini, arms, and underarms. We also JUST got in a new Dual Bath Mitt that has the same technology. Not only are these exfolating gloves, but they are also naturally antifungal, antibacterial, and allergen-free. You can find all of the manual exfoliation products we recommend here.
4. Drop the razor. In between appointments, the biggest mistake we see even the most seasoned clients making is shaving between waxes. This seems like a quick fix for stubble, but shaving only removes hair at surface level, so it reappears in one to four days, and over time, the skin becomes coarse. There are many negative effects of shaving, especially if you’re trying to reap the benefits of waxing. If you shave between your appointments, by continually cutting the hair, you are, in fact, stimulating its growth and messing up your hair growth cycles (want to learn more about your hair growth cycles, read here). Long-term shaving can actually encourage the hair to grow back faster, thicker, coarser, and fuller, resulting in more hair growing from each pore!

Well, you can now consider yourself an Aftercare pro!

Happy exfoliating, friends!