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I've waxed my bikini line regularly for seven years, partly out of habit but mostly to avoid cystic acne-like bumps and irritation on my sensitive skin.
But I grew tired of spending time and money on the painful task, and equally painful aftermath of shaving in between waxing sessions.
Over the past year, I've tested out a ton of products recommended by friends, dermatologists, and, of course, my favorite influencers that catered to sensitive skin and coarse hair as an Indian woman.
I've curated five products that keep my bikini area and legs free of bumps and irritation, while also saving a ton on regular waxes.
For an Indian woman with sensitive skin that scars easily, and coarse hair that's difficult for even the most expensive razors to shave, waxing is the lesser of two evils. It's more painful during the waxing process, for sure, but there's no pain at all afterwards.
Over time, the monthly leg waxes by my mom in her bathroom evolved in to Manhattan's expensive Brazilian waxes, and shaving in between sessions rendered me embarrassed in bathing suits and ashamed to bare my razor-bump ridden legs.
After my seven long years in an on-again, off-again relationship with waxing and shaving, I finally broke things off with my aesthetician (we're still friends though) and chilled with some dermatologists instead.
Everything I'd been using out of habit for the better half of a decade went straight in the trash can, and I started fresh. I'm already a skin-care and makeup junkie, so I considered it a new and fun project - though not without disappointment. It took a full year of trying different products every week (it was more like every month in the winter) in an effort to gain a silky-smooth bikini area and legs.
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My post-wax life began with addressing my skin and hair's specific needs. According to dermatologist Dr. Joshua Zeichner, the bikini area is such a challenge for so many women because hair often curls and the skin is thin and sensitive, making it prone to nicks, irritation, and ingrown hairs.
All this combined begged for high-quality ingredients, extreme levels of hydration, and gentle removal methods. I've tried epilators, trimmers, an array of shaving creams, oils, sugar scrubs, body serums, exfoliating gloves - you name it.
One year later, I've finally curated a routine that hasn't sparked razor burn or uncomfortable itching in months. My skin is softer, more hydrated, and the best part - this routine has saved me hundreds on waxing. Needless to say, most of my bathing suit cover-ups are proudly stashed in donation boxes, and I've deleted my aesthetician's number.
Below are the five products I used to get my bikini area bump- and irritation-free:
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I started using a trimmer based upon a recommendation from a girlfriend with hair more thick and coarse than my own.
She said that trimming the hair before shaving was her key to being razor-burn free for years. That alone felt far too easy of a solution for me, but figured I didn't have anything to lose by trying — except for about $20.
Lo and behold, it made a dramatic change in my shave.
Now, this alone didn't get rid of my irritation or itchiness, but the bumps around my bikini line went down significantly. "Attempting to shave long hair often causes more harm than good," says Zeichner. "Long hair means more drag and more pressure against the razor to the skin." That pressure is what can cause sensitive skin to react with bumps.
I've tried other trimmers before, but some needed to be plugged in. Every person understands the struggle of finding the correct yet awkward angle to shave his or her body, but then finding a place to hoist up your leg near an outlet while dodging a wire is impossible — and not a good idea when sharp objects are near such a sensitive area.
Cordless trimmers I've used were dull and didn't get too close of a trim. This one from Philips gets such a close trim that sometimes when I'm lazy (which is most of the time) and not planning on wearing a bathing suit, I'll just do a quick trim and skip all the other steps entirely.
I've asked many dermatologists about the type of exfoliator to use, and many have said chemical instead of physical. But I had heard such good things about this particular physical-and-chemical scrub from fellow beauty junkies that when the brand sent me a jar to try, I just had to give it a try. Sorry, doc.
My first reaction when I scooped out the product as how smooth the texture was — it looked like brown sugar but felt really fine and almost silky smooth. The physical exfoliants come from powdered bamboo and the chemical comes from alpha hydroxy acids. The second it hit my wet skin, it transformed into a foam and lathered in the most satisfying way.
My experience with most scrubs prior to this was that half of the product would fall off my skin and go straight into the drain — I'd end up wasting more product than I was using.
The scrub is so effective that when I use it on my legs and bikini area, it even makes my hands feel luxuriously soft. I even take the excess from my hands and rub it up to my arms.
To be honest, I'm not sure if the foaming aspect really does anything to my skin or not, but I do know it is one of the few scrubs I've tried that exfoliates without feeling like it's tugging at my sensitive skin. Plus, the lemongrass scent is reminiscent of a lovely spa.
A thick shaving cream that's like conditioner for your hair
I might be cursed by the skin gods for admitting this, but I hasn't used shaving cream in years before this product.
For the first several years of my shaving life, I felt like nothing worked. No matter how clean the ingredients were on a product label or how many sulfates and parabens it was missing, I'd be left with red scars the second I toweled off.
When this product was sent to me to test, I kind of felt the same way and put off using it. But then I talked to dermatologist Dr. Manjula Jegasothy and she told me to use the shave cream like a conditioner and to leave it on my skin the way you would with a deep-conditioning hair mask.
"It really works to leave the cream on your hair and let it sink in for ten minutes to soften the hair," says Jegasothy. "It basically hydrates the hair shaft itself and makes it a lot less coarse and easier to shave."
When you open the tub, it looks like whipped cream and smells like cookies. The texture is thick and dense, so it stays on my skin like a mask instead of slipping down my legs and into the drain. I don't feel like I'm wasting product.
Unlike the traditional method of using a shaving cream though, that means I'll do the shaving cream mask and then wash it off before I shower and shave. It's more time consuming, but when I do wash it off, I can immediately feel that my skin is softer skin pre-shave and that shaving is actually easier.
Sometimes, I'll even use this as a body conditioner even when I'm not shaving.
Dr. Jegasothy told me that a low-quality razor can actually cause ingrown hairs to become infected.
The solution isn't just to replace your razor blades often, but to find one that, according to Dr. Zeichner, has multiple spring-mounted blades and lubricating strips. This razor delivers that and more — it also comes recommended by my mom, and she's always right.
The spring-mounted blades adjust to the contours around my bikini area, knees, and ankles. They're surrounded by an inch-wide moisturizing strip — more than just the millimeter-long strips found on the typical razor — and are the only ones that don't leave my skin red or with a burning sensation, likely due to the hydrating vitamin E and calming aloe.
It's the first razor I've used that didn't irritate my skin, and the thick handle gives me more control over my super-sensitive bikini area where the last thing you'd want is a cut.
An aftershave cream that hydrates and helps prevent future bumps and ingrown hairs
If you forget everything I said before this, remember this gel product as the biggest game-changer.
I could do every other step and still get a couple of small, uncomfortable bumps in a couple of days. But as long as I use this after I get out of the shower, there wouldn't even be the slightest bit of discomfort or bump.
This is one of those products that I have a backup stash of just in case it ever gets discontinued. The product comes out like a gel consistency and goes on the skin extremely light, drying to almost a powder consistency so it's comfortable to put on clothes without them sticking to my body.
Zeichner impresses upon the importance of a quality aftershave product, dividing the best kinds of ingredients into three types — occlusive (something that prevents moisture loss), humectant (adds moisture), and emollient (adds moisture but also preventing moisture loss).
This product has glycerin in it, a humectant that Zeichner says pulls hydration to the outer layer of the skin. I can definitely feel that as the effect of the gel lasts all day. It also has castor oil, an emollient Zeichner says softens the outer skin layer so that when new hair grows in, it doesn't feel painful.
