can you shower after waxing

I’ve been waxing for quite a while now. Trust me, I’ve tried a lot of things. I’ve waxed my bikini line, legs, arms and underarms. I’ve done it both before shower and after the shower. I know that it’s often a dilemma of whether you should get a shower before waxing or after waxing. Can you shower after waxing? Can you not? I‘ll try to answer this particular question and tell you what my experiences where.

Can You Shower After Waxing?

The answer is a YES and a NO. First of all, we should think about the reason why we even want to shower after waxing. Usually it‘s due to the fact that we get sticky. In order to get rid of all of that wax left on your body, you need to apply oil. Afterwards, you just feel oily and disgusting. You definitely need a shower! I bet that’s what all of you are thinking. That’s totally understandable!

Read More: Bikini Area Waxing Aftercare

Usual Routine

I’ll try to point out a few good practices and routines when you’re removing hair with any method. First of all, it’s always recommended to take a warm shower before hair removal so that skin pores soften up (some sources refer to it as opening them up). It’s good practice since you’re often exfoliating as well. Rubbing your skin with soap can be considered exfoliation!

Second of all, you need to dry out your skin and prepare it for waxing. However, that’s quite annoying, isn’t it! For your skin to dry out, you need to wait and if you’re in the bathroom, you just want to be done with everything as quickly as possible. That’s where it stops making sense to me even though it’s good practice. I don’t have time or I don’t want to spend it in my bathroom. Not every week at least!

Why Can You Not Shower After Waxing?

Remember the part where I told you that rubbing your skin with soap is considered exfoliation? Well, exfoliation after hair removal is a big NO! You can easily irritate your skin, catch an infection and end up with lovely rashes and bumps! You don’t want that! However, what I want to tell you is that if you avoid doing some of the things, you can shower after waxing.

When Can You Shower After Waxing?

If you do some of those things, you might as well just take showers after waxing.

Waxing Non-Sensitive Parts

As you may very well know, various types of skin react to waxing very differently. You may wax your legs and be more than fine, however waxing your bikini line may be a completely different story. I personally, wax my bikini area and suffer from bumps so often, it’s sad! Having a shower after waxing down there is a big no! However, if I wax my legs and take a warm shower, use soap, my skin stays beautiful! What I’m trying to say is that you need to listen your body and try to notice which parts of it are more prone to being irritated. Afterwards, you can make your own decisions and choose when to have a shower.

Using Cold Water

Washing your skin with cold water after hair removal procedure is considered healthy. In fact, I encourage you to do that. Why? The answer is very simple, after we remove hair and in a way get rid of all of that protective layer, which hair creates for us, we need to make sure that we’re not prone to being infected. How does cold water help? It pretty much closes the pores; they shrink a little bit and don’t let anything in there! That’s how we create that extra protection layer we no longer have. Therefore, taking a cold shower can help you prevent bumps and refresh your skin!

Avoid Rubbing Your Skin

Rubbing your skin with soap and other chemicals will certainly irritate it further. Therefore, it’s essential to be careful. Don’t overdo it. Try to be soft and sort of massage your skin rather than exfoliate. If you know what I mean. Just shower the way you would bath your baby!

Read More: How to Prevent Bumps After Waxing?

Avoid Chemically Produced Soap

I know it’s very easy to just use any soap out there to wash your skin. However, I truly offer to do your own research into what soup you want to use. Many of them simply dry out your skin and that’s a bit dangerous after waxing. Hair removal irritates skin and therefore you truly want to keep it moist. The only way for it to heel fast is to do so. However, using a soap that’s based on chemicals like triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, lye, polypropylene and synthetic dyes is a bit dangerous. These chemicals dry out skin and irritate it. Just keep that in mind and try to make your own natural soap that keeps your skin moisturized.

Avoid Drying Your Skin With a Towel

I know it might sound strange. However, drying out skin with a towel is another process of exfoliation that irritates skin greatly. Therefore, it’s best if you either let your skin dry out by itself or if you avoid rubbing that towel into your skin. Very often little things like that are actually the reasons why we end up with those red bumps on our skin. Just keep it slow, try to cause the least irritation possible and you’ll be safe.

Some General Waxing Tips

Can you shower after waxing? Long story short – yes you can! Just be conscious of what you’re doing and avoid some of the things I’ve mentioned above. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to listen to your body and see what your skin can survive. Having beautiful and smooth skin isn’t hard as long as you know what you’re doing. Therefore, follow my tips and take showers whenever you want! Trust me, you won’t have to worry about red bumps or any other rash. Have a lovely day!