Is It Safe To Wax When You Are Pregnant?

Although pregnancy is a time of anticipation, changes in the hormones can sometimes cause discomfort too. It can also promote undesirable and unnecessary hair growth in places like the stomach, upper lip, armpits, chin, and pubic area. The excess hair will not cause any harm but can make a woman feel self-conscious. If you have excessive hair growth during pregnancy, you might consider various options to get rid of them, waxing being the first one. But the question is: Is it safe to wax when you are pregnant?

There aren’t any known medical issues with waxing for hair removal during pregnancy as it doesn’t penetrate the skin. However, the increased blood flow in your body can make the process more painful than usual. Read on to know more.

Is It Safe To Use Wax For Hair Removal During Pregnancy?

Using wax for removing unwanted hair during pregnancy can be done by a professional at a salon or spa. You can also do it at home using your store-bought kit. Before getting waxed, you should make sure that the hair grows out about 1/2 inch so that the wax sticks to it.

There are two types of wax – soft and hard. Soft wax is spread on with a thin layer and a cloth strip is placed over the wax and rubbed on. It is then quickly torn off in the opposite direction that the hair grows.

Hard wax is spread on in a thicker layer and left to dry until it hardens. The wax itself is then torn off in the opposite direction that the hair grows. Since hard wax doesn’t stick to the skin as much as soft wax, it’s often used in more sensitive areas, like the bikini line or under the arms.

Are Hair Removal Creams Safe To Use During Pregnancy?

Although it’s safe to use hair removal creams during pregnancy, they might irritate your skin. The chemicals in the hair removal creams work on the structural ingredient of your hair, called keratin, and cause your hair to break and separate from your skin. To mask the distinctive smell of the chemicals, strong fragrances are used in the creams.

These fragrances and the hair-removing chemicals might irritate your skin, or trigger an allergic reaction. Therefore, it is advisable to use depilatory creams during pregnancy after consulting a doctor. Depilatory creams are thick substances that you need to spread on your skin and leave it on for a few minutes to weaken each strand of hair. You can then wipe the cream off painlessly.

Precautions To Be Taken While Waxing During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, your skin becomes more sensitive than usual as the body is producing extra blood and fluids to support your growing baby. Therefore, it is important to take certain precautions while waxing:

• While using home kits, it is advisable to carefully handle the hot wax to prevent any instance of burning or scalding yourself that can develop infection later.

• If you are visiting a salon, you must check the hygiene and cleanliness of the salon before selecting it for waxing during pregnancy.

• If you decide to visit the salon for waxing, make sure that the spatula used to spread wax is clean and fresh.

The wax strips or wax should not be reused among clients, and the specialist should be wearing gloves.

• It is advisable to perform a patch test on a small part of the skin to assess for possible reaction or irritation.

• You can use a depilatory cream for removing hair from the stomach area after a patch test.

When Should You Avoid Waxing During Pregnancy?

It is advisable to avoid waxing during pregnancy in the following cases:

• Melasma or the mask of pregnancy is a kind of skin condition that causes brown patches to appear on the face of a pregnant mum. It is advisable to avoid waxing in such a condition as it can further irritate the skin and worsen the condition.

• If your skin tends to get itchy or irritable during pregnancy, you should avoid waxing as it might lead to breakouts or underskin growth.

• Waxing during pregnancy should be avoided if the skin has rashes or scarred tissues as this might cause eruptions and acne.

• If you develop varicose veins (twisted or enlarged veins) during pregnancy, you should avoid waxing.

• If the skin has moles or warts, pimples, or lumps, waxing should be avoided during pregnancy as it might lead to broken skin which can get infected.

• Waxing during pregnancy should also be avoided if you have sunburn as it can flare up the skin.

Alternatives to Waxing

The good news is that there are alternatives to waxing. Depending on where the unwanted hair is, you can use tweezers. This is best for removing hair in smaller areas like eyebrows or nipples. You can also have the unwanted hair threaded away.

Shaving is also an alternative to waxing and is the safest way to remove hair during pregnancy. But you might find it difficult to shave some areas as your pregnancy progresses.

To reduce irritation or inflammation after waxing, you can apply a soothing pregnancy-safe lotion or an aloe vera gel. Some aloe vera lotions are anaesthetics that can provide some relief from the pain of waxing.

It is advisable to avoid exposure to direct sunlight immediately after waxing. Applying a pregnancy-safe antiseptic cream in case of breakouts can be a good idea to soothe the skin after consulting the doctor.