Waxing has gained popularity and has become the go-to hair removal method for the majority of men. Over time, gentlemen who opted for waxing as their default hair removal method began to wonder and have concerns about many things regarding the short but delicate post-waxing phase. These concerns are particularly important for men who lead an active lifestyle and wax regularly, which makes working out after Brazilian wax our topic of discussion for today’s blog. Join us to learn more about the connection between the two activities and what you can do to prevent waxing from harming your skin.
Can You Workout After Waxing?
This is a very popular and legitimate concern that many men have after a waxing treatment. Since every individual's skin is different, it's difficult to predict how your own skin would react to sweating after such an intense hair removal session. But with all of that being said, rest assured that working out after Brazilian wax shouldn't be harmful to your skin as long as you take the proper required precautions to heal and take care of your skin. Here are some things to keep in mind after your waxing session:
Give Your Skin The Time to Heal:
The immediate aftermath of waxing involves leaving the skin vulnerable and sensitive. During the first day or two, you might notice some irritation, inflammation, redness, or even swelling sometimes. Keeping away from intense physical activity and sweating during these couple of days ensures that your skin won't face any further complications which makes the healing process a smooth and quick one.
Avoid Friction:
Friction between your sensitive freshly waxed skin and your clothes can lead to major discomfort and ingrown hairs, especially if your clothes are tight, made of rough fabrics, or both. To avoid such an issue, opt for loose-fitting clothing made of soft and breathable fabrics such as cotton. These types of fabrics allow your skin to breathe freely and prevent the likelihood of irritation, ingrown hairs, or any other skin issue related to or directly caused by friction. Moreover, you can further decrease the possibility of skin issues by managing sweat with the use of moisture-wicking clothing.
Keep The Waxed Area Clean and Moisturized:
Skin care after a waxing treatment is very important to keep the skin of the waxed area healthy and away from serious harm. If you do the waxing yourself, make sure to clean the waxed area with a bar of gentle fragrance-free soap and lukewarm water to get rid of the wax residue, then pat your skin dry using a soft towel and finish off by applying an alcohol-free moisturizer to keep your skin soothed, clean, and hydrated. Moisturizers help replenish the skin's natural moisture barrier, so you shouldn't overlook this step because it's an important one. Look for products with ingredients that are known for their calming and moisturizing properties.
Avoid Excessive Sweating:
Since waxing makes the skin very sensitive and prone to discomfort, excessive sweating isn't advised within the first 24 to 48 hours after a waxing treatment. Excessive sweat can complicate your skin's issues even more, causing further inflammation and leading to discomfort and potential complications such as ingrown hairs or folliculitis. If you must exercise after waxing, try to opt for the types of exercises that won’t cause you to sweat a lot.
Watch for Signs of Irritation or Infection:
Keep an eye out for symptoms like redness, itching, swelling, general irritation, and unusual warmth. Such symptoms indicate that your skin is inflamed and in need of soothing and care. In more severe cases, these symptoms can be a warning sign of skin bacterial infection. If your skin was unresponsive to treatment, or if you started noticing worse symptoms like increased pain and redness or pus-filled bumps, you should seek immediate medical care from a healthcare professional or dermatologist.
What Generally Irritates Men's Skin After a Waxing Treatment?
After waxing, your skin can get upset for a variety of reasons and factors. Here are some of the most common things that irritate your skin after a waxing session:
Heat:
Exposing your waxed skin directly to heat is one of the main things that causes it to irritate and possibly develop issues, and that's exactly why people say that you should avoid sun exposure after a waxing treatment. In addition to causing sweat, which particularly harms freshly waxed skin, heat tends to dilate the blood vessels, causing major discomfort and swelling in the waxed areas. To stay safe, it's best to avoid sweating after waxing by keeping away from hot environments that induce excessive sweating, such as saunas, hot showers, steam rooms, and intense sunlight.
Harsh Chemicals:
Dermatologists generally advise people with sensitive skin to avoid harsh chemicals for the aggravating properties they have and the harm they can cause. These harsh chemicals include ingredients like alcohol, which can mess with the levels of your skin's natural oils, and fragrances and artificial dyes which may cause serious allergic reactions or further inflammation. Remember that after waxing, your skin will be highly sensitive no matter what its original type is, therefore, keep away from harsh chemicals for a quicker healing process.
Bacterial Infections:
If you don't maintain proper hygiene practices for the waxed areas of your body, during and after the session, you may develop bacterial infections like folliculitis. If you notice inflamed pus-filled bumps, excessive redness, and a painful itch on the waxed area, that probably means you've got this exact infection. This is just one example of many others, so to keep yourself safe from getting such serious and distressing skin issues, make sure that you thoroughly cleanse your skin before and after waxing while maintaining hydration for a quicker and safer healing process. If you don't do the waxing yourself, make sure to find people who provide professional waxing services to avoid such complications.
Allergic Reactions:
Just like some people tend to have allergic reactions to certain ingredients, some people can be allergic to the wax itself. If you find yourself stuck in such a situation, the best course of action would be to consult a professional dermatologist and follow their instructions. Make sure to have a thorough understanding of what your skin is allergic to so you can prevent these reactions from happening in the future.
Finally:
In short, working out after Brazilian wax isn’t lethal and you can definitely do it, just do it with care. It’s not impossible to understand your skin and know exactly what it likes and what it doesn’t like. Consulting professionals is the best precaution you can take to prevent the problem from happening in the first place instead of having to learn your lesson the hard way.