Ask Tracey: Help — Wax Attack!

On the Ask Tracey section of my blog, I was asked about those pesky white bumps that sometimes appear after waxing.  Have you had that experience?  You shouldn’t…

Arlice Nicole asked:

I have a dilemma. I’ve only had my eyebrows arched once, so I decided to treat myself and do it again. Two days later, my forehead broke out in bumps. Particularly the area just above my eyebrows and upper forehead. Some were kinda big too (yuck!)

I went to my regular hairstylist. What went wrong here? Is this normal?

Arlice,

I commend you for getting your brows professionally arched.  However, I do question if you truly engaged a professional.  I don’t mean to raise the ire of those who are not skin care professionals, BUT, I’m not so hot on nail shops performing such services.  A licensed cosmetologist can certainly wax your brows, but they may not be in the habit of waxing brows day in and day out, and may lack the expertise of one who is an eyebrow perfectionist!

Now to answer your question, those pesky white bumps are a sign of infection and happen for a few reasons:

1. Wax is too hot.

2. The strips were not pulled off in the right detection.

3. No soothing/ antibacterial product was applied after the procedure.

4. The wax was applied to the same area more than one time , this can cause–burning, dermatitis and infection.

Your eyebrow area should have been  prepped the area alcohol and baby powder. (baby powder insures that the wax does not stick to your skin)

You can use neosporin, aloe vera gel or Bactine — an old product for sunburns– they will heal those bumps.

I would also question her tools and the cleanliness of the wax and applicators.  A fresh applicator should be used for each client.

On a side note, a fabulous brow waxing should include the following:

• Proper preparation of the skin.
• Waxing above and below arch.
• Tweezing  or threading of strays that waxing did not catch.
• Trimming of long hairs.
• Cleansing of area, and a soothing product applied.
• A bonus from Alresa at the Brow Lounge — brows are perfected with brow powder!

I hope this answers your question!