I am now in a full on battle with my bikini line. I usually wax, but I hate that I have one week of a beautiful bikini line, and three weeks of a crazy, unsightly bikini line.
A friend swears by daily shaving, so I bought a new razor and a ton of new blades specifically designed for women (I had been using the same brand as my male S.O.). I bought the laser hair remover. Now, I have to shave everyday and my bikini line, while hairless, now has unsightly razor burn that is only getting progressively worse. In an effort to stop repeating tasks which have proven not to work, I did some research on how to cure and prevent razor burn, and purchased Veet depilatory cream for about 900 yen at my local drugstore.
My goal is to have a beautiful, hair-free bikini line in five days. Wish me luck!
Step One: Fixing the Razor Burn
Day one: No shaving or plucking. Treatment consisted of exfoliating with my Aqua Cure gel, followed by a cleansing with an acne fighting astringent after my morning shower. I added a little TLC mid-day with a light application of my Nivea lotion. Evening treatment (no improvement, possibly worsening?) included an aspirin paste application and a layer of lotion. And prayer....
Day two: Surprisingly, there has been significant improvement. No shaving or plucking. The redness has gone down and some bumps have disappeared altogether. Morning treatment included exfoliating, a long soak in a hot bath with Youmeisen bath salts, and application of acne fighting astringent followed by lotion. Evening treatment included an
aspirin paste application and a layer of lotion.
Day three: No huge leaps in improvement. No shaving or plucking. Still have a few (4) pink/red bumps. Morning treatment included exfoliating, application of acne fighting astringent, lotion application. Evening treatment included acne fighting mask, SK-II lotion. Today is the spot-test for the depilatory (results below).
Day four: Worsening! But how? No shaving or plucking. Have 6-8 pink/red bumps. Morning treatment included exfoliating, hot bath, application of acne fighting astringent, lotion. Since the evening was the time to do the full depilatory treatment, no evening razor burn treatment. But, surprise change of plans! No time to continue experiment.
ABORT. Shave.
Day five: No shaving or plucking. Have 4 pink/red bumps. No morning treatment. Evening treatment was exfoliation, acne fighting astringent.
Day six: No shaving or plucking. Have 4 pink/red bumps. Morning treatment included acne fighting astringent. Evening treatment is a long hot bath, acne fighting astringent, lotion.
Day seven: How do I have more bumps? More than 8??? No shaving or plucking. Morning treatment included exfoliating, hot bath, application of acne fighting
astringent. Evening treatment included exfoliating, hot bath, aspirin paste application.
Day eight
(RESULTS): Still have 8-10 bumps!?!? After depilatory (results
below!!!), morning treatment included hot bath, acne fighting astringent, and aspirin paste. I've concluded that nothing I am doing is actually helping to cure the razor burn. The aspirin paste does help reduce redness and inflammation, but it doesn't get rid of the bumps or the redness altogether. I'm bringing in the big guns for future treatments - check back later!
Step Two: Bikini line hair removal
I had not used a depilatory in more than 20 years, mostly due to the memory of the chemical perm-like smell. I am using the "sensitive skin" version, and, while there still was the tell-tale smell of depilatory cream, it was nowhere near as strong as I remember it being in the past.
The Veet depilatory cream instructions state that the cream is resistant to water in the shower, so you can use it while showering. You take off the cream (and the unwanted hair) with the included sponge. There is supposed to be no stinging. Directions say to leave on the "premium essence" brand for 3-6 minutes, "sensitive skin" brand for 5-10 minutes. Results should last 3-5 days.
Day One: I have four days of growth. Today is the spot test! I left the cream on for 10 minutes, then wiped with the sponge. I'm not sure it removed all the hair (but this could be just the hair on the edges of the spot-test). After cleansing the area, there was some slight burning/stinging. However, as long as my skin doesn't revolt, I'll try a full removal tomorrow!
Day Two: There is still a bit of a burning/stinging sensation at the test site, but nothing I can't live with. There is a lingering odor of depilatory. There is also a lotion-y film on the skin. No adverse effects, but surprise change of plans! No time to continue experiment. ABORT. Shave.
Day Three - Six: Waiting for hair to grow out a bit more.
Day Seven
(RESULTS): I have three days of growth. Full depilatory today. This worked AMAZINGLY on the areas between the legs and through to behind. However, it didn't work as well on the front - both on the front sides and above. First, the rough side of the included sponge inflamed my existing razor burn, breaking open some bumps and making others an angry red. Second, it didn't remove all the hair in these areas, meaning I had to do a second swipe with a razor. (I think this hair might have been too short?) So, I will continue using this, and continue the fight with my razor burn, in search of a photo shop perfect bikini line...
