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I used to wax my bikini line to avoid cystic acne-like bumps and irritation on my sensitive skin.
However, I grew tired of spending time and money on the painful task and equally painful aftermath of shaving in between waxing sessions.
After giving up on waxing, I've spent the last year testing out products that would make hair removal easier and more comfortable for people with sensitive skin and coarse hair.
Here are the ones that keep me free of bumps and irritation and help me save a ton on regular waxes.
For an Indian woman with sensitive skin that scars easily and coarse hair that's difficult for even the most expensive razors to shave, waxing is the lesser of two evils. It's a more painful process, for sure, but there's no pain at all afterward.
Over time, my monthly leg waxes evolved into expensive Brazilian waxes, but shaving in between sessions rendered me embarrassed in bathing suits and ashamed to bare my razor-bump ridden legs.
After my seven long years in an on-again, off-again relationship with waxing and shaving, I finally broke things off with my aesthetician and started talking to a dermatologist about how to take care of my hair. Everything I'd been using out of habit for the better half of a decade went straight in the trash can, and I started fresh to figure out what products would work for me.
I'm already a skincare and makeup junkie, so I considered it a new and fun project — though not without disappointment. It took a full year of trying different products every week (and more like every month in the winter) in an effort to gain a silky-smooth bikini area and legs.
My post-wax life began with addressing my skin and hair's specific needs. According to dermatologist Dr. Joshua Zeichner, the bikini area is such a challenge for so many women because hair often curls and the skin is thin and sensitive, making it prone to nicks, irritation, and ingrown hairs. All this combined begs for high-quality ingredients, extreme levels of hydration, and gentle removal methods.
One year later, I've finally curated a routine that hasn't sparked razor burn or uncomfortable itching in months. My skin is softer, more hydrated, and the best part is that this routine has saved me hundreds on waxing. Needless to say, most of my bathing suit cover-ups are proudly stashed in donation boxes, and I've deleted my aesthetician's number.
Below are the five products I use to get my bikini area bump- and irritation-free:
A trimmer that cuts coarse hair close with ease
Amazon
I started using a trimmer based upon a recommendation from a girlfriend with hair more thick and coarse than my own.
She said that trimming the hair before shaving was her key to being razor-burn free for years. That alone felt far too easy of a solution for me, but figured I didn't have anything to lose by trying — except for about $20.
Lo and behold, it made a dramatic change in my shave.
Now, this alone didn't get rid of my irritation or itchiness, but the bumps around my bikini line went down significantly. "Attempting to shave long hair often causes more harm than good," says Zeichner. "Long hair means more drag and more pressure against the razor to the skin."
I've tried other trimmers before, but some needed to be plugged in. Every person understands the struggle of finding the best angle for shaving, but then finding a place to hoist up your leg near an outlet while dodging a wire is impossible — and not a good idea when sharp objects are near such a sensitive area.
This one from Philips can be used in the shower, and it gets such a close trim that sometimes when I'm lazy (which is most of the time) and not planning on wearing a bathing suit, I'll just do a quick trim and skip all the other steps entirely.
A satisfying foaming body scrub
Amazon
I've asked many dermatologists about what type of exfoliator to use, and many have said chemical instead of physical. But I had heard such good things about this particular physical-and-chemical scrub from fellow beauty junkies that when the brand sent me a jar to try, I had to give it a try. Sorry, doc.
My first reaction when I scooped out the product was how smooth the texture was — it looked like brown sugar but felt really fine and almost silky smooth. The physical exfoliants come from powdered bamboo and the chemical comes from alpha hydroxy acids. The second it hit my wet skin, it transformed into a foam and lathered in the most satisfying way.
The scrub is so effective that when I use it on my legs and bikini area, it even makes my hands feel luxuriously soft. I like to take the excess from my hands and rub it up to my arms.
To be honest, I'm not sure if the foaming aspect really does anything to my skin or not, but I do know it is one of the few scrubs I've tried that exfoliates without feeling like it's tugging at my sensitive skin. Plus, the lemongrass scent is reminiscent of a lovely spa.
A thick shaving cream that's like conditioner for your hair
Amazon
I might be cursed by the skin gods for admitting this, but I hadn't used shaving cream in years before this product.
For the first several years of my shaving life, I felt like nothing worked. No matter how clean the ingredients were on a product label or how many sulfates and parabens it was missing, I'd be left with red scars the second I toweled off.
When this product was sent to me to test, I kind of felt the same way and put off using it. But then I talked to dermatologist Dr. Manjula Jegasothy and she told me to use the shave cream like a conditioner and to leave it on my skin the way you would with a deep-conditioning hair mask.
"It really works to leave the cream on your hair and let it sink in for ten minutes to soften the hair," says Jegasothy. "It basically hydrates the hair shaft itself and makes it a lot less coarse and easier to shave."
When you open the tub, it looks like whipped cream and smells like cookies. The texture is thick and dense, so it stays on my skin like a mask instead of slipping down my legs and into the drain. I don't feel like I'm wasting product.
Unlike the traditional method of using a shaving cream though, that means I'll do the shaving cream mask and then wash it off before I shower and shave. It's more time consuming, but when I do wash it off, I can immediately feel that my skin is softer skin pre-shave and that shaving is actually easier.
Sometimes, I'll even use this as a body conditioner even when I'm not shaving.
A razor that adjusts to the contours of your body
Amazon
Dr. Jegasothy told me that a low-quality razor can actually cause ingrown hairs to become infected.
The solution isn't just to replace your razor blades often, but to find one that, according to Dr. Zeichner, has multiple spring-mounted blades and lubricating strips. This razor delivers that and more — it also comes recommended by my mom, and she's always right.
The spring-mounted blades adjust to the contours around my bikini area, knees, and ankles. They're surrounded by an inch-wide moisturizing strip — more than just the millimeter-long strips found on the typical razor — and are the only ones that don't leave my skin red or with a burning sensation, likely due to the hydrating vitamin E and calming aloe.
It's the first razor I've used that didn't irritate my skin, and the thick handle gives me more control over my super-sensitive bikini area where the last thing you'd want is a cut.
An aftershave cream that hydrates and helps prevent future bumps and ingrown hairs
Inhibitif
If you forget everything I said before this, remember this gel product as the biggest game-changer.
This is one of those products that I have a backup stash of just in case it ever gets discontinued. It comes out like a gel consistency and goes on the skin extremely light, drying to almost a powder consistency, so it's comfortable to put on clothes without them sticking to my body.
Zeichner impresses upon the importance of a quality aftershave product, dividing the best kinds of ingredients into three types — occlusive (something that prevents moisture loss), humectant (something that adds moisture), and emollient (something that adds moisture but also prevents moisture loss).
This product has glycerin in it, a humectant that Zeichner says pulls hydration to the outer layer of the skin. I can definitely feel that as the effect of the gel lasts all day. It also has castor oil, an emollient Zeichner says softens the outer skin layer so that when new hair grows in, it doesn't feel painful.
An everyday body oil to maintain a lack of itchiness and discomfort in between shaves
Sephora
Dr. Jegasothy emphasized time and time again the importance of continual hydration to the hair shaft, whether or not you're actively shaving or trimming the bikini area.
I've been using this body oil from Tata Harper for over a year, but like many most-loved products, I didn't realize how much I loved it until I ran out of my last bottle, and I started noticing my hair growing back thicker in a way that felt painful and itchy — not just on my bikini area, but my entire body (though it was most uncomfortable there). It took me a moment to realize this was a true game-changer in between shaves.
I've gone back to using it, and my skin and hair are so much softer now. I have an easier time shaving off the hair in one or two strokes.
A gentle, chemical exfoliator to fight acne-causing bacteria
Sephora
Body acne isn't something we love to talk about, but so many of us deal with it. Though acne is almost never a welcome guest, the bikini area is probably one of the worst places to deal with it — not to mention one of the places we'd most like to keep free of bacteria.
Though this isn't marketed as being for the body, I use it on my bikini area when I'm experiencing a breakout or a particularly large number of bumps that aren't just caused by razor burn. Exfoliating helps to clear dead layers of skin, ensuring that they don't end up getting trapped in the pores and causing more acne or bumps.
When I use it on my bikini line, I'll put some of the thick, green product on and leave it there for a minute or two before washing it off to let the chemical exfoliant really soak into my skin before I apply shaving cream. Ever since I started using this, I've experienced far less acne bumps on my bikini line. I even got some of this for a friend of mine who deals with body acne, and he said he's already on his second tube.
An organic and cruelty-free oil wrapped in the heavenly scent of jasmine to lock in moisture
The Detox Market
Vitamin E is hailed as one of the world's greatest moisturizers, and vitamin C is known to be one of the best extracts for brightening the skin. Ranavat's Mighty Majesty oil takes it one step further by adding aromatherapeutic jasmine oil to these hero ingredients.
Jasmine isn't just one of the most heavenly scents I've ever encountered (I occasionally slather it on my entire body in place of perfume), it's also said to be great for people who suffer from eczema, which is why I pay special attention to my dry spots.
Those aforementioned oils are the only three natural ingredients in Ranavat's magic elixir. I apply this to my skin right after I get out of the shower when my skin is still wet so that it soaks up as much moisture from the oil as physically possible, and I feel good about using it in a sensitive area knowing that there aren't a bunch of additives in the formula.
As with the Tata Harper oil, before using this, I'd experience uncomfortable itchiness once hair started growing back in, but now that I've started using this right after shaving, and a couple of days after it when hair starts to grow back in, I don't experience that at all.
A sharp, quality razor that's good for travel
Amazon
As much as I love the Schick Intuition razor, it's not the most travel-friendly. When I traveled to see family over the holidays, I started testing out alternatives, and the problem I encountered was most would go dull after one, or occasionally two, uses.
The first thing I appreciated about this razor was it didn't market itself to just men or women, and when I tried it, I was even more pleased. The razor was extremely sharp, and the heavy handle offered a lot of control when it came to the intricate and delicate curves in the bikini area. I got about four to five uses out of each blade.