On our final blog about waxing contraindications I want to discuss probably the biggest one we encounter here at the salon. Medications and chemicals. There are so many things that you can take or put on your skin that can cause lifting and scaring. Yes, we do use a hard wax which does typically only adhere to your hair and not your skin but if you are taking a product that thins your skin or causes your skin to dry and flake, there is still the possibility of lifting. I am essentially going to make a list of most of the medications, chemicals, topical treatments, etc that you should not be on while getting waxed and how long it should be since the last time you used or took it.
Any Vitamin A derivative such as:
- Retinol, Retin-A, retinoic acid – 3 days to a week. And that goes for regardless of where you put it and where you want to get waxed. It actually affects your whole body even if you just put it on your face. And a lot of over the counter creams contain a percentage of retinol so double-check all the ingredients before you come in!
- Accutane, Roaccutane, Isotretinoin, – A YEAR. (That’s right a whole YEAR. That is how long until the medicine is safely out of your body.
Steroids/Antibiotics – 3 months. Certain steroids and antibiotics cause the skin to become hypersensitive and can cause painful reactions to waxing.
Chemical peels, facials, microdermabrasions – This one is a little trickier because different peels and facials do different things. To be on the safe side I would say a week to two weeks.
Hydroquinone – A week. Similar to the reasons for retinol. It can cause lifting and adverse reactions during waxing.
These are the things we focus on during our client consultation and why we ask what type of skin products you are using. We want to make sure you have the best possible service that doesn’t cause life long scaring!! In some cases we may do a test patch to determine if you need to wait longer or not. We know it can be frustrating to come in to get waxed only to be told you have to wait but honestly wouldn’t you rather wait and not be scarred?
If you have any questions about any of the products you are taking do not hesitate to bring them in with you! We are more than happy to look at it and determine if it is safe for you to wax or not!!