im a male and just had my full back shoulders and arms waxed.

my hair was quite coarse and after 1 day i am totally covered in severe pimples/ white heads...i kid you not i must have atleast 3000 pimples all over my back!!
i have been using all the lotions and moisturies they gave me, but it aint helping. the tea tree lotion which im using isnt helping at all.

how long will this last for?
should i pop the pimples?

whats the best remedy to releve the aches and redness of the pimples?

as ive been reading through all the posts trying to find some answers while hoping someone would reply to mine (which doesnt look like it lol)

ive discovered tend skin would be the best option.

im from australia.
tend skin aint available in australia! dam.

so im gonna order it from a site.

can i apply this to my pimples?

what about this witch hazel stuff?

what can this do for me?

can i apply it directly to the whitehead pimples?

oh you poor thing, am sorry i didnt see your post sooner.

dont pop the pimples. this unfortunatly does happen with waxing. they will recover on their own.

witch hazel is like an antibacterial substance. you could use it if you like. do a search on it, alot of ppl use it after electrolysis hair removal.

but just keep the area clean and dont scrub so hard in the shower. and DONT pop the pimples, could days they will disappear. your a first time waxer right? and your hair is thick so am not surprised at the reaction. Depending on thickness and sensitivity of the area you will get this reaction.

i get it when i wax my arms, but i dont get it when i wax my legs. my arms right after i wax, will run them under cold water for a bit and put alea vera gel on them. and i'll still get one or two pimples here or there.

good luck.

by the way, tend skin you can make yourself. it involves aspirin and alcohol. do a search on it in this website, somewhere i remeber seeing a recipe for it. tho i never used tendskin, but some ppl love it.

hi thanks for your input.

4 days later and i still have the back and shoulders of freddy kruger!

Ive tried witch hazel and it seems to help in drying them out...perhaps i was putting too much teatree lotion on them, which wasnt drying.

Im asking if there is possibly a stronger astringent to witch hazel i could use. Tend skin is not available in australia and i have a feeling this would be much better and stronger than withc hazel.

How long do you think this will go on for?
Should i wax again?
Will the sun help out abit?

I leave for a holiday to surfers paradise in 2 days, and honestly cant beleive this is happening to me. Wearing a tshirt will make me feel more self concious now as to wearing one with my hair still present.


shit happens i sposse.


can you or anyone else possibly suggest something to me?


what does the aloe vera cream do? will it help dry out the skin??

hi there,

you know what, just go on your vacation and have fun. take off your shirt and just enjoy yourself! too be honest i know what those pimples look like and in two days they will calm down significantly. from now on till then, (and if you can tolerate it) shower in somewhat cool/cold water to bring down the redness on your back. dont touch the pimples, they will resolve on their own but probably by the time that happens, the hair will be coming back out.

for next time that you decide to wax. take a shower before, make sure your clean and fully dried. wax under a professional, and apply witch hazel and then aleo vera GEL. Witch hazel helps in healing and bacteria, aloe vera helps to cool down redness and stuff like that. and keep applying it when it dries like maybe 2 or 3 times throughout the day. and keep the area cool and sweat free. thats all i can tell you cause thats what i do.

the sun isnt great if you pick at the pimples and leave a scar. the sun might lead to darker pigmentation. but i wouldnt worry so much, put alot of sun tan lotion and keep good beach hygiene.

good luck!

rachelle thankyou so much for your help.

you seem to know a hell of alot more about this problem than most of the professionals i have been calling.!

Next time i get waxed i definatley will smother myself with witch hazel right afterwars, pain or no pain, i just hope my reaction wont be as severe.

Do you think withc hazel works better than tend skin?

because if so i think i might order a few bottles over the net (tend skin is not availbale in oz) for next time.

I know this is an old thread but I just found this website and having the same reaction. I am freaking out and I am not sure where to even start.

Well, keep it clean and dry. Try phenolated calamine lotion or witch hazel to dry the area out. Keep your hands off the area. Avoid tight clothing or garments that will rub. Avoid hot water: showers, saunas, hot tubs. And PFB Vanish works better than Tend Skin imo.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think my problem was that I was given no aftercare information. I got waxed last Tuesday and actually went about 5 days without a break out. I was on vacation over the weekend and was outside a lot and sweated a lot and did not use anything to treat myself.

Still no results, I am starting to get discouraged

Exfoliate every day. I use bath mitts, whatever you use should be clean and not picking up mold in the shower all day long. Phenolated calamine lotion, tea trea oil, OR witch hazel will help to dry it out if they are still pimples or white heads. And, have you picked up some PFB yet? Call around to the salons to see who has it.

I am so confused, I got the witch hazel and have been using it. Though it is making me itch more now. I am trying not to pick. What is PFB? And what type of salons would have it?

Do not pick, fingernails are so dirty. The reason I suggested exfoliating (after previously telling you to keep your hands off)is because keeping your hands off did not do any good. Exfoliating is GENTLY buffing away dead skin cells that can clog pores. PFB Vanish is a chemical exfoliant, most waxing salons will have something along these lines. If you can't find PFB try TendSkin. If the witch hazel is making you itch it is drying the skin around whiteheads/pustules/whatever they are.

Better yet, go straight to the person who waxed you and ask her what to do. Being able to see the area will help tons. If she won't see you take a picture and send it to her and post a link on this site.

I just messaged you with a link to a picture.

well travis seems liek me and u had the same experience...

i ended up with 100's of those critters that ended up lasting for months i know u dont wanna hear that but its true in my case..

it was the worst thing i could of ever done cause even hair looks so much better then 100 pimples on your back...

a technician ended up telling me after a while they arent pimples anymore they turn into oil glands..

i promised myself i would never wax again after that experience which is when i took up laser...

the only thing that has actually helped me was this.

take 2 20 minute baths a day with 2 cups of epsom salt...

it should start clearning up fast as long as u follow the regiment...

i feel your pain man i really do...

Yes it is very upsetting, I feel like I really screwed up my skin and I am going to being payinf for a long time now. I am using tend skin but it is not helping. What does the Epsom salt do. Does anyone think this is better than tendskin?

Epsom salt can help. Keeping the area dry is very important as well and avoid too much friction with it during the day (certain types of fabrics etc). you could have also had a histamine reaction..

I wear natural fabrics, I will just try not to sweat which is hard here in Florida. Can I exercise if I shower right afterwards? I also though about going to the girl that gives me facials and have her look at my skin, though I don;t want to grose her out lol.

And not to do a commercial for anyone, but the Under Armour and equivalents like Nike Dri Star, Starter, and even Wal-Mart's Active Wear line do an excellent job of keeping sweat off your body and keeping your body more comfortable regardless of temperature.

Hi, I just joined this site and after reading all your psts with suggestions I wanted to speak to you. Ihave been an esthetician in ON,Canada for 12 yrs. I do not wax my clients, I prefer the sugaring method for a few simple reasons. The sugar paste is not hot and does not stimulate circulation in the areas s the hair is being removed. Therefore an immune system reaction, such as theone you had will be minimized in the first place. The hair is extracted in the natural direction of growth with a hand-paste sugaring method( not strips) which creates less stress on the follicle and leaves less trauma on the nerve endings that are beside the hair follicles and get jarred upon extractions. The reaction you are haivng is an internal one and will get better as your body identifies that the 'trauma' casued by the hair removal is normal .. The pimples are not actual pimples, they are follicles filled with White bolld cells form the hsitamine reaction that was caused at the time of extraction. These 'pimples' should not be broken open as this allows bacteria into the base of the follicel and you could get infection and redness at the site for up to 2 or 3 weeks. The best advice is to make sure you are cleaned by yur esthetician thouroughly pre hair extraction and again right afterwards. My advice to clients to to soak in a bath of 1/2 cup Dead Sea Salts( easier on skin than epsom, too drying) Apply a fragrance free,water based moisturizer( oil based cremes with block the follicle and create ingrowns if applied within 12 -24 hrs of hair extraction). Only wear a clean white shirt afterhair extraction becasue if you sweat into the open follicles this can casue blockage of the follicle as well. Exfolitaing between treatments with a Spa masssage glove is best option. They can be cleaned in washer /dryer so that no bacteria or mold can build up in them and they tend to dry out completely quickly between uses every other day. DOnt forget to moisturize your skin on a daily basis to keep skin soft and from building up too many layers of dead skin cells between treatments. This will help reduce the pain druing your treatments.
I shy away from using any witch hazel,tend skin or tea tree iol as they all tend to dry out the skin too much and then create other problems with surrounding skin ongoing.
After hair removal you shuold be cautioned not to go out in sun, exercise, perspire or put on any soap , creme lotion that is not water based. Make sure to sleep on clean bedsheets that night and remember to soak in a tub or compress the area with a towel that has ben soaked in a basin of water and a few teaspoons of Dead Sea Salt. Rub the towel over the area several times to ensure that anything that has fallen into the open pore will be washed out.....
Hope all these tips help. And next time you have hair removal services, make sure the esthetician is qualified and gives after care advice............ Good luck in future with this....

Thanks SugarInstructor,
All good advice for a new waxer. Do you have advice for this type of reaction forming 5+ days after the waxing? It seems to me that the pores/follicles should have had time to heal by then.

TravisMT81,
Do you suppose that something else is going on? With good care initially you should have had no problems camping and boating 5 days later.

Thanks for all the advice, after almost 7 weeks I am finally almost cleared up. I did use tend skin and I am not sure if that is what helped or not. Not sweating is really not an option for me as I live in Florida and am overall my back always sweats lol. But I think the soaking in the tub is a good idea.

Hey, I got my chest, stomach and lower back waxed on monday afternoon. I'm 18 year old guy. It is now tuesday night and i hate these pimples/whiteheads appearing on my stomach and chest

I got waxed for a pool party I'm going to for Australia day and now theres no way I can take my shirt off! I would rather have had the hair there. I'm going to look like an idiot being the only one probably not going in the pool.

I need help to get rid of them ASAP.

The lady who did it at the salon who was the same age as me said "my friend got all ingrown hairs because i didn't tell him to exfoliate, but you should be ok with your type of hair you won't need to".. she was WRONG! I don't even know how to exfoliate lol...

Can someone please tell me how to get rid of this in time for Saturday

Make sure you keep the area clean, try to avoid sweating to much e.g. working out and so on. Try using tea tree oil on the area and DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT squeeze them, otherwise you'll look like someones been playing dot to dot with a red marker.

Tea tree oil helps keep the area clean and helps soothe it. The white heads usually go down relativley fast if you do proper aftercare. Did they give you a sheet explaining how to do so? I'm also finding it interesting that she told you this and then said "but you will be fine", men are prone to breaking out after waxing because of the coarsness of the hair and larger areas, anyway pimples can also occur on any hair type. This is down to bacteria caused by sweating and so on, coming into contact with the freshly waxed area leading to little white headed pimples.

If you start to devlop ingrowns as well, which are different from those white headed pimple try applying a lotion called TendSkin, this stuff is godly and will help speed up ingrowns.

In regards to exfolliating trying using a loafer the last time you shower before treatment you can also buy exfoliating body washes as well. For more pre-waxing advice and aftercare instructions, which are important to follow as soon as you are waxed, you may want to have a look back at this post and run a search on the forum.

Kind regards,
Benji

Did you sweat, work out etc soon afterwards? You should keep the area dry and clean for the next week. Don't squeeze them out. Buy some witch hazel and apply a few times a day. Don't use anything with chemicals like body washes, scrubs, etc on your skin and try not to sweat.

One more thought for you: If you wax again, make sure you wash the areas very well with soap and water prior to waxing. It's a big plus to start with clean skin and to keep it sanitized afterwards. You may have done this, but if you did not wash well before the treatment, do so next time and see if that will minimize your reaction.

Although this post smells awfully spammy, I am going to leave it, as the products in the links are actually related to the conversation, and are not just what one would find in their own supermarket for $3.99

Of course, I don't know that any of us would need 1,000 pounds of anything.

All I am going to say is Hero90 had better post a normal post quickly, or we may change our minds on this.