Am I supposed to just avoid the beach in between waxes? That doesn't seem right.

July 7, 2009 9:25 AM

It takes weeks for bikini line hair to grow long enough to wax, so what do you do if you frequently are going to the beach or pool during the summer? What do you do between waxes? Also, how do you manage unsightly bumps?

I refuse to go to the beach with a hairy bikini line. But I am also just as self conscious if I shave and bumps and ingrown hairs appear.

I see many women on the beach who appear to not deal with this problem. How? I truly wonder.

My family has a beach house, and I love the beach, and I want to go as often as possible during the summer.

If I wax, in about 1.5 weeks, the hair is beginning to grow back. But it will take another two weeks for the hair to be long enough to successfully wax. So what, do I just not go back to the beach for that time?

If I shave, that delays the ability to wax. It is a quick fix, but often results in unsightly bumps and razor irritation. Plus, it makes the hair very course and who wants stubble? I don't want my inner thighs to double as sandpaper.

I welcome any and all knowledge on this subject.

It takes weeks for bikini line hair to grow long enough to wax, so what do you do if you frequently are going to the beach or pool during the summer? What do you do between waxes? Also, how do you manage unsightly bumps?

posted by metamush to clothing, beauty, & fashion (22 answers total)

If I'm letting hair grow out I just put some boxers on top of my swim suit. You can go to the beach with a hairy bikini line without showing your hairy bikini line. If I want to get rid of hair and it's too soon to wax or I'm feeling too cheap to wax, I use Neet.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:30 AM on July 7, 2009

Yep, it's much easier to change your beach attire than wade through hair-removal dilemmas, unfortunately. But then, there's some really cute beach attire available.

Try creams, but remember to exfoliate no matter what you do. Then if you get really fed up, there's always (several) laser treatments - but you might want to hold off on those until a colder part of the year, when you could avoid waxing in between sessions.

(As for those who seem to be happily hairless for long periods of time, I'm going to blame luck and genes.)
posted by Bakuun at 9:37 AM on July 7, 2009

I've never tried this on the bikini line, but I have used bleach (like Jolen or Sally Hansen) to lighten regrowth on my upper lip while I waited for it to get long enough to wax.
posted by yawper at 9:39 AM on July 7, 2009

I wrote a long, rambly post about how much the Seiko Cleancut (link is SFW but URL might look weird) is better than waxing here on MetaChat.

I'm not going to go all into it all over again but

-Waxing is stupid; a few days of smoothness, then a month while you wait for it to grow out enough. You can use the Seiko every single day as part of your shower routine, it takes less than a minute.

-Waxing is painful. It is pretty much impossible to hurt yourself with the Cleancut, and there's no razor burn, unlike blade shaving.

-Waxing is expensive. The Cleancut costs $50, and mine has lasted me 5-6 years.

If you do research in the best ways to keep, uh, that area, groomed, you'll see the Seiko Cleancut brought up again and again. There's a reason why it's so popular.
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:40 AM on July 7, 2009 [38 favorites]

I refuse to go to the beach with a hairy bikini line...
I welcome any and all knowledge on this subject.

Rethink the refusal. Really, life is too short, and beaches too nice, to worry excessively about this sort of thing. Very few people look, very few people care. Fuzz is liberating -- try it.
posted by kmennie at 9:42 AM on July 7, 2009 [6 favorites]

Juliet Banana - eh, I've used the Cleancut product multiple times and it doesn't get close enough, for my liking. I certainly can't be convinced that it provides a smoother result than waxing.

metamush - I have a bikini with a bottom cut in boy-short style, to address the problem in your question.

Unsightly bumps I handle with a three-pronged attack:

- Avoid them, by never using a razor on sensitive areas
- Prevent them, with Tend-Skin applied daily, beginning on the day after the day after a wax
- Treat them when they do appear, with hydrogen peroxide on a cotton swab applied just to the bump before bed (it dries up those blocking epidermal cells, which then exfoliate away in the shower and allow the hair to be tweezed away cleanly).
posted by pineapple at 9:55 AM on July 7, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm a hairy beast of a woman and recently began using the Nair cream that you put on right before you get in the shower. I was really surprised at how well it works. It may give you a few extra days of smoothness. I also agree with those who say wear shorts in the meantime.

I'm also going to look into electrolysis. It truly does seem like no one else worries as much about their body hair. Either way I'm sick of it. Let me know if you find the magic solution.
posted by mokeydraws at 10:01 AM on July 7, 2009

This doesn't really solve your problem immediately, but you might think long-term about laser hair removal. I had all the same bikini line issues that you do, and it drove me crazy to the point where I just decided to throw down the money for the laser. I've only had 3 treatments (they say 6 or so does the trick), and my hair is like 75% gone. It is AMAZING. No more ingrowns or bumps, either.

The way I figured, it was a more effective way to achieve the results I wanted, and if I were to pay for waxes for the next 10-15 years, the cost might even out.
posted by GarotaDaCidade at 10:22 AM on July 7, 2009

laser or board shorts. One works wonders (although is expensive) the other neatly sidesteps the problem :-)
posted by pinky at 10:33 AM on July 7, 2009

I have it on good authority that Oxy-10 Face Wash (the stuff with benzoyl peroxide) used immediately after shaving reduces or eliminates the bumps.
posted by caddis at 10:34 AM on July 7, 2009

For bikini line hairs visible on my "front" outside of a bathingsuit bottom, I just pluck them with tweezers. If you keep this up (maybe do it for like 5 mins every other day) its pretty easy to maintain and stays smooth.
posted by WeekendJen at 10:36 AM on July 7, 2009

I use an exfoliating OTC acne wash (I think anything with salicylic acid would work) in the days after I shave to prevent bumps. Of course, I keep it external. It works better than any of those Bikini Zone products ever did for me.
posted by emilyd22222 at 10:39 AM on July 7, 2009

WeekendJen has it—tweezers. If you keep it up regularly it shouldn't take too long. YMMV if you are really hairy.
posted by Bunglegirl at 11:12 AM on July 7, 2009

My laser opinion - It is not permanent, they will all tell you that the hair may grow back. Plus, it hurts like a motherfucker. I had one laser session on my bikini area and the pain was too much. I had two sessions on my armpits and didn't notice a difference. Btw, I know you are supposed to have at least 6 sessions. It hurt a lot. More than waxing. I did get a kick out of the way the hair could just be pulled out.
posted by mokeydraws at 11:29 AM on July 7, 2009

I did laser--three sessions; it didn't hurt. And waxing REALLY hurts me. For touch-ups now, I use a beard trimmer with the guard off, maybe once every couple of weeks. It's really made a difference in my beach-going life--I never think about bikini-line issues anymore. Oh and I have a bikini with boy shorts for back-up, if I forget or don't have time to zoom over the area with the beard trimmer.
posted by pipti at 11:44 AM on July 7, 2009

If your hair and skin combination is appropriate, laser treatments will be the solution here. The brief pain is totally worth it if it works!
posted by barnone at 1:49 PM on July 7, 2009

Try an epilator. I used one about 20 years ago and thought it was torture, but they've changed a lot. The Emjoi line comes highly recommended, and if you wax, you won't really notice much pain. I waxed for about 10 years, and I would never go back now. With the epilator, you don't have to wait for the hairs to grow out. If it's long enough for you to notice, it's long enough for the epilator to work. I find it way more convenient than making appointments for waxing or waxing at home, and it's a lot cheaper than waxing or laser treatments.
posted by CuriousGeorge at 2:12 PM on July 7, 2009 [1 favorite]

If possible, live near the Mediterranean, where hairiness is very acceptable. (But the water is very salty.) Otherwise, the cute boy shorts seem the way to go.
posted by mmw at 3:16 PM on July 7, 2009

Nthing tweezers. Not painful, effective, and can be done when the hairs are still quite short. (I actually tweeze exclusively, rather than waxing. It's time-consuming, but doesn't hurt or cost money.)

Regarding bumps, both my husband and I have been pleased with the results we get from Skin Tight anti-razor bump liquid. It's also good on the underarms, and as a side benefit reduces odor as well.
posted by Lexica at 6:23 PM on July 7, 2009

When I'm in between waxes I still wear my regular bathing suits- as long as the area is not rashy or bumpy (and all of the above mentioned products work really well-I've found that over the counter zit creme w/ benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid works very well) really the only person who can really tell, in my case, that there's stubble... is me. Maybe relax your standards a little?
posted by hellboundforcheddar at 8:46 PM on July 7, 2009

My partner recommends laser if you can afford it, and an epilator (or tweezers if you are less hairy) if you are on a budget or want a non-permanent solution. As long as you pluck frequently (rather than waiting for full-on regrowth) the pain is minimal and it takes only a few moments.
posted by Forktine at 4:59 AM on July 8, 2009

i have an epilator and i kind of love it -- and after the first couple of times it doesn't hurt a lick -- the one i have is made by bliss/philips -- and it also comes with other attachments, in case you opt to simply groom, etc. :)
posted by unlucky.lisp at 11:15 AM on July 8, 2009