Bikini Line Tips: What To Do Between Waxes

By Kate Sullivan, Allure magazine

For a number of reasons, okay, namely three-bumps, ingrown hairs, and near-immediate stubble-we tend to prefer waxing the bikini area to shaving it. But sometimes, you're between waxings and you need to turn to a razor for a quick fix. A friend of ours recently did so and is having some unfortunate side effects, namely three-bumps, ingrown hairs, and near-immediate stubble-that look far worse than a few stray hairs. She should have tried these tips:

Deep-condition the hair. Seriously. Slathering on a "conditioner lowers the hair's pH and smooths its cuticle, making it less brittle and apt to break," says Jeannette Graf, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Related: Allure's Head-to-Toe Guide to Hair Removal

Just skim it. "If you tend to get really bad bumps, you need to shave less closely," Alexa Boer Kimball, associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School told Allure.

Keep it clean. While we're firm believers that bikini line maintenance isn't just for porn stars, one of the best tips Allure ever got about shaving the area was from a very famous one. She said that instead of using soap or shaving cream, try an antibiotic ointment like Neosporin, which allows the razor to glide easily and takes care of the bacteria that can cause bumps.

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