When we talk about hair removal options at home, depilatory creams are the ones that come up quite often.
Aside from shaving and waxing, many people who routinely do their own hair removal are familiar with the use of the hair removal cream.
Commonly, people who have low pain tolerance choose to use depilatory creams to get rid of their body hair. If you’re still unfamiliar with how the creams work, let’s dig deeper below!
What are Depilatory Creams?
Depilatory creams or more commonly known as hair removal cream have thick textures that have the properties to weaken hair strands. In order for the cream to work effectively, it needs to stay on your skin for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Basically, depilatory creams contain thioglycolic acids as an active ingredient. It’s mixed with other ingredients to effectively break down keratin, a natural protein that can be found in hair.
So, are depilatory creams safe to use? Generally, the cream can be used safely on a certain area, especially sensitive areas like the face and bikini area.
However, it’s worth noting that the cream only removes the surface portion of the hair. So, it’s possible that the hair can grow back in a few days.
How Do Depilatory Creams Work?
We’ve mentioned keratin in the previous part. The deal about keratin here is that it’s the target of the depilatory cream.
The hair removal cream works by breaking down the keratin, which is practically the protein structure of the hair.
As a result, the hair strands will dissolve, and then you can wipe them away. So, you don’t get to get rid of the follicles here.
If you want to avoid the risks of shaving, you can try to apply hair removal creams that help your skin stay hair-free for a short time.
If you’re starting to feel like depilatory creams aren’t the safest option for you, we can help you remove hair safely. Check out our service list now!
Side Effects of Depilatory Creams
Aside from the practicality and the pain-free factor, the use of hair removal cream can leave a couple of side effects, such as:
1. Chemical Burns
Not every skin type gratefully welcomes the presence of hair removal cream. If your skin burns after applying the cream, you should take the cream off right away.
Make sure to rinse the skin that gets affected with running cold water. Treat the burned skin with aloe vera gel to help it heal faster.
2. Skin Burns
When the depilatory cream is applied to sensitive areas, like groins, you may feel intense pain that can potentially leave you with skin burns.
So, if you want to try removing hair from those sensitive areas, make sure to think twice before experiencing the unpleasant side effect.
3. Smell
During the process, a side effect of depilatory cream is a rotten smell coming from the area where you applied the cream. Where exactly does the odor come from?
Well, you guessed it. The signature rotten egg smell comes from the chemical reaction between the cream and the hair strands.
Read also: Red-Light Therapy Essentials: The Path to Radiant Skin
How to Use a Depilatory Cream Safely
To prevent all the risks that come from using the depilatory cream, it’s important to make sure of several important things, such as:
1. Conducting a Patch Test
Before fully applying the cream, try a patch test first. Test it on a small patch of your skin and see if you feel any burning sensation that comes after 5 minutes at most.
If you feel your skin burning, you should get rid of the depilatory cream immediately and rinse the skin off with cold water.
2. Pick the Cream that Suits Your Skin
You can try another depilatory cream if the previous one doesn’t suit you. The right one that works best won’t make your skin feel anything.
3. Leave the Cream On Accordingly
Try to leave the hair removal cream on according to the instructions. If it says 5 to 10 minutes, then you should leave it on for 10 minutes at most.
4. Rinse the Cream Thoroughly
Once you reach the maximum time, you can clean the hair removal cream off and rinse it off with cold water. Your skin will probably feel a little bit sensitive for a few hours after.
5. Exfoliate and Moisturize
To minimize the risk of ingrown hairs, you can exfoliate and moisturize the skin after it is properly rinsed with water.
Use a gentle exfoliate to remove the remaining dead skin cells that may get in the way of the new hair. Additionally, apply a moisturizer that fits your skin best to help your skin stay smooth.
So, that’s a bit of an insight about depilatory creams that you need to know. They’re commonly painless and quite practical to use at home.
Even so, the side effects that come with the use of such a depilatory creams may become a worry for some people who have sensitive skin.
If you have sensitive skin, you can try a safer and gentler hair removal option that doesn’t use chemical cream, like Super Hair Removal (SHR) at Clean & Tidy.
SHR uses advanced laser technology to get rid of hair follicles effortlessly through rapid pulses of low-energy light.
It’s a gentler method compared to IPL, so you won’t feel intense burning sensations during and after the process.
SHR is a treatment that fits every skin type and skin tone. So, if you have sensitive skin, this may be your ticket to getting smooth skin without the risk of skin irritations.
Don’t hesitate to contact us and book an appointment at our outlets in Bugis or Jurong to experience a comfortable and pain-free hair removal treatment.
Read also: Fraxel Laser: An Effective Procedure to Rejuvenate Skin
