Believe it or not, there was a time when underarm hair on women was fashionable. Today, most women remove their underarm hair by usually shaving it. However, when it grows back, it comes back prickly so you have to shave every day. Shaving also tends to make the underarms look darker. Although quite painful, using an epilator to remove armpit hair will eliminate the dark shadow under your arms that you get from shaving.
Like waxing, epilators remove hair at the root. Epilating is less messy than waxing and can be done at home at any time. Epilators are not for people who have a low tolerance. Especially for the armpits, it does hurt like crazy at first, but the results can be worth it. Follow these tips and your underarms will look whiter and cleaner.
Before You Begin:
We recommend an epilator for the underarms. A cordless epilator is easier to use since you are not tied to an electrical outlet. Choose an epilator with multiple speeds. It’s possible to use a regular good quality epilator. Some regular epilators come with a special cap that covers the epilator head exposing fewer tweezers. Most regular epilators designed for body are a bit bulky for the armpits even if they come with specially designed caps.
Shave 1 – 3 days before. Epilating shorter hair hurts way less.
Exfoliate the skin under your arms the day before with a loofah or a scrub. This helps loosen dead skin cells, deodorant, and prevent ingrown hair
Get a drying powder like Shower to Shower.
Get a lotion with aloe vera. It’s also helpful to get witch hazel and a cortisone cream to reduce redness.
Have a small washcloth.
Steps On Epilating Underarm Hair
Make sure your epilator is charged.
Hop in the shower.
A warm shower helps open pores, so the hair will be easier to remove.
Completely dry your underarms.
Slather on your drying powder under your arms over a sink. Rub the powder on your armpits until all the moisture is gone and brush off the excess. The drier the hair, the easier it is for the epilator to grasp each hair.
Keep the skin taut by placing your arm up and over your head.
Try to go as far back as you can to pull skin tight. Use your free hand to pull skin tight when you are epilating. Always make sure your skin taut by looking in the bathroom mirror.
Switch on the epilator on the lowest setting.
Use light quick stokes to get used to the pain.
Hold the epilator at a 45 degree angle so that only half of the epilator comes in contact with the skin. You will pull out just a little bit of hair. The idea is to allow the body to get used to the pain.
Place the epilator at a 90 degree angle and glide the epilator.
Do not push down or skin might get caught. Move the epilator slowly.
You have to make several passes before all the hair is removed.
Hair under the arms grows in different directions. Move the epilator upwards and downwards. Then move the epilator side to side.
Follow the same process for the other underarm.
You will have two plucked bright red underarms that might feel tender.
Dampen your washcloth and gently remove loose hair from your underarms.
After epilating, apply the lotion with aloe vera and cortisone to avoid irritation. Be sure the skin is not abraded or bleeding before applying any cream.
These epilator tips can be applied to remove unwanted hair anywhere on the body.
Hi, I already epilated my legs a day ago and I still have red dots. I did my arms today, and I’m scared the dots wont leave? Any suggestions to what I could do? I have a leaf of an aloe plant..?
Hi Simran, sorry to hear that. It is hard to say what has happened. Hopefully, the red dots will clear up soon. It should not be permanent. You may have developed an adverse reaction. Hold off on epilating any other areas. Aloe Vera can help. It should clear up in a few days but sometimes it can take a few weeks. While this is not medical advice, here are a couple of things to try. Ice the area. Apply antibiotic cream like Neosporin. Even hydrocortisone can help if there is an inflammation. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing. If things don’t improve shortly, you might want to see a doctor.
Lavender oil will calm the irritation too.
It’s been 2 weeks since I am epilating my underarms.for 6-7 years I have been shaving them. it is way better than shaving. while you shave, you are cutting only the surface of hair. I am using Braun Silk-Epil 1. but I think there are better ones out there. first time it hurt really bad. there was blood on the roots of the hair. after epilation my underarms were red I couldn’t even move my arms for 1-2 hours. 😀 next time there was not so much pain. I could do it easily. even after my first epilating, I could see the color of my underarms became lighter. today I epilated and I felt a little bit pain and redness. before epilating I wash my underarms with hot water. then dry them completely. I pull my skin during the process. and after finishing I put ice on my underarms.
I brought my epilator over a year ago and at first anyone mu get intimidated by the roaring sounds it makes when you first turn it on.But I used it a couple of times,then through it back in the drawer..After no good results from shaving,I’m back epilating…
Hi, Mimi. Thanks, for the comment sweetheart. The sound the epilator makes is super scary especially when you see it spinning so fast. At first, I would put it on an area with no hair just to work out all the nerves. Hopefully, the epilator works better for you this time around.
Hi, i have epilated my underarms over 1 year now.
I found out that i get ingrown hairs and my underarms got darker than normal.
Do you have any suggestions what should i do?
Works well on male pubes too
I have the BRAUN Silk épil soft perfection. I’ve only used it on my legs but I’d like to start using it on my bikini area and underarms. It didn’t come with any extra heads though and I was wondering if they were essential or ignored I could do it without them?
Should the epilator be in touch with the skin while epilating underarms or a slight above the skin?
Because the first time when i epilated due to friction my skin there got a little eroded and it is very painful.