How to Care for the Upper Lip After Waxing

Waxing to remove facial hair is painful, there's no doubt about it. That's why taking care of your upper lip after the fact is so important. Sure, beauty is pain, but if the end result looks red and irritated, there is no point in going to the trouble of waxing at all.

Things You'll Need

• Cotton balls
• Wax remover
• Aloe or tea tree lotion

Instructions

1. Remove all of the wax from your upper lip. Even if it looks as if you got it all when you removed the waxing strip, take care to be thorough afterward. Apply wax remover, which can be purchased at a beauty-supply store, all over your upper lip with a cotton ball.

2. Apply aloe, tea tree lotion or cooling gel to your upper lip. This will help soothe the skin and reduce redness.

3. Avoid makeup for 24 hours to lower the chance of irritation and infection. Take care to stay away from heat or sun treatments--that means the tanning bed or self-tanning lotions and sprays.

4. Resist temptation. Touch your face as little as possible. You might want to feel how smooth your upper lip is but that just increases the chance that germs will infect the already sensitive area.

Tips & Warnings

• If your upper lip is pink for a few hours after waxing, don't panic--it's normal.

• The first time waxing your upper lip is always the worst. After a few more tries, your skin will be less irritated afterward because it will be used to the process.

• Applying a hair-growth inhibitor to your upper lip after waxing will make the hair grow back slower and thinner.