At a loss - post-wax leg nightmare!

[louisgirl]

Hi all. I decided to post here because I am just going out of my mind over the state of my legs and I was so hoping someone could clear me up. I've looked around on the internet for about 5 months now with no success.

For some background information:

• I'm 21
• Up until late last year I've only ever shaved my legs, with a very brief career in epilation.
• I have pale skin and dark hair, so when I shave my legs my skin looks like it has lots of dark brown and red spots all over it where the hair roots are still visible beneath the surface. I was hoping waxing would solve this problem for me, but it has only given me a new set of problems which I'll go into below these bullet points
• I have dermatillomania, a body focused repetitive disorder (BFRD) and a form of OCD which involves picking at imperfections on my skin. I have scars on my upper arms, face and chest from this. I am hoping to avoid leg scars, hence my post.
• I also have BDD, body dysmorphic disorder, which causes me to be hyper aware of myself, my body and my flaws to the extent that my view of myself is distorted.
• I only mention these things because I just want to explain why this seems so urgent to me even if it's just a small matter. My self confidence and my social/sex life have plummeted since this problem began.
• I can't afford IPL/laser removal, though I would probably get it done if I could afford it.
• I have been home waxing. I've never had a professional wax done as I've either not had the funds to do it when they have had appointments or I've needed smooth legs for an event a couple of days afterwards and there were no appointments available. Ideally I'd have professional waxes.

The problem:

As I said, I was hoping that ripping my hair out at the roots would solve my insecurity about my legs. It seemed to work for a few days, but then I noticed that little tiny black dots had appeared in the pores, like tiny grains of sand. They are thicker and more black than my already pretty dark leg hair. They don't grow with my leg hair, just stay as little pinpricks in the pores. Being the skin picker that I am, I've attempted to remove them using tweezers, and I've been successful though I'm nowhere near able to extract them from every single pore -

Pic attached - I apologise about the state of my legs. I've not shaved since I wanted to see the difference between my actual leg hair and the black pores. You can sort of see the difference between the two "types" of pores.

If I use tweezers and push down on the top of the pore (hairs usually grow in clusters of two or three hairs per pore, so usually there are two or three black dots close together, if you know what I mean), then push the tweezers down in the direction that they are "growing", they usually just pop out. They are soft, black and thick. Part of me thinks that they are actually hairs, the hair roots left behind/dislodged from my last wax, because some of them, when "pushed", stay stuck and reveal more of it beneath the skin, like a regular hair, but if they are hairs why aren't they growing, and why is it so easy for them to be pushed out? Another possible reason may be that they are blocked/clogged pores because some of them smudge kind of like dirt (though they are NOT blackheads, I'm sure of it).

Exfoliation and rubbing hard with a mitt doesn't get rid of them. Swiping with a toner containing salicylic acid doesn't work, either.

Can anyone help me? Has anyone had this before? What are they? How can I get rid of them, and how can I prevent them from appearing again?

Thanks so much.

 

[nailpod]

Hi dear I am sorry you having such a rough time honey.
Just remember that you are perfect and beautiful the way God made you. So I hope you clear that nasty notion out of your head because it will only destroy you.
You must repeat daily "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" . Sounds dumb but it helps people who have similar disorders with self image.

Anyhow :
Most people will reply that they can't help due to you doing the wax yourself as opposed to having a pro doing it. Which is true as a therapist knows how to pull and what waxes to use to suit your skin. Not all waxes or products suit everyone.

Cheaper alt is to make sugar yourself if you Google it there many YouTube videos. However it's quite tricky to do correctly hence why it's better to go to a pro.
If you have a pal who you can "trade with" or offer baby sitting services one night in exchange for leg wax for example. I know I would (if I know them well I mean).

Now onto to more detailed info:

Hair has cycles of growth:
Anagen, catagen, telagen
Easiest way to explain is some hair folicules don't release the hair from the root so it grows along side the new bulb which sometimes appears as 2 hairs or so from each root.
In order to Dec ur hair grown you need to get the hair at the correct stage.
As a non pro you won't be able to tell but on average 3 weeks is usual.

To wax hair must be 1 cm for home stops etc. If Shorter etc and if you break the hair instead of taking the root out you find it can get or appear to grow out quickly.

The black dots are just the next hair coming out, new shaft can be soft and not hard as you described.
Tweezig will take you about a week to do your leg ... drive you crazy , don't do it!


Essentially you must exfoliate your legs, and moisturise ! Very important !!!

 

[louisgirl]

Thank you so much for telling me what they are! At least I know now that they aren't clogged pores, I've been feeling so dirty and unhygienic since they appeared.

So if they're hairs, what stage of growth are they in now, and will they stop being soft and turn into "normal" leg hairs in the future?

Will I just have to deal with them being there until they get long enough to wax, or can exfoliation with a brush get them out?

Will this stop being a problem if I continue to wax regularly and get all the hair on the same cycle?

Thank you so much, you've got no idea how much this has been bothering me!!

 

[nailpod]

You should wait till they grow out long enough to wax. I do have one client who is a bit similar to you with regards to OCD on there being mixed hair lengths. and so I wax her legs every second week. But then that is because they grow very fast and is long enough. If you try wax and break the hair you might as well just shave.

I would suggest to try saving up for a pro to do your wax or atleast once.
The salons usually do have a variety of home care products you can purchase for the prevention of ingrown hairs . With daily exfoliation you rid of the skin which can close the folicule and then the hair grows up and out like a little ball which is what is possibly annoying you. When the hair comes into contact with air it should start to harden, much like nails. As they made with keratin.

You are not unhygienic or dirty. Essentially with waxing the aim is to weaken the hair folicule but removing the hair at the stage where it is new hair, this will make the folicule weaken and eventually this decreases the amount of hairs

Hair growth is determined by genetics and hormones so not everyone is the same with regards to waxing frequency etc so I can't answer your one question.