Safe Hair Removal During Pregnancy

Pregnancy hormones make hair grow in thicker — sometimes in unexpected and unwanted places. While you should avoid some hair removal methods during pregnancy, there are a number of ways to safely get hair-free.

You’re admiring your fresh-faced pregnancy glow and newly luxurious locks in the mirror when you notice something not quite as attractive: thick upper lip hair. Yep, while your favorite pregnancy hormones and increased blood flow throughout your body may likely lead to gorgeouschanges to your skin, nails and hair, unfortunately these factors also bring on hair growth in unexpected and unwanted places (like your armpits, bikini line, upper lip and belly). Luckily, the extra fuzz is temporary — your hair should return to normal about six months after you give birth. Until then, here’s everything you need to know about safe hair removal while you’re expecting.

TWEEZING AND THREADING

For small hair removal jobs — like shaping up caterpillar eyebrows, removing pesky chin hairs, cleaning up stray mustache hairs and zapping the occasional nipple hair (don’t be embarrassed, it’s all totally normal!) — tweezing and threading are probably your best options. While you can conveniently tweeze at home, threading (an ancient technique where a loop of thread is rotated across the skin to pluck hair) is best done by a pro. Because neither require any chemicals or medical procedures, both are completely safe during pregnancy.

SHAVING

To remove unwanted hair on larger areas, shave as needed (and you’ll probably need to quite a bit more often than usual!). Don’t feel bad if you borrow a habit from your hubby and start shaving facial hair as well: Sideburns, upper lip hair and chin stubble are easy to take care of daily with a razor (and don’t worry that shaving it off will make the hair coarser — it’s just a hair-removal myth). Both manual razors and electric shavers are safe to use, but always be sure to use a new blade so you’ll be less likely to draw blood. And don’t share a razor with your partner, which could open you up to infections.

When you’re shaving your legs, do so with care (and a lot of nick-protecting shaving gel), since your balance is more likely to be a bit off (plus you’ll be less and less likely to see beyond your growing belly). One definite no-no: Shaving in the shower, where it’s way too easy to lose your balance — and where a slip-up could be serious. If possible, enlist a willing husband or friend to shave you in the bath, or sit on the edge of your bed with an electric razor.

WAXING AND SUGARING

Waxing and sugaring — where a heated sugar mixture is spread on the skin and then lifted off to remove hair — both provide a longer-term solution to your hair woes and are fine if pregnancy hasn’t made your skin too sensitive. As always, these products should never be used over varicose veins, moles or warts; on the nose, ears or nipples; or on irritated, chapped or sunburned skin. Check with your doctor before waxing, too, to find out if there is a specific reason that waxing is not recommended for you during pregnancy.

As your belly grows you have a harder time seeing — and reaching — your lady parts, a professional salon wax or sugar is usually the best hair removal option during pregnancy. Make sure the salon you choose is clean; the technician should wear gloves and use a new spatula between applications to prevent sharing germs and infections between clients. Before she goes to town on the front of your bikini line or forearm, ask your esthetician to test wax on a small area of your skin to see if it reacts differently to waxing during pregnancy. And use a soothing antiseptic lotion pre- and post-waxing to decrease irritation, lessen any redness and help prevent infection. (Though sugar may seem more natural than wax, it can also cause the same skin irritations and infections — so proceed with the same precautions as waxing.)

DEPILATORIES

Although hair removal creams, gels, lotions, aerosols and roll-ons may seem like an easy option, the science is still out on whether they’re safe during pregnancy. These products contain the active ingredients barium sulfide powder and calcium thioglycolate, which affect the protein structure of the hair, causing it to dissolve into a jellylike mass that can be wiped away from the skin. The chemicals have a distinct odor, which is at least very unpleasant and in rare cases has been known to cause an allergic reaction. So while there’s no evidence proving depilatory creams are harmful to developing babies, it’s probably best to skip them until after you give birth. If you feel you must use them, get the OK from your doctor first and make sure to apply in a well-ventilated area after testing the product on a small patch of skin first.

BLEACHING

While you may have already masked unwanted hair growth with bleach in the past, since it’s applied directly to your skin there’s a chance you absorb some of the chemicals and possibly pass them on to your unborn child. And since no reliable studies have been done to determine for sure whether bleach is safe or not during pregnancy, it’s safest to skip this option until your bundle of joy arrives.

LASER HAIR REMOVAL AND ELECTROLYSIS

Permanent hair removal solutions like laser and electrolysis are at best unnecessary and at worst dangerous during pregnancy. With laser hair removal, laser light targets the pigment in hair, damaging the hair follicle to stop future growth. With electrolysis, a metal probe is inserted into the shaft where a hair grows, passing an electric current through your skin to destroy the follicle (especially risky for expecting moms, since the amniotic fluid surrounding a developing fetus conducts electricity).

Bottom line: since no reliable studies have been done to determine if either laser hair removal or electrolysis are safe for pregnant women — and because your extra unwanted hair should disappear about six months after delivering! — it’s best to wait on these methods until after giving birth.