While taking isotretinoin you should avoid all elective surgical procedures. Also, you should avoid laser treatment, chemical peels, tattoos, piercings and even waxing your eyebrows (plucking is usually OK).
Tweezing or waxing your eyebrows can lead to ingrown hairs. This happens when partially removed hairs grow back into the skin. This can cause pimples if the hair follicle is blocked.
WARNING: Waxing is never done on clients taking Accutane and is not recommended for clients taking Retin A, Renova, Differin or other types of skin thinning acne medications.
Even if done by a well-trained aesthetician, tweezing usually takes longer and tends to be more expensive than waxing. The main risk with plucking is overdoing it. Eyebrow hairs don't always grow back, so it's crucial not to over-pluck or you may risk damaging or losing eyebrow follicles for good.
Avoid chemical treatments
Consider refraining from bleaching, dyeing, or using other chemical treatments on your hair if you're taking isotretinoin.
We've written about at-home dermaplaning on the blog before, which is one good option once your skin has fully adjusted to tretinoin. Just be sure it's done by a professional. You can also try threading, tweezing, or even laser hair removal.
Individuals do react differently to these medications and sometimes waxing can be done if proper patch testing is completed. Accutane (Acne medication) – You must be off this medication treatment course a minimum of one (1) year prior to waxing.
Plucking multiple hairs close together may actually promote hair growth. A study done on mice at the University of Southern California found that tweezing hairs that grow closely together in a small, densely packed location may actually promote new hair growth.
It might seem harmless, but when you pluck your eyebrows you leave your pores open to bacteria. If your tweezers aren't clean, you could end up with an unsightly and painful infection - so give them a quick wipe with a cotton pad soaked in antiseptic liquid to cut the risks.
You're not plucking above the brow
Rule: Don't forget to pluck above the brows. Our pro-tip: To remove the thin hairs above the eyebrows more easily, we recommend using tweezers with a straight tip. The straightBROWLY Pro tweezers are ideal for removing hairs quickly and extensively.
It is not recommended to have any areas sugared or waxed when on Accutane, as the drug shuts off all of your oil glands. This can cause SEVERE lifting of the skin that could damage and scar the skin.
I stuck with the basics: Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser and Daily Facial Moisturizer, as recommended by my dermatologist. I was also advised to stay away from any heavy exfoliation or products that were not made for sensitive skin.
Your doctor will also ask about your regular skincare routine. If you use Accutane, shave or wax hair off your face, or use exfoliating products, your doctor may ask you to stop using these methods before your treatment to ensure best results.
When you are plucking, pulling and mistreating your eyebrows, you are actually damaging the follicle environment and resident stem cells, and causing local inflammation, thereby reducing the capacity of the follicles to cycle, which can lead to poorly growing follicles, premature hair fall, weak hairs or follicle death ...
Once a hair has been removed from the root, a new one starts to grow in its place. While it does take time for the new hairs to be visible above the surface of the skin – the growth cycle of eyebrow hairs can take anywhere between four to six weeks – you can rest assured that they are indeed growing back.
For a healthy adult, a tweezed eyebrow hair will grow back in an average of 64 days. On the other hand, if you've been tweezing the same area for a long time, it may be too late. Eyebrow hair follicles are very sensitive to injury, and repeated plucking can permanently damage the hair root.
“While there may be some degree of inflammation in the hair follicle from tweezing, generally tweezing is not considered a form of permanent hair removal and a new hair will be produced,” he says.
Pros: Tweezing is useful for shaping eyebrows and removing stray hairs on the face and body. Cons: Besides being a slow and painful option, tweezing can break the hair instead of pulling it out, which can cause thicker regrowth. Also, there's a risk of infection if the tweezers are not properly sterilized.
Plucking or epilation removes the hair from its root beneath the surface of the skin. Plucking your pubic hair can be painful and takes a long time. Plucking can cause redness, swelling, itching, irritation, and damage to the skin.
A. YES! If you are on Accutane (for acne) or any sort of blood thinner you cannot be waxed until 6-12 months after you've stopped the medication.
It takes 5.5 x elimination half-life of a medicine before it is eliminated from your system. Accutane (isotretinoin) has an elimination half-life of 21 hours, therefore it will take 5.5 x 21 hours = 115.5 hours (approximately 4.8 days) before it will be cleared from your system. Side effects may last longer.
NEVER WAX WHEN
You currently take Accutane or have stopped taking it for less than a year. You're taking any prescription acne medication.