You might think precision is the most important consideration when tweezing away stray hairs. However, if you overlook caring for your skin before and after a plucking session, you risk problems worse than overgrown eyebrows.

We’ll teach you a tweezing routine featuring Tweezerman and medical-grade skincare products from Advanced Skin Therapeutics.

Preparing Your Skin for Tweezing

  1. Always start with a clean slate. Tweezing dirty or oily skin can push bacteria into the open pores, which has the potential to cause breakouts or infections. Use a gentle cleanser– like CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser or CLn Facial Cleanser to wash away impurities.
  2. Next is exfoliating, sloughing away dead skin cells that can block follicles and cause ingrown hairs. We love Revision Skincare’s Brightening Facial Wash and Papaya Enzyme Cleanser because they combine cleansing and exfoliating into one easy step.
  3. Use a warm compress just before tweezing to open your pores and soften the hairs. This step is particularly necessary if you tend to experience irritation after tweezing, as it makes the process less painful while reducing the likelihood of hair breakage or skin trauma.

Mastering Your Tweezing Techniques

Once your skin is prepped, you need to have the right tools and techniques to avoid discomfort and achieve professional-looking results.

  1. Invest in high-quality tools like Tweezerman’s Slant Tweezer, which sets the standard for quality and excellence with precise, hand-filed to grab even the finest hairs. We offer a variety of colors to suit every beauty enthusiast, including Stainless Steel, Midnight Sky, Pink, Geranium, and Signature Red, along with additional featured and seasonal patterns available only in the clinic as they change. For your shorter or finer hairs, a Tweezerman Point Tweezer may work best. Prepare for the task with the Tweezerman Brow Shaping Set.
  2. A close-up view with the right lighting ensures you don’t miss even the tiniest hair, so use the Tweezermate 10x Lighted Mirror or the Tweezermate LED 15x  Lighted Mini Mirror to magnify and illuminate your “work site.”
  3. Always tweeze in the direction of hair growth. Tweezing against the grain is more uncomfortable and can break the hairs, causing them to curl under the skin’s surface.
  4. Work slowly in small sections to maintain control over exactly how much hair you’re removing. It’s easy to get carried away and over-pluck.

Caring for Just-Plucked Skin

Tweezed areas are more sensitive and prone to irritation, but a few simple steps can keep your skin calm after hair removal.

  1. Wash your hands with an antibacterial cleanser before you apply soothing and hydrating products and resist the urge to touch or rub freshly tweezed areas. Otherwise, you may inadvertently introduce bacteria directly into the open pores.
  2. Pulling the hairs at the root puts force on the hair follicles, causing redness and minor swelling as the skin reacts to the microinjury. Following up a tweezing session with soothing ingredients like aloe vera and green tea extract helps reduce inflammation and restore your skin’s natural moisture barrier so your skin can recover faster. Meg 21 Redness Relief is formulated with aloe, burdock root, comfrey, allantoin, licorice, and ginger to combat skin inflammation, redness, and irritation while promoting healing. Advanced Skin Therapeutics Green Tea Cream is another option, made with 90% polyphenol isolates, resveratrol, and caffeine to visibly reduce pore size, redness, and puffiness. SkinCeuticals H.A. Intensifier combines hyaluronic acid and extracts of licorice root and purple rice to support the skin’s hyaluronic acid levels to deliver surface hydration, while helping to improve the visible appearance of firmness, smoothness, and facial plumpness. SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel is an oil-free moisturizer that combines vitamin B5 with hyaluronic acid to help bind moisture to the skin while replenishing the skin for a smoother feel and younger appearance.
  3. Follow up with a lightweight, non-comedogenic moisturizing SPF to lock in moisture and protect your vulnerable, freshly tweezed skin from UV damage. Neostrata® Sheer Hydration SPF40 and Elta MD UV Clear are both good choices for all skin types, including oily skin. For aging skin, select from the Revision Skincare Intellishade line  or NeoStrata Matrix Support SPF 3o. Reapplying Elta MD, SkinCeuticals or Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Brush-On Shield SPF 50 or any other sunscreen throughout the day will keep the area protected.

Preventing Ingrown Hairs

If you pulled hair out incorrectly or neglected post-tweezing skin pampering, you might notice ingrown hairs, which crop up when the hair grows back into the skin instead of rising over the surface. They cause small, painful bumps that can cause an infection if left untreated, but you can minimize your risk by caring for your skin in the interim of hair removal.

  1. Ensure your everyday skincare products include anti-inflammatories like salicylic acid, especially if you have sensitive skin. Inflamed skin causes the hair follicles to swell, causing the hairs to grow sideways into the skin. Soothe your brows with Revision Skincare Vitamin K Serum containing Arnica Montana, known reduce redness, swelling and bruising. Arnica Montana can also be found in Revision Skincare Revox Line Relaxer and Clinician Complex Bruise Cream or Post Injection Cream.
  2. Exfoliating a few times a week clears away dead skin cells that can block hair follicles, making the hair less likely to become trapped under the surface. Talk to your dermatologist about clinically tested and approved exfoliation treatments best suited for your skin type. Daily exfoliation with a AHA cleanser like Revision Skincare Brightening Facial Wash that contains glycolic acid for exfoliation and salicylic acid, vitamin c and licorice root for inflammation and brightening. NeoStrata Exfoliating Wash and NeoStrata Foaming Glycolic Wash AHA 20% are great for daily and weekly exfoliating, respectively. Clinician Complex Microdermabrasion is an excellent weekly treatment as well. For a gentler daily wash, NeoStrata PHA Facial Cleanser PHA 4% will still provide some exfoliation without irritating the skin.
  3. Should you notice an ingrown hair, do not pick at it. Instead, gently exfoliate the area and apply a warm compress to soften your skin. Then, carefully lift the hair with sterilized tweezers. If you have trouble removing the hair yourself or notice that the area around the ingrown hair is excessively hot, swollen, or red, contact your dermatologist immediately.

Advanced Skin Therapeutics for All Your Tweezing Needs

With the right combination of techniques and tools, achieving smooth, flawless skin on your brows and beyond can become an easy part of your regular self-care routine. Advanced Skin Therapeutics specializes in medical-grade skincare products that support your skin at every step of the hair removal process, from pre-tweezing cleansing to everyday exfoliants.

Follow the links throughout the article to browse our recommended tweezing products or chat with an expert about their recommendations at our Edina, Waconia, and Shakopee locations.