Post wax upper lip (& more) irritation - tried everything
Please help! I was super anxious Monday evening & randomly decided to pull out years old Ashley Graham waxing strips I’d got for an ex and do my upper lip.
I didn’t cleanse or exfoliate right beforehand not knowing what I was doing. I used the included oily wipes to remove the significant wax residue left behind, but even with washing was hard to get it all off.
Things looked great for almost 24 hours, until there was some redness and itching. I read up on care & continued using my gentle Cetaphil face wash twice a day. Added in Trader Joe’s rosewater toner once a day (which I think is a dupe for Mario Badescu same name).
Applied hydrocortisone before bed.
Worse the next day. Since 48 hours had passed, I used CeraVe salicylic acid exfoliating face wash. Used light Cetaphil lotion mixed with a drop of tea tree oil before bed.
Again, worse the next day, and on side of my nose & chin where I didn’t wax?! Continued washing w/Cetaphil, tried using my glycolic acid toner, & applied hydrocortisone again.
I have an event tomorrow evening, and am feeling extremely self-conscious.
I’ve been reading up as much as I can on how to treat this (and prevent in future) but nothing seems to be calming it down. My next planned step is to wash again with exfoliating wash and then apply aloe from my aloe plant.
Can anyone *please* help me with what I may be missing to get this cleared up, or at least improving? I can provide better pic if needed that shows the worst parts on the left side better/more lighting.
It’s been 4 days and even with keeping clean & hydrated, keeps getting worse.
Thank you so much in advance!