I've had my stoma since 2017 and it's been great. However, the one issue I still encounter is I'm quite hairy. This means I'm having to shave around the stoma every 4-5 days, and this can often lead to the hair follicles becoming inflamed/infected.
How do other people deal with this issue? Has anyone gone for hair removal treatments?
I just use a women's electric bikini shaver each time I change my stuff. It gets it really close but not so close that I get any issues.
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That's why I stopped shaving. Too many problems from ingrown hairs. Most of us get the same problem after a number of years shaving around the stoma.
My stoma nurse said the best thing for hair removal would be threading, but no one would ever go near a stoma to do it. So the next best thing was hair removal cream. I used that for a while; it did a great job. My skin was so smooth, but I found it too time-consuming to be bothered with (if you do go down the hair removal cream route, try it on the opposite side of your stomach a few days before to make sure you have no allergies to it).
Now I just pop a few hairs out with tweezers every bag change. I find it very therapeutic, and the hairs are slower growing back.
I've seen lots of people ask over the years about laser hair removal but never seen anyone say they've had it done. I would advise asking your stoma nurse about that, as if it was safe to be done, I would only trust a highly trained and skilled surgeon to go anywhere near my stoma. I very much doubt any reputable beauty salons would go anywhere near a stoma; they would need very expensive specialist insurance in case anything went wrong.
Having an ileostomy finally makes me happy about the unhairy Scandinavian half of me. I had to shave for the first few months, but over time, all those follicles have been torn asunder. 😎
I use an electric trimmer, then small precision scissors to cut hairs that are very close to my stoma. This system works well for me.
A disposable razor, and if they're right at the edge of the stoma, tweezers, but I'm not a gorilla 🦍
G-Day Ostomates, anyone getting ready for a stoma, before the operation go get a real hair removal job done by a professional. You will thank me after. Do it before the operation. Regards, IGGIE
I use a small electric trimmer. It seems to do the job okay, but I am not all that hairy, so I don't have much to trim.
Good luck!
I stopped shaving with blades about 2 years ago with my surgeon's encouragement. Like some of the other good folks here, I use an electric trimmer. It's a cheapie, about 10 dollars in the USA. No more ingrown hairs and the problems they cause. No more nicks, cuts, and fear of bleeding to death. It's certainly worth a try.
Respectfully,
Mike
