Tis’ the season.
No – not for garland and trees. For waxing.
Waxing is one of the few indulgences that I hope to keep upon the arrival of our first-born. It saves me from shaving {something I loathe} and is a real time-saver.
But lots of women don’t even know where to begin. Let me help you.
First and foremost, as with most things, I’m a huge proponent of letting professionals take care of this job. It may not seem like it, but there’s a science to waxing, and attempting this on your own is not something you should consider, especially if this is your first time under the stick {you get that joke, right?}
Start with the basics: ask around to find the best and cleanest salon in your area. Get recommendations from friends and family. Don’t just open up {or google} the yellow pages and wing it.
Second: Make sure you don’t get a “newbie” aesthetician. As I said before, it’s important to make your first experience a positive one, and it’s not likely to happen if you get an amateur wax-er.
Third: Stick with one person. Depending on what you’re getting waxed, it’s nice to just have to expose yourself to one person every time you go rather than many different people. Think of it this way, would you want to switch gynecologists every visit?
Now what?
It really depends on what you’re going in for. Take this into consideration:
For legs: It’s important that you let the hair on your legs grow to about a 1/4 inch. If it’s any shorter, it may not all get pulled out, and then you’ve just wasted your money. The pain level for a leg wax is very minimal. In fact, I wouldn’t even classify it as pain, so much as it is just annoying. There are some sensitive areas – behind the knees and the inner thighs, but those spots will be done before you know it.
For underarms: As with legs, it’s important to let the hair grow to about a 1/4 inch. I’ve found {and my waxing friends agree} that the underarms are terribly sensitive. It’s definitely a quick procedure, but it’s nice to go to a salon that has soothing oils for a post-wax treatment. Ouch!
Bikini/Brazilian: Hold it right there. Don’t stop reading. I know to many, this procedure sounds way more painful than necessary, but I promise you, the results are fantastic. Let’s start with some facts. In this region, I would say to let the hair grow to 1/2 inch. My reasoning for this is simple: if it’s long enough to get it all out in one try, she won’t have to go back a second time.
That being said, there are some great products out there now to ease the pain. Give No Scream Cream a try. It doesn’t stop the pain of waxing, but it takes some of the edge off. If you go frequently enough though, you won’t even need the stuff anymore. The other product, one that I highly recommend that you find a salon that carries, is Hard Wax. Hard wax is not your typical wax. Soft wax is used in most salons – it’s the stuff that they slather on, cover with a cloth strip, and then rip off. It also takes off a layer {or 2} of skin. Hard wax goes on in a thick layer, attaches only to the hair, cools down and gets ripped off using the wax itself as the “cloth strip.” I cannot even begin to tell you what a pain-saver this is. Can you imagine having all the hair ripped out and losing a layer of skin, down there? I shudder at the thought. Surprisingly, a Brazilian wax takes only a half hour, so you’re in and out in a jiff. Totally worth it.
Waxing Maintenance: Now that you’ve had the life ripped out of you, there are some things to know about what you’ve just done to yourself. If you’re prone to in-grown hairs {actually, even if your not} make sure you exfoliate regularly to prevent them. You’ll be glad you did.
Also, and this is the part that I love the most, if you subject yourself to this every 4-8 weeks, not only will your hair start coming in thinner, but the pain will decrease with each visit, because the roots of the hair follicle lose their strong-hold. I am actually able to sit, chat, and laugh as if I’m visiting an old friend, after waxing for 5 years.
Also? There are many places on my legs now that the hair has just given up and won’t grow anymore. Which means that I don’t have to get waxed as frequently.
I know it may seem overwhelming, but it really isn’t, and whatever salon you visit should give you a full run-down of their policies and procedures. Plus, won’t it be grand to be hair-free?
About Jo-Lynne