How to: Get a great wax at a salon. Part 1!

After one of the worst waxing experiences I’ve ever had at a salon this weekend, I’ve decided to share some ways in which to minimize the chances of such unfortunate hot wax related pain and suffering happening to others!

The world of salon hair removal can be treacherous, we’re navigating the waxing waters of poorly trained staff, salons trying to cut costs and unhygienic practices…all in the hope that we will find the holy grail of beauty therapists.

And honestly, it’s pretty amazing how hard it is to find a good one in this town.

Many of my friends have never waxed before and go all wide-eyed when I proclaim it as a Godsend, three weeks with no underarm hair, I’ll take that opposed to daily shaving & stubble thank you very much!

So this advice is for them and also anyone who is not satisfied with their current therapist or timidly contemplating jumping into the world of waxing.

Without further ado, I present to you my advice.

“Everything you ever wanted to know about getting waxed at a salon but were too afraid to ask…”

– First up, recommendations recommendations recommendations! Ask your friends, your Mum, sisters, brothers’ girlfriend, aunties, that random woman on the bus who looks impeccable.

Word of mouth recommendations are one of the best ways to find a great place for people to perform acts of hot wax application on your sensitive areas. I’ve found that most people I’ve asked don’t wax, but 1/10 will have a tried & tested go-to, so that you can confidently jump on the bandwagon without too many heart palpitations.

– HOT WAX VS. STRIP WAX. Alright, now listen carefully. Here is where it gets important. There are some fundamentals of waxing and this one is King.

Hot Wax = thicker wax that is applied with a spatula to your more sensitive spots (bikini line, brazilian, underarms, sometimes eyebrows), when cooled it’s removed by hand. ie. the wax itself is pulled off and the hairs come with it. This wax hurts a lot less than strip, better on thick hairs, does a better job of keeping ingrowns at bay and is a bit more pricey for salons to purchase (important note for later).

Strip Wax = a thinner wax that is also applied warm/hot but removed by pressing a strip of cloth over the top, rubbing and then pulling off. Better for large areas such as legs and arms, quicker to apply and also cheaper for salons to purchase.

Then, there are subcategories for strip wax:

* Applied with a spatula

* Applied with a ‘roller’ (kind of like deodorant)

So we have three different methods we’re working with, which brings me to my next point:

– CALL OR ASK WHAT TYPE OF WAX THEY USE, BEFORE YOU GO!!! 99% of the time they should be using hot, peel off wax for your bikini line or underarms. I’ve spoken with other wax-ees and beauty therapists and this is the STANDARD PRACTICE!

However, there are a -lot- of beauty salons who will try and get away with using strip wax in these places, because it is about 1/3 cheaper for them & sometimes it works (however, the hair grows back faster, more prone to ingrowns, more pain for you). I urge you to not accept this and not to support salons that do this, you probably wont want to anyway because of the added discomfort.

Secondly, I and others I’ve talked with have found that the wax rollers provide a substandard wax compared with the spatula and strip method (for legs & arms).

The wax is quite temperamental, doesn’t come out evenly, has problems with being heated to the right temperature and as someone with sensitive skin, I’ve found it irritates my legs a lot more and I end up with red bumps, whereas with the spatula method I don’t.

In summary:

– Ask your friends where they go!
– Hot Wax + Bikini Line + Underarms = Good
– Strip Wax + Spatula + Legs + Arms = Good
– Anything Else Generally = Bad

Thus concludes the first part to this delicate topic! If you have any of your own advice, let me know in the comments, otherwise very soon you’ll find out some more vital info to know before you show up naked & hairy at your therapists door!

Be well,

xoxo