Waxing: Not as Bad as it's Made Out - Honest! (Depilatories / Hair Removal for Women in General)

Member Name: delawney

Product:	Depilatories / Hair Removal for Women in General
Date:	29/11/02 (3514 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lasts about 3 weeks, Less hair grows back

Disadvantages: Having to let hair grow first, Discomfort

Hair removal. The bane of any woman's life. It's there, it keeps on growing, and one way or another most of us regularly attempt to rid ourselves of it. But what is the best way?

My method of choice, contrary to many of the ops I've read, is waxing. It gets effective results and lasts for ages, and the more you do it, the less the hair comes back. How cool is that?

So I have to start with a confession. I am absolutely rubbish at shaving my legs. The first time I ever tried it (I was about ten - sneakily in the bathroom with my stepmother's razor - yuk!) I managed to take a huge gouge out of my leg. Not much has changed since. Everytime I do shave my legs I always manage to get a few nicks and cuts here and there, and it's not much fun.

So a couple of years ago I decided to take the plunge and have a go at getting my legs waxed. "How bad can it be?", I thought. I am lucky enough that our local council provides a rather lovely spa at affordable prices, and as well as luxuriating jacuzzis and a steam room they offer beauty treatments, so it seemed to be a sensible place to start.

I'd booked in for a half-leg wax and an eyebrow shape. (I'm also crap at shaping my eyebrows - hey, I'm not particularly vain and it's all too much like hard work). My mistake, of course, was not being able to resist using the spa facilities first. You see, in order to have your legs waxed, there has to be enough hair there for the wax to cling onto, so you have to have a fair amount of "growth", to put it delicately. Not really what you want when you're in a bathing suit. Suffice to say I spent as much time as I could under water.

So, after a nice relaxing (if a little self-conscious) soak, I went off slightly apprehensively for my leg wax. As should be the case, it was all in private and I felt pretty relaxed about the surroundings.


*** WHAT'S INVOLVED?
***

You need to have at least 5 mm of hair growth, preferably a bit more, for the waxing to be effective. Fortunately, I knew this, so there wasn't any early embarrassment due to lack of hair.

The therapist took a large orange stick (that's like an ice lolly stick for those that don't know) and dipped it into the warm wax. The wax is warm on the skin, but it shouldn't be uncomfortably hot. I might be a bit weird, but I actually found it quite pleasant. The therapist then pushes a cotton strip down firmly against the skin, and tears it off in a swift motion.

Now, this was the moment where I was expecting intense pain. But there wasn't really any. It was no worse than having an elastoplast ripped off really. Now of course, I would be fibbing if I said it didn't hurt at all, of course it was not a pleasant experience. But it certainly wasn't excrutiating, and it was over so quickly I hardly had chance to notice.

The therapist was very quick and efficient, and the whole task only took about ten minutes a leg. She then went over them quickly with a pair of tweezers to remove any shorter hairs the waxing had missed. Finally she spread a soothing balm solution over my legs.

I must have been feeling brave, as once she started on my eyebrows she asked if I minded if she waxed the edges to save time. I wnet for it, and again, I really didn't think it was that bad. And she did a smashing job of the eyebrows too!


*** AFTERCARE ***

As I had my legs waxed at the spa, they make a big point of telling you that you should use the spa facilities BEFORE the waxing and not afterwards. This is because you shouldn't expose your legs to hot water for approximately 24 hours after a wax, as it makes the skin really sensitive. Of course, the downside to this is that if you want to sit in a jacuzzi (and who doesn't?) you will have to do it with hairy legs!

It'
s important to exfoliate thoroughly if you have your legs (or any other part of your body for that matter) waxed. This is because waxing can cause ingrowing hairs. If I spot one, I carefully extract it with tweezers. I'm not sure if that's recommended or not, so don't quote me on it!


*** THE RESULTS ***

I was told the waxing should keep the legs hair free for about three weeks, and I would say that's about right. During that time my legs were perfectly smooth, and suddenly skirts and short trousers bore no fear!


*** COST ***

The whole procedure cost £11.50 for both legs, not that expensive in my opinion. A full leg wax would have taken the cost up to approximately £16.

Incidentally, the eyebrow shape was less than a fiver.


*** THE PLUS POINTS ***

* Lasts approximately three weeks
* The more you wax, the less the hair grows back
* Doesn't hurt anywhere near as much as you think it will
* Not particularly expensive - probably no more expensive than disposable razors
* Looks fab!


*** THE MINUS POINTS ***

* You do have to let the hair grow first - in the summer this can be a real pain as you have to wear trousers (unless you want to show off your delightfully hairy legs), and can cause problems of timing if a special event comes up where you want to get your legs out (oo-er missus)
* Not for people with a low pain threshold
* Need to exfoliate thoroughly and watch out for those ingrowing hairs


*** ANOTHER POINT TO NOTE ***

I am writing specifically about having your legs waxed professionally at a spa or salon. I admit I haven't tried it, but I really don't think I would bother with a home waxing system. From the ops I've read on here, they seem rather expensive and a rather terrible experience. A professional therapist is practised and knows what they are doing. They know how to under
take the procedure to inflict the minimum possible amount of pain. I wouldn't trust myself to do it!


*** CONCLUSION ***

Waxing is really not as bad as you might think. If you have tried it and it really hurt, I would question your therapist as much as the waxing yourself. Sure, it is not a comfortable experience, but it is really not that bad. Personally, being as useless as I am at shaving my legs, I actually find it a less unpleasant experience. The effects are great and long-lasting. The only real downside is having to let the hair grow back before the next wax.

Go on - be brave - you wouldn't want me to call you a wuss now would you?

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