If you were to ask me whether or not you should get a bikini wax, my answer would be a thousand times, yes. Ever since a friend recommended I give waxing a try three years ago, I’ve been hooked, and I now tell anyone and everyone who’ll listen to switch to waxing. Still, I know what you’re thinking: What about the pain? Yes, getting a bikini wax can be uncomfortable, but like the saying goes, no pain, no gain. For me, the benefits of waxing far outweigh the cons any day. And after years of constant irritation and razor bumps, I was more than ready to say goodbye to shaving forever.
As much as I love it, I will say a wax is not for everyone. Unlike shaving, there are rules to waxing, and if you want those smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom results, you’ll need to follow them. Most aestheticians recommend coming to your appointment with about four weeks’ worth of growth so that the hairs are long enough to lift. And after your wax, it’s crucial to use a smoothing product to help prevent ingrowns. I’m a huge fan of the European Wax Center’s Smooth Me Ingrown Hair Serum as well as Fur’s Ingrown Concentrate. Lastly, the most important rule of all, you cannot, I repeat, CANNOT shave in between waxes. It will mess up the growth cycle, and your next wax session will be especially uncomfortable. These rules may seem like a bit much to the average person, but it’s still 100 percent worth it in my opinion.
Since I’m currently at home in Florida due to the pandemic, I’ve had more days than I could count of wanting to throw on a swimsuit, grab my laptop and sunscreen, and work poolside. Instead, due to my slightly hairy situation, I spent most of those days praying for stay-at-home orders to lift so I could sprint back to my aesthetician. Eventually I decided to take matters into my own hands and attempt to give myself a wax. Without thinking twice, I drove to a slew of drugstores to see if I could get my hands on any waxing kits. Then I came home ready to give my bikini line a little TLC.
I lay down on my bathroom floor and prepped the area with a clean wipe, then baby powder, just as I’d seen my aesthetician do hundreds of times. That’s about where the similarities end. I couldn’t figure out which direction my hair grows, so I just said screw it and dove right in. I covered a small area with one of the strips, pressed down hard, and tried to lift the hairs in one quick motion. It wasn’t until I was done screaming that I realized only about half of the hairs were gone and that I would have to do this at least another 10 times. Yikes. At that moment my mother frantically knocked on the door to ask what in the lord’s name was going on. In a very clipped voice, I told her I was giving myself a wax.
Barely ready for round two, I grabbed the largest strip in the pack, repeated the same steps, and prayed for better results. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the strip halfway up without chickening out. Overwhelmed, I took a deep breath, swallowed my pride and finally did it: I asked my mom for help.
Initially I just wanted her there for moral support, but she quickly grew tired of my “scaredy-cat” antics and demanded to do it herself. Within five seconds she reached for the strip, snapped her wrist back, and...half of the hairs were still intact. At this rate we would be up all night, just me and my mom, ripping and yelping, you know, like mothers and daughters do. She was determined to get it right, but I tapped out after two more pulls. Hey, you can only take so much, right?
The wax job was only halfway done at that point, but I decided to finish with Nair’s Sensitive Formula Bikini Cream. The few spots that the strips did lift stayed quite smooth compared to the spots treated with depilatory cream, so maybe it wasn’t a total loss in the end. Sure, at-home waxing isn’t for me (and major props to any woman who can finish the job herself), but I’m not ready to give up on waxing altogether. I know now that this is a job strictly for an aesthetician, and when I finally do see mine, I’ll let her know just how much I appreciate her.
As much as I love it, I will say a wax is not for everyone. Unlike shaving, there are rules to waxing, and if you want those smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom results, you’ll need to follow them. Most aestheticians recommend coming to your appointment with about four weeks’ worth of growth so that the hairs are long enough to lift. And after your wax, it’s crucial to use a smoothing product to help prevent ingrowns. I’m a huge fan of the European Wax Center’s Smooth Me Ingrown Hair Serum as well as Fur’s Ingrown Concentrate. Lastly, the most important rule of all, you cannot, I repeat, CANNOT shave in between waxes. It will mess up the growth cycle, and your next wax session will be especially uncomfortable. These rules may seem like a bit much to the average person, but it’s still 100 percent worth it in my opinion.
Since I’m currently at home in Florida due to the pandemic, I’ve had more days than I could count of wanting to throw on a swimsuit, grab my laptop and sunscreen, and work poolside. Instead, due to my slightly hairy situation, I spent most of those days praying for stay-at-home orders to lift so I could sprint back to my aesthetician. Eventually I decided to take matters into my own hands and attempt to give myself a wax. Without thinking twice, I drove to a slew of drugstores to see if I could get my hands on any waxing kits. Then I came home ready to give my bikini line a little TLC.
I lay down on my bathroom floor and prepped the area with a clean wipe, then baby powder, just as I’d seen my aesthetician do hundreds of times. That’s about where the similarities end. I couldn’t figure out which direction my hair grows, so I just said screw it and dove right in. I covered a small area with one of the strips, pressed down hard, and tried to lift the hairs in one quick motion. It wasn’t until I was done screaming that I realized only about half of the hairs were gone and that I would have to do this at least another 10 times. Yikes. At that moment my mother frantically knocked on the door to ask what in the lord’s name was going on. In a very clipped voice, I told her I was giving myself a wax.
Barely ready for round two, I grabbed the largest strip in the pack, repeated the same steps, and prayed for better results. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the strip halfway up without chickening out. Overwhelmed, I took a deep breath, swallowed my pride and finally did it: I asked my mom for help.
Initially I just wanted her there for moral support, but she quickly grew tired of my “scaredy-cat” antics and demanded to do it herself. Within five seconds she reached for the strip, snapped her wrist back, and...half of the hairs were still intact. At this rate we would be up all night, just me and my mom, ripping and yelping, you know, like mothers and daughters do. She was determined to get it right, but I tapped out after two more pulls. Hey, you can only take so much, right?
The wax job was only halfway done at that point, but I decided to finish with Nair’s Sensitive Formula Bikini Cream. The few spots that the strips did lift stayed quite smooth compared to the spots treated with depilatory cream, so maybe it wasn’t a total loss in the end. Sure, at-home waxing isn’t for me (and major props to any woman who can finish the job herself), but I’m not ready to give up on waxing altogether. I know now that this is a job strictly for an aesthetician, and when I finally do see mine, I’ll let her know just how much I appreciate her.
