How To Get A Bikini Wax, Part One

Pretty soon, it will be bathing suit time, when women's thoughts turn to defuzzing below the equator. There are many methods of defoliation, and believe me, I have tried them all, but in my opinion, waxing is by far the best.

You may notice that this post is entitled "How to Get A Bikini Wax", not "How To Give Yourself A Bikini Wax". It should be understood that this is an area of expertise best left to, well, experts. I cannot tell you how many clients have come to me in agony after having attempted to perform Brazilian waxes on themselves. There is a reason we aestheticians go through a minimum of six hundred hours of intensive training to do this properly, using specific techniques and sanitary methods.

All it takes is one awful waxing experience, and it's enough to make you never, ever want to do it again. It infuriates me as a professional that there are so many crappy waxers out there, ruining it for the rest of us. It is by definition a really vulnerable position (pun intended) to put yourself in, and you want to find a waxer that respects and acknowledges that. I tell all my clients that my philosophy on waxing, and all spa treatments, is this: If it doesn't feel good, it should be really quick. I try to make sure my clients get in and out in fifteen to 20 minutes for Brazilians.

There are many different wax brands out there, but there are basically 2 types: Hard and Soft. The soft kinds are used with cloth or paper-based strips, and are great for legs and arms, or anywhere the hair grows consistently in one direction and isn't too coarse. For Brazilian, regular bikini and underarm waxes, it is important to make sure the aesthetician uses hard wax. Call ahead to the spa or salon and ask if they use hard wax, and if they don't, go somewhere else. It's that important.

The hair tends to be coarser in these areas, and often grows in varied patterns and directions, plus these areas are near lymph nodes and are highly sensitive parts of the skin. That's why hard wax here is so important; the hard stuff kind of "sets up"and shrink-wraps itself around the hairs, and never bonds with the skin at all the way that soft wax does. It hurts, but significantly less than soft wax, and only for the moment that the hair is removed. The tender skin beneath is left untraumatized. So much better.


Stay tuned for more waxing information! To make a waxing appointment with the Beauty Examiner, please call (410) 383-7272. Or, feel free to contact me at beautyexaminer@gmail.com.