All of us love our bodies to be hair free. Waxing at home is not as simple as it seems. You have to deal with ripping the wax off your body, the stickiness etc...
If you are doing it for the first time, it is safest to start with your legs.
Here are 11 tips that will make the job of waxing at home easier:
- Keep the mess away
Do not forget to spread towels all over the floor so that the wax that might drip does not ruin your floors.
You should even keep a post wax cleaner or baby oil handy to wipe off all sticky surfaces and hands so that you don't make things in your home sticky.
- Make sure hair length is right
Waxing for it to be effective has to be done when the hair reaches a specific length. If the hairs are too short they won't come off as the wax won't have anything to stick onto and if it's too long, it will make waxing more difficult.
So if the hair is too short wait till it grows out and if it's too long, simply trim it to the right length with a pair of scissors.
- Increase the hold
For hair to be ripped off, the wax has to get a grip onto your hair. So if you suffer from oily skin or perspire a lot the moisture or oil prevents the wax from sticking to the hairs.
So you can start off waxing by dousing powder all over your hair and skin so that the wax easily grips the hair and skin.
- Patch test
Most of us tend to ignore this step and regret later for skipping it. Try waxing a small area of any part of your body and wait for 24 hours to see if any negative reactions are caused.
If nothing happens you can proceed with waxing. But avoid if rashes or any other irritation seems to occur. Do not wax your face without doing a patch test on any small less visible area of your face.
- More is not better
If you think that slathering a lot of wax is going to make it easier to rip off he hair then you are wrong. If you put on too much you will not be able to pull off the wax in one go.
Instead apply the wax in a thin layer in the direction of the hair, taking care to press the wax well to all the hair so that they all can be pulled off in one go.
- Temperature of the wax
The wax needs to be at the right temperature. If it's too hot you bear the risk of burning your skin. And if the wax is too cold, you cannot spread it easily. Basically the wax should be at a temperature where it can be easily spread and in a honey running consistency.
- Direction
Wax should be applied in the direction of the hair growth and ripped off in the opposite direction. If you have hair in all directions, wax in small patches.
- Stretch
Make sure you have pulled the skin taunt before you pull off the strip. If the skin is loose, the pain involved in the hair removal process is more. Sometimes leaving skin loose can injure you skin by the act of pulling skin to hard etc...
- Never hesitate
Once you have decided to rip off the strip, do not stop midway. Rip it off in one swift motion so that you suffer the least amount of pain.
- Never keep waxing the same area
Waxing the same area will only cause a lot of irritation and inflammation to the skin due to the pressure caused when ripping of the hair along with the layers of skin.
- Clean up
Clean your skin using post-wax cleanser or even a wet sponge. You might even want to splash some astringent to prevent bumps or skin irritations.
Waxing is definitely better than the other methods of hair removal like shaving and cream removal as it pulls it out form the roots and keeps you hair free longer.
