Waxing is one of the most effective hair removal techniques, but when not done correctly or by an inexperienced person, can be pretty painful! From brows to Brazilians, there’s things you, as a client, can do to make your experience better.

1. Find a reputable place. Go online, search “waxing near me” and see what pops up. Read those reviews, and find yourself an experienced person. Please do not walk into a nail salon for a Brazilian, unless you’ve been recommended by a friend.
2. Book an appointment. After reading the reviews, choose someone you’re confident in and book that appointment. When you book an appointment, it ensures the time slot is strictly for you vs. walking in and hoping they have time or rushing through your service because they squeezed you in.
3. Prepare for your wax. We’re talking Brazilians here so please, shower. In the shower, exfoliate to open up those pores, making it easier for your hair to be removed. If this is your first time, you can try taking something like Advil or Tylenol half hour before your appointment. Some people choose to use numbing creams, too.
4. Arrive to your appointment on time. Again, you want to make sure your technician isn’t rushing to complete your service
5. Book your next appointment. If you liked your experience, book a 4 week appointment. 4 week intervals are great because the hair grows back just long enough, making it less painful, and you will be less tempted to shave in-between appointments. Also keeping on regular schedule will have your hair growing back thinner and softer.
6. Post Wax Care. Now this part is important.
   1. 1. For 24hrs, avoid pools, saunas, hotttubs, friction, and excessive sweating. After a wax, your pores are open and susceptible to bacteria. Keep it clean and sweat-free!
      2. Use lukewarm water when showering, for the first 24hrs. You don’t want to scald your skin. This goes for any sort of body waxing, not just Brazilians.
      3. Start exfoliating your skin after 72hrs. No matter which body part you’ve waxed, exfoliating is important. Exfoliating will open up your pores allowing the new, weakened hair to penetrate the skin without causing any bumps or ingrowns. We have this amazing Loofah Soap ($11) that’s abrasive yet gentle that helps prevent and get rid of bumps caused by shaving or waxing.
      4. Some salons will sell ingrown hair preventatives – use it! In our Beauty Bar, we carry Lycon Ingrown-x-it ($28.99) and it can be used all over the body to prevent and get rid of any irritations and ingrown hairs. You can use this if you shave, too!

At the end of the day, if you’ve gone to an inexperienced, careless person, it can be painful. I recommend finding a salon that uses hardwax, that has great reviews, and that takes 20mins or less for your appointment from start to finish. Please also be sure that your technician is no double dipping the wax stick. This is cross contamination, and along with it being gross, you can and probably will get an infection!

Now that we’ve gone over Brazilians, let’s chat about your brows or any other facial waxing you may do.

Your face is sensitive. The skin is thinner and the hair is finer. A lot of things can go wrong when waxing your brows and face, including burns or ripped skin. Sometimes, these adverse reactions can be due to the negligence of your aesthetician but in most cases, this can be totally preventable.
In our Beauty Bar, we prefer threading your facial hair. This ensures precise hair removal without damaging your skin in anyway.

When you should thread your brows and face:

1. If you have any cuts or abrasions on the area;
2. If you’ve had botox or fillers within the last 72hrs
3. If you use glycolic acid, retin A/vitamin A, retinol, anti-aging products, etc.
4. If you are on any medication that thins out your skin, including, but not limited to, Accutane
5. If you’ve had a facial or peel,  within the last 2 weeks of your appointment
6. If you’ve recently exfoliated your face, within the last 48hrs of your appointment
7. If you have acne prone or sensitive skin
8. If you get hives from waxing
9. If you bruise easily
10. If you’re pregnant or breasting feeding

Basically, if you ask our opinion or preference, we choose Threading over Waxing for any part of your face. It’s safer, better for your skin, more precise, and lasts just as long as waxing does.