Ask Belle: At-Home Waxing Tips
Feb 2, 2015
Belle,
This might be an intimate question, but do you wax at home? I’ve never DIY’ed my hair removal before, but I’m searching for ways to cut costs. Any tips? Suggestions?
Thanks. Cara
It depends on where you’re talking about waxing. So let’s expand this conversation to hair removal in general.
Eyebrows. I trim and tweeze my eyebrows for a groomed, but not over-plucked look. You can trim them with mini-scissors using this tutorial. I have fine hair, so sharply edged tweezers can cut the hairs instead of plucking them. To combat that problem, I use a rounded tweezer.
Upper-lip. I don’t wax or tweeze my upper-lip because I worry about ingrown hairs turning into acne. I’ve found that I have the fewest problems using a micro-touch hair remover.
Bikini-area. I tried using an epilator, and I liked it fine. However, in the end, I decided that this is a professional job. I don’t pay for manicures or pedicures, but this I am willing to pay for. But if you’re looking for an at-home option, try an epilator.
Neck. I wear a lot of up-dos and ponytails, so I wax the hairline on my neck. It looks nicer, cleaner. For that, I use the Bliss Poetic Waxing Kit. It takes a while to get the hang of using it, but once you do, it’s fairly easy.
Pro-tip from several dozen uses? The plastic applicators that come with the kit are basically useless, as they’re too messy to re-use. I recommended dropping a few bucks on disposable applicators. You should also exfoliate the night before with a scrub, and use exfoliating gloves after to prevent ingrowns.
I feel like the hairline/neck is not an area you hear women talking about when it comes to hair removal, but I’ve been kind of wanting to do it for the same reasons you mentioned. Also, I have become pretty good at blowing out my hair that most people don’t believe it is incredibly coarse and wavy, but those little spots on my hairline give me away.
For the daring, I swear by the Sally Hansen Brazillian kit. It’s the hard wax that you don’t need fabric/plastic strips to take off. It’s much easier than other at home bikini waxes. That being said, it’s not an easy job, but works well for upkeep after a professional wax, and can extend the time in between if you’re on top of it.
I use homemade sugar wax to wax my armpits. I grew up using the sugar wax, and recently I tried regular wax out of curiosity. Never. Again. Sugar wax is so much better. It’s less painful, and if you get a spot that’s stuck you can just rinse it off with water.
I have also used the sugar wax on my bikini area, although obviously rinse afterwards thoroughly to prevent yeast infections. Personally not a fan of waxing the bikini area; I hate the itchy growing out period and I just trim now.
I would highly recommend sugar wax for the above mentioned reasons, and also it’s super cheap. You can find recipes online, and the ingredients that are needed are probably in your pantry right now. I don’t even use cloth strips with it, and was in fact confused as to their purpose until I saw how people use regular wax. Sugar wax you can just apply straight on the skin and it is hard enough to peel off, but sticky enough to reuse that same piece. I use one piece about half the size of a ping pong ball to wax each armpit.
Do you have a favorite recipe? I prefer sugaring so much more than waxing, but searching online there about a bajillion different recipes out there. I tried one that was ok at first but got really sticky after waxing just a few spots.
I just tried the Veet underarm strips this weekend and they were painful as all get out but did a good job. Granted, the hair was disturbingly long (long-distance bf plus winter clothes turns me into a hippy apparently).
Not really! My neighbor makes it for me 😀
I have never heard of neck waxing and now I am worried I need it since I often wear my hair up. How far up do you go? How far down do you go? I always wished I had a cleaner hairline right at the bottom of my head (I have a lot of little curly broken/baby hairs.) Is that what you’re talking about?
You can see your natural hairline, so I wax underneath it. I basically trace the natural shape. Cleaning up the extra.
Does anyone have advice on using epilators? Down here in Argentina, there are ONLY epilators and razors. Honestly, to me the epilators just look like torture devices, and I don’t know the first step in choosing one or using one. Since it’s obviously so widespread down here in the land of itsy bitsy bikinis, it must have its merits. Any advice or tips?
I’ve recently stopped having my eyebrows professionally waxed because I prefer a fuller & more natural look. But I do miss the professional eyebrow trim…any ideas about where I can find left-handed brow scissors?
Unfortunately, using right handed scissors would not be as precise for me.