If you are waxing for the first time or if you are looking for ways to have a better waxing experience, here is your Waxing 101: Bikini, Brazilian, Eyebrow, Face Wax Tips + Tricks. It’s the inside scoop on everything from preparation, pain, results, and maintenance so you can be well prepared when it comes time to take it all off.

Waxing 101: Bikini, Brazilian, Eyebrow, Face Wax Tips + Tricks

Waxing vs Shaving – What’s the Difference?

Waxing removes hair from the root. When you shave, you just cut the hair, so two hours later you can either see stubble or a shadow. Plus, waxing can last up to a month and is much more permanent—over time it thins the hair so less grows back.

Before You Wax

Before you go in for a wax, you want to do the following:

1. Let your hair grow out for seven days. This will provide enough hair for the wax to grab on to and provide a better result.
2. Exfoliate three days and then one day before your wax. Use either a loofah, an exfoliating glove, or a sugar body scrub. The fresher the skin, the better the wax.
3. Book your appointment one week after your menstrual cycle has completed. You will have a higher threshold for pain and your skin is less sensitive.
4. If you are still a wussy regarding pain, pop an ibuprofen or aspirin prior to your appointment.
5. Practice G-Rated swear words. Do you remember the scene from 40-Year Old Virgin?
6. Put a cooling, light lotion in the fridge the night before your wax. Your body will thank you.

Tips for Waxing

Your eyebrows. You want to be laying down or angled backwards while you have your eyebrows waxed at the salon, otherwise you can get wax on your eyelashes or other parts of your eye. After waxing, ask for some numbing cream to eliminate redness. Also, if your eyebrows are long, ask for them to be trimmed with a scissor, in addition to being waxed.

Your bikini area. A bikini wax focuses on the front and sides (visible in a swimsuit), a Brazilian wax removes hair from the front, sides, back and everything in between, often only leaving a strip of hair in the front—or none at all. You can leave your underwear on during a bikini wax, for a Brazilian, you have to be all-natural.

Your face, lip, or chin. When getting your face waxed, make sure to get up and take the mirror into different lighting. Because the hairs are fine, you may not see a strip that was missed in certain lighting. And there is nothing worse than have a patch of hair amongst a clean waxed face, lip or chin. Bonus: When you wax, it also exfoliates the skin, leaving you feeling silky smooth.

After You Wax

For the next 24 hours after your wax, you want to avoid the following, as they can irritate the skin or increase the chance of ingrown hairs.

1. Exfoliating products.
2. Hot tubs, saunas, or long hot baths.
3. The sun or tanning beds.
4. Sweat. No heavy exercise or sessions where you will sweat more than normal.
5. Touching. This may be hard if you just got a Brazilian (cause someone might be interested), but let the skin rest. Call it fore-play.
6. Makeup, if you waxed your face or eyebrows.

Regrowth

Once you start down the waxing road, it’s best to stay on it. Shaving your hair makes it grow in more dense, however when you wax, the growth won’t be as dense. With that being said, it can take up to four sessions to get all the hairs (they are at a different growth cycle each time you go). Most professional recommend between 3 to 4 weeks between sessions.

It’s not uncommon to see stubble a couple of days after your wax. It’s not that the hair didn’t get waxed, it’s because its another hair cycle that was already in the skin prior to waxing. For best results wax twice before an event or vacation. After your fourth session, you should be hair free until your next session.

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