Are you a waxing virgin? Or like me, tried it a couple of times and thought shaving was more convenient? Thinking of getting back into it? THE TIME IS NOW!
I recently had a half leg wax at Randle and Randle; since it’s winter I don’t have my legs out as much, so thought it would be easier to ‘grow them out’ and get into the waxing routine. Now is the best time to do it! Plan your waxes around events where you want to get your pins out, and the rest of the time you can secretly let them grow wild under woolly tights, leggings and jeans; all the joys of the winter wardrobe.
Getting into a routine of waxing will reduce the way the hair grows back: waxing removes the hair from the root, meaning some of the bulb (the cells around the hair at the root which looks like a white sock when its removed) will be pulled out too; resulting in that hair not growing back as quickly, since the entire bulb has to regrow before the hair can even think about getting in on the act. Pulling hair out from the root means hairs that grow back will have a gentle tapered end (shaving just takes the top of the hair off), be finer and softer, therefore thehair that grows back will be less noticeable inbetween waxing treatments. Starting waxing now, in the winter, will mean that by the time summer comes and you want your legs out more, in the time between waxes there will be less hair that grows back, and the hair that isthere will be less noticeable than the tell-tale speckles of day-old shaving regrowth (not to mention scars from shaving off the heads of mozzy bites!)
I won’t lie, it’s a bit of a grin-and-bear-it kind of experience… maybe I’ve got a low pain threshold… but it’s not so painful that I’d never do it again. I’d compare it to the first time you plucked your eyebrows – I bet you thought it would never get less painful, but now you probably whip them out without flinching. It’s been 10 days since my wax, and the regrowth is similar to what I’d experience a couple of days after shaving and I can already see the difference in the thickness of the hairs.
I was taken to the treatment room which was clean and warm. I was left to undress and climb onto a beautifully warm bed and was asked to cover myself with the towel provided. The therapist knocked before entering the room to check I was ready and then the fun began! She checked the extent and pattern of hair growth before cleansing the skin and applying a fine layer of talc (it stops the area from being too sticky). A thin layer of wax was applied to cover the entire front of my leg (no going back now!) and followed this with a muslin fabric strip to remove the wax and hair in a quick, methodical manner (leaving little time to catch my breath) and the first shin was done! The whole procedure took about 15 minutes and was finished off with a moisturising antiseptic cream to soothe. Ta-dah!! Hair free pins.
So here are my waxing DOs and DON’Ts:
DO: Book in for a wax at least every 6 weeks. Your hair has a natural regrowth cycle of this time scale and by sticking to a schedule you’ll be completely/noticably hair free for at least 2-3 weeks (summer holidays with no razor!)
DON’T: Shave or use creams in between waxes; the whole point of waxing is to alter the hair growth, repeated treatment will cause finer regrowth meaning less noticeable hair
DO: Exfoliate and moisturise at least once a week to allow natural regrowth
DON’T: Use any perfumed moisturisers, take excessively hot showers or spend time in a sauna/steam room/swimming pool in the 24 hours after getting waxed and definitely don’t apply fake tan until at least 48 hours after.
DO: Check that the salon you go to has a competent/qualified therapist and that they work in a hygenic/safe manner (e.g wear gloves/apron)
Randle & Randle offer hot and warm wax services to ensure effective hair removal from any area. Waxing priced from £4 for lip/chin upto £25 for Brazilian or Hollywood waxing. Check out the products/services page on the website for more info on cost.
Jenny Marshall