9 Tips for a Successful Home Wax ...

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A good wax should be planned in advance. In order to achieve the best results, you will need to exfoliate the soon-to-be hairless area a few times over a period of about two days. This will help to remove dead and dry skin cells, and will also stimulate circulation which should, theoretically, slow down the re-growth process by encouraging undeveloped hairs to emerge.

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Take a shower immediately before you plan to do your waxing. The heat will help to open your follicles making it easier to remove the hairs. Incidentally, you should never use ice to numb the region to be waxed for precisely this reason: the cold causes the pores to close up.

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If you are really worried about the pain of your home wax, and you are also keen to minimise swelling and redness afterwards, experts suggest that you take a mild anti-inflammatory about an hour before you’re due to start. This should minimise pain, and will also help to keep skin irritation under control.

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There are myriad home wax products out there and some of them are significantly better than others. Before you head to the shops to purchase yours, it’s a good idea to have a look at customer reviews online. This should help to give you an impression what to go for.

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While an ordinary over the counter topical anaesthetic cream will numb the region due to waxed, you may find that it leaves a hard-to-shift oily residue that prevents the wax from adhering properly to your skin. For this reason, it is better, if you can, to go for a numbing agent specially designed to work with wax. You should find this kind of product at any good pharmacy.

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Ensure the area is clean and dry before you get on with the wax application. Experts suggest you use a talc powder to effectively eliminate all moisture. Make sure you dust off the excess before you go ahead with the next step.

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Remember to read the instructions thoroughly before you get on with applying your wax product. Pay special attention to those sections concerning duration; perhaps the most important thing to get right in the entire hair removal process is the timing. If you leave the wax on for too long, it won’t come off, but if you don’t give it time to set, the hairs won’t be pulled out.

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After the allotted time has passed, pull your skin taught and very quickly remove the wax strip. Remember that you will need to work against the grain of the hair for the process to be effective.

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Beauticians suggest you apply a cool, damp cloth to the hairless region immediately after waxing. This should help to curb inflammation and redness. Once you have finished with the whole process, apply a calming lotion, such as calamine, to the entire region.

There quite a lot of things to consider if you’re keen to give DIY hair removal a try. You’ll need to consider timing and product quality, as well skin treatments for both before and after the process. Hopefully, this list of 9 tips for a successful home wax will help you to get organised; do you have any suggestions of your own to add to it?

Top Photo Credit: Ricard Aparicio