Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with waxing

I don't get why aestheticians like their jobs!

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:20:21 -0800

I have finally worked up enough nerve to try getting a brazilian wax. It's not the pain; it's the privacy issue. My appointment is booked. I've been to gynos etc. Why does this seem different? I just can't get past the idea that the waxers must think it's a yucky job. But then, I think to myself, why did they end up in that job? Do people actually LIKE waxing other people's genitals? For example, the salon I've booked an appointment at is strictly a brazilian waxing salon. So the staff there are literally waxing vaginas etc all day long. They must enjoy or at least not hate doing it. How is this possible? How do they end up in the profession? If I can understand this, perhaps I will stop feeling so nervous.

Any further hints or encouragement or anecdotes to relax me about the whole thing are appreciated. Why am I so nervous when it aint no thing to other people!? The idea of someone paying such close attention to my private parts in a non-sexual non-clinical way is freaky!

Am I supposed to just avoid the beach in between waxes? That doesn't seem right.

metamush — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:25:57 -0800

It takes weeks for bikini line hair to grow long enough to wax, so what do you do if you frequently are going to the beach or pool during the summer? What do you do between waxes? Also, how do you manage unsightly bumps? I refuse to go to the beach with a hairy bikini line. But I am also just as self conscious if I shave and bumps and ingrown hairs appear.

I see many women on the beach who appear to not deal with this problem. How? I truly wonder.

My family has a beach house, and I love the beach, and I want to go as often as possible during the summer.

If I wax, in about 1.5 weeks, the hair is beginning to grow back. But it will take another two weeks for the hair to be long enough to successfully wax. So what, do I just not go back to the beach for that time?

If I shave, that delays the ability to wax. It is a quick fix, but often results in unsightly bumps and razor irritation. Plus, it makes the hair very course and who wants stubble? I don't want my inner thighs to double as sandpaper.

I welcome any and all knowledge on this subject.

It takes weeks for bikini line hair to grow long enough to wax, so what do you do if you frequently are going to the beach or pool during the summer? What do you do between waxes? Also, how do you manage unsightly bumps?

Chicago body waxing for men that won't break the bank?

ggypsy — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:51:17 -0800

What is the high quality, economical solution for a male in Chicago needing full-body waxing? Failing that, where's the right place to look? I'm preparing for my first job as a male exotic dancer, which clashes with my Italian-inspired body hair. So pretty much everything below the ears has to go, and shaving just won't cut it. The absolute cheapest I've found this service for was $250, and that was just a hodge-podge of parts that will probably neglect some area (arms, chest, legs, booty).

So where should I go? Or if you don't know where I should go, where should I look? I was told to check Devon St, but other than driving up and down the street asking at each salon what their prices are, I have no way of comparing vendors. I checked Yelp, but the information seemed all over the board and they didn't list prices. My future customers that don't have to deal with my prickly stubble thank you in advance.

Goodbye to Bush... will bush ever be back?

lottie — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:31:11 -0800

Will female pubic hair ever be back in style? NSFW link within. I'm just curious: How long can our (yes, yes I know...popular Western) culture sustain Brazilian waxing and complete pubic de-forestation for women? You only have to look at vintage porn to realise that pubic hair wasn't always considered distasteful. I'm not talking about more marginal (but forgiving) media like the porn site Abby Winters, I'm talking about everything else.

Will it ever come to pass that men will need to wax their nether-bits to complete baldness as a matter of social acceptance? How long has the shaved female got hold as an ideal?

I know I'm going to hear a rush of "Oh no! It's never gone out of style in our house!", - humour the premise of my question that it's pretty wild in our time to grow armpit or pubic hair.

This NSFW pic of Madonna up for auction got me thinking.

Two eyebrows, please.

gavagai — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:51:10 -0800

Where's a good place in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to get my eyebrows de-Munstered? I'm a female with some pretty serious eyebrows (verging into eyebrow, singular, if I'm not careful). I've never had them waxed, shaped, or threaded before, and friends' terror tales of overwaxed sperm eyebrows make me fearful of having it done. I'd be fine with having thickish eyebrows as long as they no longer look as if someone needs to take a wheedwhacker to them, so I'd like to go to a place that will rip with discrimination.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good eyebrow wax or thread in the Twin Cities?

Let 'er rip! (But not too hard.)

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:07:58 -0800

I've decided to keep my cooch reasonably trimmed after a recent bikini wax, but I don't want to shave and I don't want to pay $30 every month. What can I do? I don't have anything complicated, just a regular wax that doesn't bush out from under a swimsuit. I am a bigger chick, and so certain parts chafe a bit. Neither I nor my partner really care about being all trimmed up, but I thought I'd try it for a while, especially since I want to swim more often and, um, get eaten out in a slightly neater fashion.

Has anybody done waxing or Nair or whatever at home? I'm used to the pain of a wax, but I've never done it myself and worry about doing it wrong and causing more trouble. (My last waxer was really overzealous, ow.) How often should I do this? What are the best ways to keep exfoliated and/or reduce ingrowns between removals? Yes, I know about Tend Skin or similar immediately afterwards to reduce bumps.

Anonymous because nobody needs to know how my girlparts are tended, thankyouverymuch.

Sack and crack wax in NoVa?

Irontom — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:48:10 -0800

Recommendations please for a brazilian wax for a guy, in Northern VA / Washington, DC... Been wanting to try this for a while, but recommendations are hard to come by. I would prefer a female waxer, but it's not a critical issue.

where to go to get my hair ripped out?

streetdreams — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:10:43 -0800

Any recommendations for good waxers in the Twin Cities area? I'm particularly looking for eyebrow and, erm, Brazilian skills. Thanks in advance!

True or false: blonde hair will regrow darker if plucked?

Ampa — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:02:47 -0800

True or false: blonde hair will regrow darker if plucked? My partner is reluctant to wax or tweaze her body hair because a 'professional' told her that any light / blonde hairs would regrow dark / black.

Is there any truth in this?

Where to wax?

zobot — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:43:06 -0800

Good place for waxing in Southern NH or Northeastern Massachusetts? Prefer a place where waxing/skincare/hair removal is their specialty, not just a salon that does it on the side. Somewhere in the area of Manchester, Nashua, Salem or Lowell is good or a little out towards the coast is ok too.

How to treat/prevent ingrown hairs

oldlies — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:07:08 -0800

How does one treat, eliminate, and prevent ingrown hairs and red bumps from from hair waxing, especially in the pubic region? Totally annoying. How do I treat the ones I've developed and what can I do in the future to minimize or prevent the occurrence of these pesky little things?

salons in savannah

pinkkitty — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:28:20 -0800

I need salon/spa recommendations in Savannah or Richmond Hill GA. Specifically, I'm looking for a place to get a brazilian wax and also looking for a new hair stylist. Bonus if I can find them in one location or close together. Super-bonus if there's a bit of interesting shopping near by.

How can I wax cotton, preferably denim?

cog_nate — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:08:57 -0800

How is cotton waxed? What's the process, and is it feasible to do at home? I'd really like to make a denim saddlebag for an upcoming bike tour. It seems like it'd be a simple and fun project to do. Additionally, I would prefer to waterproof it. Is it feasible to effectively wax cotton at home, and how would I got about doing it?

When will the eyebrow wax wane?

bluefly — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:31:41 -0800

I just had my eyebrows waxed for the first time ever last week. I am a lackadaisical plucker at best, so this is probably the best my eyebrows have ever looked. How long should I wait before I get them waxed again (i.e. how much time or how long should I let the hairs get)? Also, what kind of maintenance should I be doing in between?

OUCH!!

pearlybob — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:16:52 -0800

How bad does it hurt to get your legs waxed? On a scale of one to ten, eyebrow waxing (to me) ranks about a 3. Upper lip, about a 6. Where on this scale would you put leg waxing? I've always wanted to try it and find myself in a good "growth" position to give it a whirl but I'm a little chicken. FWIW, I have very little hair on my legs and it is very fine, but there's enough to want to get it off. Also, anything you would suggest to prep before the appointment? Lotion, exfoliation, etc? Thanks smooth mefites!!

must I submit to monthly waxing torture?

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:27:00 -0800

sex-appeal-filter: what's the deal with bikini waxing? Is it necessary? I'm not really feeling it for the bikini wax but it's been suggested to me by more than a few people. (and no, I'm not terribly hairy.) Just trying to figure out if everyone really does this? Some girl maintenance issues but I'm willing to give it a go if you all think it's necessary.

New car - cleaning & waxing advice.

rdurbin — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:00:58 -0800

I just bought a new 07 Accord and I want to clean and wax the car myself. In the past I have done the automatic car was thing. What type of wax? Should I buy a buffer? How often do I need to do this? Also... How do you clean off bugs from road trips without abrading the paint?

I live in MN (no heated garage) so what the hell am I supposed to do in the winter? I am assuming that if I go down the path of hand washing, I don't want to switch to the automatic scrub car washes during the winter, right?

Do Home Laser Hair removal devices work?

Wilder — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:41:12 -0800

Home laser hair removal devices? Has anyone tried one that works? There are quite a few back questions advocating laser hair removal as the most permanent solution. The cost is prohibitive, and regular salon appointments are problematic for me. But having said that waxing costs about £80 pm on average. I've seen devices advertised for home laser hair removal at about £100 to £200.
Does anyone have any experience?
(FWIW I have the pale skin and dark hair which is said to be the most sucessful combo for laser)

Oh why oh why did I do that.

zippity — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:47:36 -0800

oh CRAP filter: I just waxed off a huge chunk of skin from my upper-lip and eyebrow. Help! I was waxing my 'stache and eyebrows as usual when I decided to go in for a second round to rip off some remaining hairs (oh how I wish I could go back in time and just tweeze them out). After ripping off the second application I noticed the skin I had just waxed looked extremely smooth and shiny (compared to the rest of my skin). Um, uh oh??

After realizing what I'd just done, I rushed to put ice on the skin and put some moisturizer on it. Right now I look like I just got burned twice badly on my face by a curling iron.

I've never had a problem like this before, and on hindsight this is probably due to my latest beauty regime of alpha hydroxy based treatment every night. Sigh.

The best part is, I have to be at work in a couple hours. Yay.

Besides the ice and lotion, what else can I do for my newly "super exfoliated" skin or am I too late? Anyone know how long it will take for my skin to uh, grow back? Is this going to leave a terrible scar?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks so much in advance!

How do I avoid skin break-outs after waxing?

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:43:07 -0800

How do I avoid skin break-outs after waxing? I get my back waxed ever 6 weeks. I have a good waxer, so I really don't think that's the problem, but my back breaks out a few days after the waxing. I scrub my back but I still get ingrown hairs, but worse than that are these red blotches that I can't seem to get rid of. I do work out quite a bit and so I get pretty sweaty -could that have anything to do with these blotches?

More information: My back hair was the thickest my waxer had ever seen and she does a lot of back waxing. It's reduced so much over the last year (that's how long I've been having it waxed) and in some areas there hair has almost disappeared. I hated having a hairy back so I eventually decided to have it waxed. Now instead of being embarrassed by hair when I take off my shirt I'm embarrassed by red blotches. I read somewhere that guys who are on 'roids get this. I'm really serious about working out and I am totally opposed to 'roids and I would be mortified if anyone looking at my blotchy back would think that I'm on them. Any advice to help solve this embarrassing problem would be greatly appreciated.

Did I break my follicles?

porpoise — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 13:46:01 -0800

Are some people unwaxable? Waxing as a depilatory sounds fine in theory.

The first time I had my legs waxed, it was great (2 different technicians at the same time - the one on the left was less experienced). Textbook outcome. Fine hairs starting to come in about 3 weeks, reasonable lack of hair for a full 6 weeks.

Second time I had my legs done (at the same place, by the techician who did my left leg the previous time), about 80% of my follicles were ingrown by 3 days post-depilation. Very very annoying. Spent about 3 months picking them out with needlenose tweezers.

Third time, I went to a different (and much more expensive) place and asked ahead of time whether the technicians were comfortable waxing men's legs that was met with an affirmative. Got the same problem, about 80% of the follicles were ingrown by 3 DPD. Instead of the tweezers I aggressively scrubbed using a loofa daily during the morning shower. Far more annoying chronically but less annoying acutely than tweezering.

In none of these occasions did I experience acute pain (although I think the wax the first time around was a higher temperature than the other two times) and that was commented by the first and last technician.

Are my legular follicles unsuitable for extraction by waxing? Did I "ruin" my follicles for waxing?

Is there anything I can do to "prep" the skin/follicles so that the hairs are more likely to be yanked out of my follicles rather than being broken off at the skin surface?

How to get a regularly clean-looking bikni line?

inatizzy — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 14:37:10 -0800

I am a woman with thick dark hair and very pale skin and I'm looking for the best way to get a clean-looking shave on my bikini line. Not only do I end up with the stereotypical red bumps and ingrown hairs (gross, I know), but because my skin is so pale you can still see the dark hair residing just under the skin, which from a distance makes it look like I didn't shave at all.

I have tried bikini waxing and this works pretty well, but since you have to let the hair grow back to a certain length before waxing again, it forces me to have a couple of weeks where I am not able to go out in a bathing suit.

I've thought about trying an epilator, but I hear they are very painful. So I am looking for some advice on a good way to keep my bikini line neat! thank you :)

Lip waxing questions.

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 19:39:19 -0800

Lip waxing: I'm a girl with a heavy 'stache who has been shaving it every two days for years. Whether the shaving did it or not, the hairs are very thick and very dark. I would like to switch to waxing at a salon but have some questions. How long do the hairs have to be for the wax to work the first time? I've bought home waxing kits, and sugaring kits, and wax strips, and pretty much everything else, and none of them work. They just don't rip the hairs out. Do I have to grow it out for days before getting waxed? How many? (It's very visible by the third day.) And if I do this, how often will I have to go back? I'm hoping waxing will thin the hairs as well as let me go hair-free longer. How long might it take to thin them? Private replies can go to waxinghelp at gmail. Thanks so much for indulging an embarassing issue.

Should I wax my chest?

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:21:59 -0800

Should I wax my chest? My girlfriend wants me to remove my chest hair as she thinks its attractive.... what should I do? Should I go along with this or keep my hairy chest. If I do decide to comply how far down should I wax? I need some advice other than her (obviously biased) opinion!

salon recommendation for waxing

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 11:11:53 -0800

does anyone have a specific salon recommendation in the washmetro area for a bikini (brazilian) wax. i know we've covered the topic generally a couple of times, but i'm looking for specific salon recommendations in DC or on the MD side. places to avoid would be useful as well. thanks!