Waxing can be a great solution for hair removal. It lasts longer than shaving, but isn’t as costly as electrolysis or lasers, nor is it as painful as epilation. In trying to discover the best ways to get your skin silky smooth, we went to the experts to find four exclusive tips:
1.) Consider “sugaring.”
Sugaring is pretty similar to traditional waxing, except that the ingredients are gentler and water-soluble. A 2001 article in Dermatologic Surgery explains that pre-mixed professional solutions are recommended above completely homemade solutions, because it’s difficult to maintain the proper consistency of something do-it-yourself. You can also go to a professional salon or waxing studio that offers sugaring.
The journal article compares sugaring, cold wax, hard wax, depilatory cream, electrolysis, and laser. The article notes that in terms of safety, sugaring and cold wax are the best, getting a three out of three. To compare, shaving gets a two out of three. Hot waxing, depilatory cream, electrolysis, and laser get a one out of three — the last two getting the score because of the potential for scarring.
The scoring also looked at cost effectiveness, convenience, and frequency, and sugaring got either a two or three for both of those. The only places it received low scores (one out of three) was in redness and discomfort.
2.) Make sure you are sugaring properly!
- Cleanse and exfoliate skin, do not use lotion or moisturizer after this step.
- Mix 3 cups of sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. (Some recipes recommend using an equal amount of water as well.)
- Cook over flame until the mixture becomes amber, but not too dark.
- Allow cooling; and test the mixture by removing a small portion and putting it on a cool surface. The tester should be pliable, if it is not, you should make another batch with more lemon juice.
- Once it’s cool a bit, spread the mixture on the area with a spatula in the direction of hair growth. (I recommend testing a little bit on your skin to see if it’s cool enough before spreading it on.)
- Press a cotton strip onto the area.
- Pull the cotton strip quickly with one hand, while using the other hand to maintain tension.
- If hair remains, you might need to repeat two to three times.
- Cleanse and moisturize.
3.) Consider soft wax for fine hair, and hard wax for coarse hair.
Some aestheticians say that soft wax is better for pulling out fine hair, while hard wax is better for pulling out course hairs (Glen Ivy). But for some skin-adherence can be an issue. So while soft wax is better for pulling out hair in areas like eyebrows, you’ll want to use soft wax normally, if you are using an acidic product like alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs), some aestheticians recommend hard wax.
Hard wax and soft wax have different properties that make them ideal for different parts of the body. Soft wax is the warm, thin wax that gets covered by a muslin strip that is then pulled away quickly by an aesthetician. Hard wax is the warm, thick wax that that goes on without a muslin strip, is allowed to cool, and then pulled off. The soft wax adheres more to skin than the hot wax, exfoliating skin more (Associated Skin Care Professionals).
4. Consider the ViaBuff Level 3 Exfoliating Puff!
Exfoliating dry skin can make skin look instantly younger. The built-up, dead layers of dry skin often can look patchy, rough, discolored, scaly, and lined. While you may think that this is the result of aged collagen, elastin, and fibrous structures within your skin, dry skin often looks aged because of the top layer. Once that layer is removed, your skin immediately looks smooth and unwrinkled! Exfoliating removes dead skin cells, dirt, sebum, and debris on the surface of the skin. Skin is left with smaller-looking pores. Other skin care products also penetrate the skin better.
Many people who get wax treatments think it is OK to use harsh chemicals like retinoids or alpha hydroxy acids within days or even hours of treatment. But this could not be further from the truth!
To exfoliate, you need an exfoliating puff that is designed for waxing.
After a wax treatment, we recommend the ViaBuff Level 3 Exfoliating Puff for Face and ViaBuff Level 3 Mild Exfoliating Puff for Body. The ViaBuff is designed to be a gentle, effective way to remove dead skin cells, dirt, sebum, and debris on the surface of the skin, without using chemicals. The open-weave is customized to be safe and effective for exfoliation within days of waxing treatments!
Bottom Line
If you’re looking for hairless legs and want a wax that’s fairly gentle (though it could still hurt, and might still cause redness), then sugar wax could be a good solution. But it’s advisable to go with something pre-made, lest your cooking skills not result in top-quality wax. Otherwise, hard and soft wax work well for different uses. Soft wax is better on fine hair, but will also take off the top layer of dead skin. Hard wax works better on thicker hairs while not adhering too much to skin. If you’re using any of these, be sure to stop using retinoids and similar products for five to seven days before waxing.