Everything You Need To Know About At-Home Waxing

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Love the result that comes from a good wax, but not willing to schuck out hundreds of dollars each year in order to maintain silky skin? We get it. That’s why Sparklywax created a home wax kit so you can do the job yourself while saving some serious coin in the process! If the idea of a DIY wax job causes trepidation, not to worry.

 While this instructional video will give you a general idea of what to expect, the following guide explains everything you need to know about at-home hair removal. Trust, you’ll be a pro in no time.

Pre-wax

Before you start heating up that wax pot, there are some precautionary measures you’re going to want to take.

• Prep your pot: It can take 10-20 minutes for the wax beads to melt, so pour in the right beads for your skin type and turn the warmer on medium heat to prevent scalding. As the wax begins to melt, periodically stir it with a wooden stick to ensure the product melts evenly.

• Consider taking ibuprofen: Reduce pain and inflammation by taking ibuprofen such as Advil at least one hour before you being waxing.

• Take a warm bath or shower: If you have 10-15 minutes, soak in a warm bath immediately prior to waxing. This will help open up the pores so that the removal process is less painful. A shower is also an option providing you spent around the same amount of time letting the warm water and steam hit your skin.

• Be mindful of moles, lesions, and beauty marks: Any of the aforementioned can be accidentally ripped off during the waxing process. Please make sure to cover any spots with a small, round Band-Aid.

• Avoid moisturizer: Avoid applying any moisturizer or body oil after your bath or shower as this will hinder the wax from grabbing hair. Alternatively, apply a pre-epilation cleanser such as Gi-Gi Pre-Hon. It cleanses and prepares the skin while protecting it from irritation, thanks to anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory ingredients.

• Test the wax: Before slathering a large amount of wax on your skin, test the temperature of your wax by swiping only a small amount of wax. If you’re having trouble spreading it, turn the heat up slightly before testing again. If you can’t tolerate the heat, turn it down and test again in a few minutes.
• Practice the application process: Before beginning, practice the application technique. Take the wooden stick/applicator and hold it against the skin at an angle—about 45 degrees, but not flat against the skin. Remember, the wax needs to be applied in the direction of your hair growth.

• Prep appropriately: By now you should have cleaned the area(s) you plan to wax. If you’re sweaty or have over-oily skin, apply a light dusting of powder such as Gi-Gi Pre-Epilation Dusting Powder. Alternatively, if your skin is excessively dry, apply a thin layer of a Pre-Epilation Oil such as Cirepil.

• Try the real deal: Once you’ve got this down, try it with the wax (about the size of a gumball, a pea if you’re working on the face) over a small section of the areas you wish to wax. Since Sparklywax is hot, hard wax, you don’t need strips. As the formula cools, it adheres to the strands of hair. With that in mind, make sure you’re applying a thick enough layer (and an even one) to that it’s easier to remove. Simply let it dry until it’s firm enough to grab the edge (tug and create a lip/handle first) and pull off in the opposite direction of hair growth in a quick, steady, motion parallel to the skin—NEVER straight up as you’ll injure your skin and cause additional pain. Make sure you use your non-pulling hand to hold the skin taught near the area you’re working with. This is extremely important if you want to avoid bruising, pain, and broken skin.

 

Techniques For Various Areas Of The Face and Body

While the application and removal of the wax is relatively consistent, there are a few tricks of the trade that apply to specific areas of the face and body.

• Legs: Your gambs are fairly straight-forward as the surface is long and relatively flat. To successfully remove hair on and around the knee, make sure you bend your leg first. When tackling calves, point your toes upward to make the surface as taut as possible. Use a mirror to help you see what you’re doing in the back of your legs. While you don’t want to make the sections of wax too small as that will make the process extremely time-consuming, don’t go trying to remove extremely large patches at once or you could tear the skin and cause increased pain.

• Arms: This area is even easier than legs as the surface area is smaller. You simply work your way around the arm with sections that are approximately four inches in length and an inch in diameter.

• Underarms: As with the bikini (more on that in a minute), the armpits are an extremely sensitive area, so you want to execute extreme diligence. Lift your arm high above your head to stretch the skin as much as possible. Here’s where it gets tricky: Arm hair tends to grow in more than one direction, so pay close attention to this as you’re applying the wax so it’s in the opposite direction of the hair growth. Not doing so can cause ingrown hairs and red bumps. Hold skin as taught as possible when removing.

• Bikini: If you’re a beginner (or even an expert in some cases), we don’t recommend trying to do a DIY Brazilian for obvious reasons. If you simply want to clean up your bikini area, however, at-home waxing is completely doable. To help give you a proper guide, put on a pair of your typical underwear—just not a favorite in case you get wax on them, though you can protect your undies by tucking Kleenex around the edges. It doesn’t matter where you start as long as you have a plan of action as you’ll be working in sections. A mirror is your best friend in this case as it can be difficult to see every nook and cranny with the naked eye. Apply the wax in sections that are approximately one inch wide and three inches long. As with the underarms, hairs grow in various directions, so take notice of this before applying the wax. Hold the skin as taut as possible during the removal process and be prepared for the fact that it might hurt a bit more than other areas. Using sterilized tweezers, remove any stray hairs in the same direction of the hair growth to prevent ingrowns.

• Lip: You’re going to want to do this in three sections: left, right, and then the middle, which is the hardest because your nose stands in the way of the removal process. To make things a bit easier, firmly press your tongue against your upper lip to extend the skin.

• Eyebrows: Perhaps one of the most important things to remember is don’t use wax to shape your brows, rather, use it to remove the extraneous hairs that obviously don’t belong. It’s all too easy to remove a chunk of your brow if you get too close, so follow up your wax by shaping your brows with tweezers

 

Post-Waxing

Aftercare is just as important as the prep, so don’t forget these crucial steps.

 

• Remove any wax residue while putting moisture back into your skin with a post-wax cleanser such as Depileve Milk Cleanser.

 

• Prevent or treat any bumps (especially in bikini area) with a thin coating of Tend Skin. Note that while this product is a miracle worker, it can be extremely drying, so only use as directed.

 

• Soothe any irritated areas with ice and a calming, cooling aloe-based product such as Satin Smooth Satin Cool Aloe Vera Skin Soother, or an azulene and/or chamomile product such as Parissa Azulene Oil.

Waxing is also a form of exfoliation, so stay out of direct sunlight for at least 48 hours after waxing to prevent a serious burn. Don’t forget to apply SPF such as EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 for the face and Sun Bum Original Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion for the body.

 

And that is all! Now go get that SILKY-SMOOTH SKIN all from the comfort of your home!

There you have it, a short but to the point list of tips & pieces of advice that will help you achieve hair free, silky-smooth skin from home.

Follow all of these simple steps, and you’ll turn into a master of at-home-waxing in no time!

Let us know under the comments below if this post was helpful to you so that we know what type of content we should continue to bring!

Best of luck.

Full Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer page for more information.