I've only had one bikini wax before braving the full Brazilian; but I'd heard so much about them from my girlfriends, it was finally time to try one myself. Finding a salon is confusing since every one of them does a Brazilian these days. I ended up choosing Circe, an Aveda spa in Old Town Alexandria, Va. because it was featured in InStyle magazine. After my making my appointment, I checked out their website where I was lucky enough to find a $25 coupon for first time waxers.
The first advise I got was from Amy who told me to take ibuprofen before going. Also, don't go while your PMSing, because your tissue is swollen which can make the procedure more painful.
When I arrived at the salon, my technician, Sarah, told me to undress below the waist and lay on my back on the table. Yes, completely bare from the waist down, no draping. I'm not modest, per se; but this was mildly uncomfortable.
First, Sarah sprinkled corn starch on my bikini area so that the wax wouldn't stick to my skin. Then she applied warm wax in small sections and removed the hair in strips. Let me pause momentarily to tell you that yes it hurts as much as you've heard. I'm not sensitive and consider my threshold for pain quite high, but this was a shock to my system. Once the waxing is complete...everywhere... the technician wiped a soothing oil all around and began tweezing the stray hairs.
My results? Well, don't expect images for this one; but I can tell you I resembled a Barbie doll (or Ken doll for that matter). Unfortunately, the next day I also had a red rash either from the shock of the treatment or from a reaction to the wax, but it went away by the second day.
The following week, I contended with a barrage of ingrown hairs and I tried everything I could find to combat the problem. The best advice (again it takes a village with me) was from my friend, Phoebe, who recommended Neutrogena's Black Head Removing Scrub with 2% salicylic acid. While I think that went a long way in keeping the inflammation and infection at bay, there's no avoiding the fact that my coarse hair had a mind of its own.
The salon recommended I return a month later for a touch up and I'm still on the fence. I liked the initial results and the idea of thinning out the hair; but contending with ingrown hairs is daunting. I'm leaning towards giving it one more chance. If that's not an easier experience, I'm looking into laser treatments and, you know, I'll tell you all about it!
Photo by Amazon: you can find the Barbie and Ken Olympic Ice Skater there; but hurry there's only one left!
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