A wax therapist has weighed in after a video which shows the risks of at-home waxing has made the rounds on TikTok.
As the cost of living continues to spiral, DIY at-home beauty treatments have become the norm for those looking to save cash.
Waxing is just one treatment beauty revellers are attempting on themselves.
Normally, waxing leaves you with beautiful smooth legs for up to six weeks, as well as full of admiration of your hard work.
Unfortunately, this was not the case for TikTok user @leo.itx who was left "traumatised" with bruising and scratches all over her legs after waxing them herself.
She noticed the marks after she attempting sugaring, a style of waxing that uses hard sugar paste to pull out hair.
The viral video which has gained over 396,000 views in just 10 days shows her bruised legs with a warning on at-home waxing.
With over 40 years of experience as a wax therapist, as well as being the founder of UK sugar waxing brand Sugar Coated, Rosie Khandwala explains how this could have happened, precautions to take, and what do to if this happens to you...
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Leave it to the experts
According to Rose, sugaring is a perfectly safe method of waxing, but it requires a lot of experience to do right.
She said: "Sugaring is one of the oldest methods for hair removal and completely safe for all skin types as it is a completely natural treatment. However, mastering the technique takes a while and is best performed by a trained practitioner.
"When the wax is pulled from the skin whilst doing the treatment, it can cause the tiny blood vessels under the surface of the skin to burst, which can cause bleeding under the skin and bruising.
"This happens more when people have not practised enough with waxing, especially sugaring."
It's all about technique
With all the experience needed to properly sugar legs, amateur waxers often do the steps incorrectly, which can lead to broken blood vessels.
Khandwala explained: "For example, not holding the skin taut when removing the sugar paste of the skin, as well as the paste could be too thickly applied and this makes it difficult to flick and remove which causes the trauma to the skin.
"A lot of people tend to also remove their wax - whether it's strips or sugar paste - perpendicular to their leg, so upwards.
"The appropriate technique is to remove it in a parallel direction, so back up the skin.
"This helps remove hair directly from the roots, not break hairs, and also not pull too hard on the skin."
The correct way to wax at home
If you are going to attempt to wax at home, how you position yourself is crucial for a good result.
Rosie advised: "Do not do a treatment on your legs lying down.
"Always have the leg raised on something e.g. a chair, and always do a patch test before attempting any waxing treatment on any part of the body.
"Immediately after waxing use a cold compress on the skin to calm and soothe it. If you do bruise use arnica cream."
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