Let’s be honest: Waxing hurts like a b*tch. That’s a serious bummer, given that it’s one of the most useful ways to remove unwanted body hair from everywhere from your eyebrows to your bikini line. Luckily, there are some easy things you can do to minimize the pain. We promise you won’t feel like crying if you follow these tips:
It’s important to do your homework and find someone with experience who will take the necessary steps to reduce pain during the entire process. (Yelp is a good place to look for reviews, as is asking friends for recommendations.) "Your wax specialist will take certain steps to ensure a quick, almost pain-free, flawless treatment while taking great care of your skin," says Holly Green, a hair-removal specialist and the owner of Norabloom Botanicals & Beauty Lounge in Ithaca, New York. Call or e-mail to ask them what products they use, how they prep the skin, how long a wax job usually takes, and how they soothe the skin post-wax before you have any hair removed. Ideally, you want to go to someone who uses an all-natural wax (it's less harsh) and can offer to apply an anesthetic cream beforehand to numb the pain. While the time it'll take to finish a wax job varies depending on how much hair you want removed and what area of the body you're getting done, it should take no more than an hour, tops.
RELATED: Watch These Guys Get a Wax for the Very First Time
More From Women's Health
Standard Pelvic Tilts
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:03
/
Duration 0:14
Loaded: 100.00%
0:03
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:11
1x
- Chapters
- Quality
- 1080p
- 720p
- 540p
- 360p
- 270p
- auto, selected
- descriptions off, selected
- captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
- captions off, selected
- English
- default, selected
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
TextColorWhiteTransparencyOpaqueBackgroundColorBlackTransparencyOpaqueWindowColorBlackTransparencyTransparent
Font Size50%Text Edge StyleNoneFont FamilyProportional Sans-Serif
End of dialog window.
"Standard Pelvic Tilts"
Up Next
00:14
Pelvic Tilt Upper Body Support Variation
00:14
00:16
Stability Ball Pelvic Tilt
00:16
00:12
Quadruped Pelvic Tilt
00:12
Watch: Standard Pelvic Tilts
Your pain threshold is higher a few days after your period, so schedule accordingly. However, everyone has a slightly different sensitivity level, says Noemi Grupenmager, the founder and CEO of Uni K Wax Centers. So experimenting with the time of the month that works best for you may be most appropriate.
Hydration is key when it comes to reducing pain, so guzzle up! "When you moisturize the skin on the outside and drink plenty of water, the skin is plump, and this allows for an easier removal of hair and a more enjoyable waxing experience," says Grupenmager.
RELATED: 7 Things You Need to Know Before You Wax
You may think that enjoying an alcoholic beverage pre-wax would help calm your nerves and lower the amount of pain you feel. Not so since alcohol actually tightens your pores, says Grupenmager. "Open pores allow for a less painful experience as the hair follicle is easily removed from the pore," she says. "A tight pore will hold onto the follicle," making waxing more difficult.
"Exfoliate prior to waxing to loosen dead skin around the hair follicle," says Green. This helps to prevent bumps and ingrown hairs and ensures a smooth, faster, and therefore less painful experience. That’s because exfoliating beforehand allows the wax to reach shorter hairs on the first go—no take two required.
RELATED: 6 Women (and One Guy!) Share Their Bikini Wax Horror Stories
Not all waxes are created equal. Synthetic waxes are harsh, and sometimes they even remove some of your skin. So before she gets down to business, ask your waxing specialist to use an all-natural elastic wax. "It's designed to only remove the hair, not a layer or two of skin,” says Grupenmager. It works by stretching over the skin and molding around the hair, removing it from the pore. As the pore opens up, it's moisturized by the natural ingredients prior to the hair being removed.
