D. I. Y. Brazilians.
I received a great emailed question via our online beauty magazine Beauty Marked! and instantly knew a fair few of you would love to know the very same thing. This valued Beauty Marked! reader’s email was in response to the BM! Q&A page answer regarding Horticulture of The Nether Regions, no doubt.
The email reads as follows:
I was reading your article about Brazilians and I was wondering wether its ok to do it yourself the first time? And if so what products are there that are good? And are there any tips or hints I need? Also I love the site xxx
Firstly and most importantly, thank you for your email and kind words about the Site. You’ve made my day! Secondly, it is, absolutely, fine to D.I.Y. Brazilians. But let’s face it, it may just require you to channel your inner Yogi in order to do it thoroughly, but it’s doable nonetheless. As a first timer to Brazilians, I suspect it may be a good idea to have it done professionally first, and then you can capably take over the reigns next time. The reason for letting a professional have a go initially is that they will be infinitely quicker at the job and possibly a little less painful. Let’s face it, no matter which side you part your hair on, Brazilians can be a tad ouchy until you get used to it. So the quicker it’s done, the better. Then you can get on with deciding if Brazilians are for you and if you’re feeling up to the task after seeing and experiencing what’s involved.
So what do you do once the baton is passed to you? What are the D.I.Y.-er’s essentials you ask? I wouldn’t even dream of attempting a Brazilian without the following:
An electric wax pot
A quality hard/hot wax
A mirror that can stand on its own
A waxing spatula
A quality pair of slant tweezers
A superb post wax oil (which can double as a pre wax oil too)
Towels
(optional)
A quality strip wax and strips and an extra wax pot or pot insert for the strip wax
All of the above can be purchased from a reputable beauty supply store, which you can suss out from your local yellow pages. Go for the products that are best suited to your specific skin type and the best you can afford. Just to get you started, here are a few brands which should do the job nicely, but there are several decent lines and waxes available, so if you don’t see my recs., there’s sure to be other good ones about, so please don’t sweat it too much:
For…
Wax pots- Caron, Lycon
Hard/Hot Wax- Arbre, Mancine, Lycon (which are made especially for sensitive areas)
Slant Tweezers- Tweezerman, Rubis
Post wax oil - Caron, Lycon
Strip Wax and Strips- Caron Venetian Spun Lace Depilatory Roll, Mancine XXX Wax (these are optional)
Without boring you with an entire waxing tutorial, I’ll just leave you with a little more by way of explanation regarding a few things to consider, should you wish, when waxing. Hot wax is generally the wax of choice when attending to sensitive areas, but strip wax can be used successfully on the Mons Pubis (the triangular area also affectionately known as the map of Tassie) which is the pubic area that remains visible when standing with your legs closed. If that’s sounding like a little too much palaver than only go the hot wax, which is more than fine. The benefits of strip wax in this area only, is that it can wax a greater area quicker and some reckon it also gets finer hairs too. If you have used the strip wax for the Mons Pubis area, then go over the entire pubic area with a little Post Waxing Oil. Not only will it remove any trace of residue wax, but will disinfect and soothe the area waxed and prepare the unwaxed area for the hot wax. The quality post waxing oil doubles as a necessary pre wax oil which you will need to apply before hot waxing as this protects the skin greatly. Well, the tweezers, you will need to remove the few rogue hairs that inevitably get missed when waxing. Generally tweezing after waxing isn’t anywhere near as painful as tweezing prior, because many hairs are loosened in the initial waxing process and tend not to resist removal too much when plucked at this time.
After waxing, it’s often not recommended to have a hot shower for the day or swim in chlorinated pools or spas. I’d also recommend that you not wear tight under garments or tight trousers for the day of the wax either, as they can be chaffing. And lastly, consider any waxing well before the week your period is due. In the premenstrual period our pain threshold is lowered, which makes us slightly more sensitive. So, if it can be helped, try and avoid waxing during this time like the plague. *shakes head and sighs* Trust me, it’s not worth it.
So there you have it. It is absolutely okay to D.I.Y. wax, just give yourself a bit of time, limber up beforehand, and give it a go. Too easy!
2 Comments
- donna replied:
Waxing really hurts but i found this article enlighten to it. I pefer the olde shave.
November 27th, 2007 at 4:49 am. Permalink.
- tegan replied:
waxing may hurt for some people, but even so its a pain it hurts the time doing it but was soon as the pressure is realised its over, its a 2secound thing, its not something that drags on. if you try plucking yourself thinking it hurts then think its going to be worse because your pulling more hair out then you are wrong, its probably less painful. to get through it easy for 1st timers. picture something that would reall hurt, picture what you think the worse pain could be off waxing, it really isnt that bad.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:14 pm. Permalink.
