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!
Let’s Play Ball!
L’Oreal Professionnel Paris has created a styling product that allows you to play with bit of classy shimmery sass with its anti-frizz, alcohol-free finishing cream. Play Ball Pearl Whip by L’Oreal is part of the innovative tecni.Art range of styling products. Pearl Whip is a soft defining cream that is not oily in the least, as well as suitable for all hair types. Pearl Whip’s alcohol-free formula has mineral based particles that act as pearling agents to give you a natural finish with radiant shine. Pearl Whip contains thickener for an ultra light texture and a combination of fatty substances and silicone for better definition. Pearl Whip is also lightly fragranced so as to play nice with your chosen scent of the day. Play Ball Pearl Whip is absolutely worth going a round or two with.
Public Holiday Pampering Du Jour.
In Australia, It’s the Queen’s birthday again. Does that make it her second or third birthday this year? I can’t recall. Many of us have the day off today, so what better opportunity than to have a little beauty R & R. Well, it’s not so much pampering (*wink*), but more Public Holiday Monday Maintenance. I’m up for a little Public Holiday Monday Maintenance, how about you? On today’s Maintenance Monday Menu, I’m ordering up a face scrub, a mask, and blowdry. To be followed by a manicure and pedicure, I suspect. What do you think you’ll have? You’ll have to order up something for yourself. Everything’s good I hear. Enjoy!
S. O. S…. Subdue Our Strands!
I just had to laugh at myself this morning. I had a strand of hair that was really all about doing its own thing. Since I wasn’t up for sporting wayward flyaways, I went for the Terax Gloss Finishing Serum with concentrated silicone and vitamin E. Terax Gloss did the job of subduing my rogue flyaways with great aplomb in two strokes flat. Yessssss! Not only did my hair simmer down, but was instantly shiny and looked nicely finished. Just how we like it.
?NB: Terax Hair Care - This bottle really does need to be fitted with a little super hero cape. It certainly did come to my hair’s rescue. Thanks Super Terax!
Eyebrows: The Most Gorgeous Frame.
Our eyebrows clearly frame our face and set the tone for our image. This often ignored aspect of the face has such a tremendous influence on our look. Many folks often concentrate on all other areas of their grooming and makeup, but forget about these vital little beauties.
Immaculately groomed and well shaped eyebrows give us a polished look, even when we are wearing no makeup at all. (Fellas, I’m looking at you!) When we have cleared out all the undergrowth that can so quickly accumulate under and between our brows without being noticed and then shape these babies into a full and clean arch, we gain the effect of looking more alert and flatteringly well groomed.
Beauty Marked! recommends that you have your eyebrows professionally shaped at least once in your life. But be warned, once you see the miraculous difference gorgeously shaped brows make, you’ll be hooked!
The End Is Nigh.
For your beloved skincare items. Now what? I don’t know about you, but to me, it seems such a colossal waste when you have a product or several products in fact, that will not get used before it’s time for them to give up the ghost. I often find myself in this situation, when I have a beauty product that I adore, so I use only the tinciest amount each application so as to prolong its time in my possession. But what I end up doing, without fail, is miscalculating the realistic daily allotment and end up with tons left when the PAO (see Wednesday’s post) and the commencement of regular sniff testing is just around the corner. It’s ridiculous! Even if the products weren’t suited to you for its original intended use, too oily for your liking, or the wrong texture for your face, for example, perhaps they can be used another way. With a little lateral thinking, it may be possible to salvage that moisturizer, scrub, or mask, and then it won’t seem like such a squander when you have to let it go. Simply reinvent its use.
Just a few of my favourite ways to use up skincare items are as follows:
- use facial exfoliants on the decollete, hands, and the tops of feet.
- use gentle gel cleansers without any chemical exfoliants to cleanse makeup brushes.
- use face cleansers with chemical exfoliants (such as AHA, BHA, SA etc.) as body wash.
- use rich night creams as shaving creams (men can get in on the action with this tip too).
- use face masks on the decollete, hands, and back.
- use moisturizing serums (oil based) as hair glosses.
- use untinted lip balms as hair wax for the bitsy look or to slick down rogue strays.
