How to Wax Your Own Bikini With Minimum Pain

Whether you are trying your hand at maintenance between spa visits or an invitation to a pool party has caught you unawares, being able to wield a wax strip is an important part of any woman’s skill set. Done properly, the experience does not have to be mind-numbingly painful either.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Wax kit purchased from any drug store
• Mild pain reliever (recommended for some, but not required)
• Nail scissors
• Tweezers
• Aloe vera gel

1. Purchase a wax kit from your local drug store, grocery and health food stores often carry them as well. A typical kit includes: wax—either the kind that you apply cold or heated, an applicator, strips of cloth and oil to remove any residual wax. Some wax kits have plastic strips with the wax already applied to them. These kits tend to be more expensive than others that are available, but they are easier to use and make the whole process much less messy.
2. Time your wax within your monthly menstrual cycle. Do not wax your bikini line if you are menstruating or suffering from pre-menstrual syndrome. You may find that at this time waxing is more painful than at others.
3. Take a mild pain reliever such as an ibuprofen about an hour before you want to wax your bikini. If you are a bikini wax veteran who doesn’t feel much discomfort during a spa visit, you may want to skip this step.
4. Clean and dry the area that you want to wax, making sure that it is free of any lotion. If necessary, apply a little baby powder to the region to absorb any sweat. If the hair that you want to remove is over a centimetre or half an inch long, you may want to trim it a little bit with a pair of nail scissors.
5. Follow the directions supplied with your kit on warming the wax. Apply the wax with the applicator to the bikini line in the same direction as your hair growth. Smooth a strip down on top of the wax that you have just applied. If you are using pre-waxed plastic strips, smooth the strip onto the area where you want to remove your hair in the same direction that your hair is growing.
6. Pull your skin with one hand so that the area covered by the strip is taut. You will lessen the pain of waxing if your skin does not get pulled up when you remove the strip.
7. Still holding your skin firmly with one hand, grasp the end of the strip that you have applied and pull it quickly off of your skin. You should be pulling in the opposite direction in which you applied the strip, against the direction of hair growth. Also make sure that you do not pull the strip up, but that your hand remains close to your skin at all times.
8. Repeat steps four to six above until you have removed all the hair along your bikini line to your satisfaction. Tweeze any stray hairs that were not removed with the wax. Apply the oil that came with your kit to the bikini area to remove any residual wax. If your bikini area is feeling tender after the waxing, you may wish to soothe it by applying some aloe vera gel.

Tips & Warnings

• Hair should be a minimum of about ¼ inch in order for waxing to be effective.
• When showering in-between waxes, make sure to buff your waxed skin either with a loofah or a coarse washcloth. This will help to prevent ingrown hairs.
• Because the area that you have waxed will be red and sore afterwards, you may want to wax at least 24 hours before donning your bathing suit for the pool party!
• Do not use wax on skin that is bruised, scarred, or that has an open sore. Do not use wax on a mole. While it is safe to wax your bikini line, do not wax your genitals.
• Do not shower or bathe immediately after waxing your bikini.