Every summer, I cringe at the idea of having to put on a bathing suit and head outside.
There are a few reasons bathing-suit season makes me worry. My first concern is always my super-pale skin (and threat of sunburn), but my second and more serious concern is dealing with body hair.
During the winter, lots of women like to grow out the hair on their bodies — from leg hair to pubic hair, we give up on shaving (since nobody is going to see it anyway!).
I always hate shaving my bikini line because I end up with painful red bumps afterward. This year, I decided to do something different "down there": waxing.
I've never been professionally waxed before — but after learning more about pubic hair when I wrote about it for LittleThings, I decided it was time to branch out.
Professional waxing seemed a little outside of my price range, though, so I bought some wax online and learned how to do a bikini wax at home. Here's what happened.
At-Home Body Hair Waxing
There are a lot of horror stories when it comes to waxing at home.
You never know what could happen — everything from accidentally burning your skin with overheated wax, to tearing off way too much hair, to chickening out and having wax stuck to your skin for weeks.
When it comes to bikini waxing, there's a lot to know.
Bikini Wax
There are a variety of styles you should know about when it comes to bikini waxing: au naturel (not shaving at all); touch-up (just trimming the edges); full bikini wax (still pretty natural, but totally clean around the edges for a style also known as the standard bikini line); French bikini wax (everything waxed, except for a "landing strip" down the middle); and Brazilian bikini wax (everything completely waxed off).
Because I was doing a bikini wax at home, I decided to just do a full bikini wax. I wanted to do something drastic enough to notice a change, but I didn't want to go too far (especially if it didn't go well).
How To Do A Bikini Wax At Home
I bought the Surgi-Wax Brazilian Waxing Kit because it seemed like it would suit my needs best — plus, the one box contained everything I needed.
The box came with a wax jar, two wooden spatulas, and a pre-waxing oil.
Inside the box, instructions told me to heat up the wax for a minute. When I tried that, it wasn't fully melted, so I put it back in the microwave for a little bit longer.
Once the wax was hot, I stirred it with the spatula. Next, I put the pre-epilation oil onto my skin, then applied the wax. When the wax was mostly dry, I peeled up the edge and tore it off my skin.
My Experience: Armpits
Since I was a little nervous about waxing my bikini line, I decided to start with an area that has fewer nerve endings: my leg. Once I had success with that area, I moved on to my armpits.
I rubbed the pre-waxing oil all over my armpits, then spread some of the warm wax onto my armpit hair. It had to go in the same direction as the hair grows, so I did half of my armpit at a time (since armpit hair grows in different directions).
Once the wax was mostly dry but still tacky, I knew it was go time.
I flicked up the edge of the wax, gripped it between my fingers, and pulled hard.
It hurt, but it wasn't too bad — and when I looked at the piece of wax I tore off, there was so much hair on it! It was very satisfying.
After the first application, I went back in with some more wax to pull off the rest of the hair.
The second bit wasn't quite as successful — I think the first pull made me sweat, which made the hair not stick as well.
After those two tries, I still had a lot of hair left in my armpit. However, I decided to stop, since the instructions said that you could make yourself bleed if you keep applying and pulling wax. Next up? My bikini line.
My Experience: Bikini Line
To wax my bikini line, I sat down on my couch with my knees out to the side.
I applied the oil and wax, pulled my skin taught (this step is important for the bikini line, but not necessary for armpits because the skin is already tight), and tore off the wax.
For your sake and mine, I'm not going to show you pictures of the results. Needless to say, it was very satisfying.
Honestly, it didn't hurt as much as I was expecting it to — almost all my hair came out, and it was relatively easy.
Next, I did the other side of my bikini line.
At one point, I got some wax stuck to my fingers, and it made me realize what a difference the pre-epilation oil made — it made it so that the wax stuck to the hair, and not to my skin.
Waxing At Home: Results
Honestly, waxing my armpits didn't go very well — and that's probably because this wax was made specifically for "private parts."
If I were to try this again on my armpits, I would probably buy some underarm-specific wax.
On my bikini line, the wax worked incredibly well — I was actually surprised how easy it was to use.
To be frank, it's kind of messy. The wax is sticky and if you're not careful, it can go all over the place.
Waxing At Home: Final Thoughts
Would I recommend this to a friend? I definitely would, but only if I knew this person wouldn't chicken out. If you have a low pain tolerance, this probably isn't the best bet for you.
Would I wax my bikini line at home again? I think so, yes. If I wanted to have a perfectly waxed bikini line, I'd probably think more seriously about going to a professional. But for what I wanted, I believe this went really well (although I probably need some more practice).
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