Bikini waxing - who does it?

[Ms. Chevious]

OK, I don't want to know about those of you who wax other body parts, I just want to know who regularly waxes downstairs - I have questions. I had it done once and it was so painful I almost left halfway through, but worse than that was that I have seriously sensitive skin and it never ended up looking good - just raw and irritated for days! (Though I didn't know then about using exfoliating scrub everyday to prevent ingrown hairs, so I would do that now). But for those of you who suffer for it - does it get less painful? Does it look good? Do you have to ask for a certain, um "style" (Brazilian, etc.) or is it one size fits all? How often do you have to go? Do you go bare assed or wear a g-string when they do it? How do you find a good waxer?

[wallycat]

Just my humble opinion....LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I used to shave there because I thought I "ought to" ....oh the agony.

Finally met DH and told him of my angst...he thought I was INSANE.
He thinks ...leave it alone.
trim with scissors if overly obvious and self-conscious....otherwise, LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(most guys think it's sexy from what I am told...)

curious to hear other posts...but I will NEVER again put myself through that kind of pain. I know it's easy for me to say as I will also never be caught dead in a bathing suit.

[JHolcomb]

I am hairy like the ape. I tried bikini waxing exactly once thinking that it would get me smoother than shaving, that it would last longer and that it would grow in with less stubble. Nope, nope and nope. Not worth it. I do shave my upper thigh and groin and give the rest a trim with the scissors---I could be seen in public with a bathing suit, but I don't go to extremes (the labia are left alone, buddy!). Sorry. Graphic, but true.

[ChristieinMB]

I was wondering Wallycat, as I read your post, how you go out in a bathing suit, then finally at the end, you state you don't. If I didn't do the suit I wouldn't bother either, but... in a suit I'm not presentable down there without a job. I've done the waxing several times, but now I use (what's it called) a delapidator (sp?) It's easy to do at home any time I want, I don't need to make an appointment. But I don't think the waxing is that bad, uncomfortable but not miserable, maybe like a filling, but not a root canal.
But why are you asking this question in October, this is a summer question? :
Christie

[Ms. Chevious]

Originally posted by ChristieinMB
But why are you asking this question in October, this is a summer question? :
Christie

Bikini waxing is seasonal?? I don't even own a bathing suit so that's not really the concern - I shave everything else year-round so the bikini is no exception, its an aesthetic thing - must look presentable at all times! I've shaved, Nair-ed, etc. and am tired of the daily upkeep - I know, I probably am way too concerned about it but what can I say?

And can I get answers from people who actually wax? What's up with 2 out of 3 responses being from footloose and fancy free non-waxers?

[krispy spo]

I'm not a regular waxer, I only did it once, this past April, the day before a trip to Aruba. It hurt like h*** but she was very quick and efficient at least. I got a red bumpy rash so I wished I had done it a few days before the trip so it would have faded a bit. The place I went to charged $40 which I thought was high, but I don't have anything to compare it to. Plus, if you want to continue waxing you have to let the hair grow back to a decent length so that the wax can grab it. So, this isn't a great option if you are in a bathing suit a lot during the summer. I went back to shaving. It's quicker and cheaper!

[RobinC]

I will come out from lurking....

I wax. I primarily have facial waxing, lip and brow, but I have bikini waxing done as well (just not as regularly).

First, it is really important to find a good professional to do the waxing. The lady I go to is fabulous. Very professional and one of the best waxers I've ever gone to. For facial waxing she uses a different type of wax that really minimizes redness and bumps. She uses a good quality wax for bikini. I think she will also use a different wax for people with sensitive skin.

The first wax treatment usually results in more redness and potential bumps. After regular waxing, the hairs are thinner and seem to be used to being pulled out. Wax that is too hot can also cause a lot of redness.

I use a product called No Bump by Gi Gi Honey. It works really well to minimize the bumps/ingrown hairs after waxing or shaving. I also exfoliate after waxing. My waxing professional really likes the exfoliating gloves you can get, they seem to work better for getting into the groin area.

Regular vs Brazilian

A Brazilian wax takes EVERYTHING. You have to go bare assed for it. Most plazes will charge extra for it (and should) because it is a lot more work. For a regular bikini wax I wear my regular undies. She will go as "skinny" was I want. I like something more than the little landing strip. I just don't want the "side burn" look when I wear a bathing suit (and I swim year round).

How often I go varies. I know people who regularly bikini wax every 4 weeks. It depends on how long it takes your hair to grow. I go in for a lip and brow wax every 2 1/2 weeks, so getting in for a bikini wax is no big deal. Talk to your waxing professional about how long the hair needs to be for waxing.

[wallycat]

ChristieinMB, I have worn bathing suits--rarely (and when I was young
) but found scissors more than adequate...not to mention suits that weren't overly skimpy

Don't throw me off the BB, but even though I pretty much grew up in America, we here are awefully...ummm...prudish(???) when it comes to bodily hair. I know it is an aesthetic thing we have been raised with. Europeans aren't nearly as hair-phobic. Women regularly do not shave their underarms, though they have started to shave their legs in most bigger cities.
The japanese men are now waxing their whole bodies to be more pleasing to the opposite sex....

Maybe this is more important or obvious since bathing suits are smaller and smaller.....but for me, I'm unwilling to subject myself to this much pain ...I'd rather not wear a suit (i mean not go swimming ) or live with the scissor effect and forget about it.

sorry to ramble....

[HejazSunKat]

Originally posted by wallycat
Just my humble opinion....LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol...Yeah! I've never done bikini wax but I do particpate in lip waxing ever since I was teaching 2nd grade religious ed when I was in high school and one of the little 'darlings' told me I had a better mustache than her brother. I think slathering hot wax on a body part and then ripping off the hair is positively barbaric but...you've got to suffer to be beautiful.

I'm not much of a beach goer so a razor has always seemed sufficient to me for hair control 'downstairs'. If anybody's looking that closely at my crotch I'd better be married to him. I couldn't help laughing uproariously at Robin's description of a Brazilian bikini wax. The idea of someone pouring hot wax all over my hairy white *** and then ripping it off is just well, too incredibly funny. Not gonna happen in this lifetime! And I always thought performing a pedicure must be the world's biggest s**t job!

But, of course, it's all a matter of personal preference. If it makes you happy, makes you feel good about yourself, go for it.

[Kristilyn1]

Thanks for the laugh ladies---I totally needed it today!

Though I will say, the guys on this board, if they read this will be traumatized for life.

What I want to know is, what products are there to take away that completely chewed up look I get from shaving. I need products, girls.

Kristi

[luv2run]

Ms. Chevious,

I've done waxing many times, yes, even Brazilian! Since I discovered my Venus razor, I just shave now. I have never nicked (ow!!!) myself or gotten razor burn with the Venus. Of course, you have to shave quite often but it's not expensive, private and much, much less painful!

Debbie

[hrk]

OK,
I admit I wax my bikini line regularly and have done so for about 12 years.
When I first started shaving, I would break out in terrible rashes and get bumps all over the place, so that's when I looked into alternatives. It is to the point now that I truly don't even notice.
Some pointers:
First expect to pay between $25-35 because the people who are good and know what they are doing usually charge accordingly.
Second don't be afraid to keep trying new people until you find someone you like. I have moved a couple of times and routinely see four or five people before I find someone I like.
Third maintenance is the key. Yes it will hurt the first few times, but as you get used to it, it is hardly noticeable. I go every four weeks religiously through the entire year. Also try to time it so the appointment is right after your period when your skin is less sensitive.
And finally work with the person giving you the wax. Tell them you have sensitive skin, they will usually adjust their products. Tell them how much hair to take off and from where. And if they hurt you let them know.
Normally I just wear a normal pair of underwear and then pull it in a little. Some places I have gone to, give you disposable g-strings to wear to protect your panties. Pulling the skin taught also helps minimize the pain.
Hope this helps
Heather

[sunberst]

i have always thought about going in for a wax, but i don't really know of a place! once i was getting my nails done at a nail salon, and this woman came in for a bikin wax, and this guy took her back into this room to do it. i was horrified! i don't want a strange man doing that!

i always shave. i like to be nice & well groomed. i exfoliate once in awhile, so i dont have a problem with ingrown hairs. i just think its such a neater look. even if i am not wearing a bikini... i hate having little hairs sneaking around behind a nice tiny pair of underware. it is unattractive to me. it looks more polished, and from what i have been told, most guys love it! however, i do it for myself- not to please anyone else. but if dbf thinks it is sexy as well, then thats a bonus.

[beejayw1]

OMG! I am rolling here! This was a laugh I needed this morning:

Originally posted by HejazSunKat
If anybody's looking that closely at my crotch I'd better be married to him.

Amusing to picture what might happen to someone who wasn't!

Originally posted by MsChievious
its an aesthetic thing - must look presentable at all times!

Can you imagine this sort of beauty display at the Miss America pageant, for example??

Originally posted by RobinC
I like something more than the little landing strip. I just don't want the "side burn" look when I wear a bathing suit (and I swim year round).

I can relate to that.

originally posted by Kristilyn1 What I want to know is, what products are there to take away that completely chewed up look I get from shaving. I need products, girls.

Hear, hear! Any suggestions?

[Heidi]

::Shyly raising her hand::

Okay, I get bikini waxes regularly. I was scared to death of the pain the first time I had it done, but it really wasn't that bad. Not a pleasant, happy fun-time sensation by any means, but not torturous. I happen to think that getting my upper lip waxed is actually more painful! I think different people have different levels of skin sensitivity that can make waxing (especially bikini waxing!)either a not so bad experience or one that you would never dream of doing again.

As far as frequency, I'd say I go about once a month. I'm a pretty hairy person (DH and I joke our kids are going to look like chimps when they're born) so mine does grow back relatively quickly, and I tend to have problems with ingrown hairs. My only advice is to use a loofah or those exfoliating gloves, and I also use a product called No Bumps. I once had an aesthetician tell me I could also use one of those Apricot facial scrubs--anything to keep the area exfoliated will cut down on ingrowns.

As far as Brazilian...well, I've done it a couple of times. I did it for my honeymoon, as well as once before that just to try it out. I got the labia done and everything. If you plan on doing that, just check your modesty at the door. It's more of a 'partner-assisted' sort of activity than regular bikini waxing, because you have to help pull the skin taut and there are all those skin folds and cracks and crevices. Because the skin there is so thin and delicate, the first time I had a Brazilian, the girl accidentally ripped off a patch of skin, and it was red and raw for a while. That was NOT fun.

When I go, I prefer to wear no undies to have it done. At this new place I've gone they give you the little paper thong to wear and just pull it to the side, but I really don't see the point--they have to expose the whole thing anyway to make sure it's even and such, so I think it just gets in the way and it's annoying to me to have to hold it out of the way the whole time. The place I went before just draped a towel over you and covered up the side they weren't working on, which I found much easier.

Well! I'm sure that was way more than you all wanted to know about me, but maybe that answered some of Ms. Chevious' questions.

[1MegMeg]

Hello fellow waxing and non-waxing divas!

I have been waxing (Brazilian!) the hampster for about a year now and I would NEVER go back to shaving. I am *extremelly* hairy and I just like the idea of being neat, tidy, and groomed. It looks nice to me. When I used to shave I would get rashes, bumps, ingrown hairs, et cetera. And even though the hair was growning out at warp speed I couldn't shave that often because everything would just get too irritated. I finally decided it was time to moce on to waxing.

The salon that I get my hair cut at has an aesthetician and that's who I go to. She is wonderful, very professional and does an excellent job. Obviously, waxing is a bit uncomfortable, but I don't really find it to be that painful. Okay, here are some tips, pointers, what to expect, et cetera.

When looking for a aesthetician, call around to some of the nicer salons in you area. Ask the aesthetician how long he/she has been doing Bikini/Brazilian waxes, how many clients they have, et cetera. Also ask if the salon uses a special wax for the bikini area. The place I go to uses a special Aloe Vera wax (it's green!) for the bikini area.

Take some Advil before you go, it will help with the pain.

If you are getting a Brazilian, don't be shy (well try not to be). You will be naked from the waist down and will most likely have to get in odd positions (leg up in the air, maybe laying on your somach) so the aesthetician can easily remove all of the hair.

The first time is definitely the worst and most time consuming. After that, if you go on a regular basis (I go once a month) the hairs are sparser so the waxing is easier.

Okay, that's all I can think of for now. PM me if you have more questions.

[SusanMac]

This entire thread must be added to the next Bridget Jones diary book!!

Next question -- do they wax underarms, too?? I've never heard anyone discuss it, but figure if they do bikini lines, surely they'd do underarms. I'm really, really, really tired of shaving there. What a pain. I've gotten lazy this summer and only shaved every few weeks (DH thinks this is strange). Anyone have experience with this? Any tips?

[1MegMeg]

Hmm, I don't know if they do under arm waxing. I am going to ask my aesthetician though b/c I hate shaving my pits! They always get irritated.

And I definitely agree that this thread should be in the next Bridget Jones' Book!

[buffygirl]

My SIL is an aesthetician, she just moved to my town, can you say impeccibly groomed?

Yes, they do arm pits. I've never had my pits done, but SIL says it is probably the most painful area to wax, at least the firt time. But she's been waxing hers regularly for maybe a year or so and now she has hardly any hair that grows back. I'm thinking I may start.

Count me in as a bikini waxer. Like everyone else says, the first time or 2 hurts, but done regularly, its not that big of a deal.

Kim (who has been off the boards nearly a month and the first post she posts is about waxing! )

[Gilgamesh37]

I have hesitated to post in this thread--a similar thread sprung up on a different BB that I used to frequent, and things got so unruly that, um, a bunch of us got permanently banned

I have done home waxing (both with commercial waxes and the ever popular infomercial NADS) with mixed results. Never seems to pull all the way clean, so I end up tidying up with tweezers anyway, so it was like what's the point? and then for a while I *just* tweezed, which worked surprisingly well. Now I shave--for me, anyway, if I scrub with the exfoliating gloves (My boyfriend: "Why are there pink Mickey Mouse gloves in the shower?") and use a fairly new blade and lots of shampoo to lather up, I do just fine. Use the Jergens shave-less lotion afterwards, and I'm fine--nice and neat, little if any problems with rash, etc.

Underarms: it's so funny this came up, because someone on another board just recently mentioned that she had her underarms electrolyzed. I was stunned. I had never heard of it or thought it, but the minute she said it, I did the dummy head-slap and thought Of Course! I can see waxing would be a problem because it's such an odd topography, but electrolysis I would think would work fine. I can't begin to think how much it might have cost, but when you factor in all those years upon years of razor blades and shaving cream and so forth, it begins to make economic sense too.....

[1MegMeg]

Well I just checked out my salon's website and for a mere $15, I too can get my pits waxed. I bet you have to let it grow out for a while though, so the wax has something to "grab" on to. Hmmm, I don't know about that. I live in Florida and wear tank tops a lot. I am not sure about having my pit fur all exposed while it is growing out.

[RobinC]

Originally posted by 1MegMeg
I have been waxing (Brazilian!) the hampster for about a year now and I would NEVER go back to shaving.

OMG, I just spit diet coke out everywhere I started laughing so hard.

[1MegMeg]

Originally posted by RobinC


OMG, I just spit diet coke out everywhere I started laughing so hard.

Heehee! I am glad I made you laugh, Robin.

[wallycat]

I wonder how the Laser permanent hair-removal would work in that area...

[sararosalie]

Okay, had to weigh in on this one.

I get a wax *there* during swimsuit season. I have it done a couple of times during the summer. I love the results. I'm not wild about the procedure but I think the right technician makes the difference. It hurts while I'm having it done, but it lasts so much longer than shaving and I don't get the red bumps that I do when I shave. So for me..it is worth it.

I'd recommend trying it and if you like the results, look for the right technician.

[KristinK]

Oh my God - this is even better than Friday Humor! I'm just trying not to get visuals

OK so as for me, I shave every day or two. I agree, I like to look "presentable," even if it's just for me and DBF. I'm just a big hygeine-freak (I also brush my teeth about 5 times a day).

I've been waxed once - before I went to Cancun my sophomore year of college, I got my legs, underarms, and bikini area waxed, just so I wouldn't have to bother with shaving while I was away. Two bad things about it - 1. it was pretty expensive and 2. you have to let your hair grow pretty long (about 2 weeks) for it to work! - but in the end, I think it was worth it for my vacation.

Originally posted by Kristilyn1
What I want to know is, what products are there to take away that completely chewed up look I get from shaving. I need products, girls.

I use Bikini Zone (in drug stores) - it's a clear gel that you apply to your bikini area and also your underarms after you shave to prevent razor burn or bumps (that "chewed up look").

Originally posted by wallycat
I wonder how the Laser permanent hair-removal would work in that area...

If I could afford it, I would probably do it

[LaraW]

Oh my, I am getting quite the education here.

I personally just use a razor...

[Gilgamesh37]

All the buzz I've been hearing about laser hair removal has been that it's totally NOT worth the time & expense. It is *quite* expensive, you usually have to go back for at least 3-4 treatments before you're totally done, and what I keep hearing over and over is that it's just not very effective--unless you're the palest person on the planet (think Edgar Winters--okay, so maybe not quite albino--Bernadette Peters?) and yet have really BLACK hair. Otherwise apparently the laser just can't "see" it sufficiently to remove. Actually, the largest plastic surgery/reconstructive surgery/cosmetic procedure facility in our area has stopped doing laser removal altogether, because it just was not that effective and clients were WAY not happy with the results vis-a-vis the money. FWIW

(and I'm guessing this here is yet another thread that is never going to show up in "Guess What They're Talking About On the BB?")

[MKSquared]

Originally posted by ChristieinMB
I've done the waxing several times, but now I use (what's it called) a delapidator (sp?)

Bwhahahahahah!!! I love it!! I believe you're thinking of a depilatory - but I like delapidator much better.

Okay - I have much to say about this subject .... never did a wax, but I shave. I've also had the laser hair removal, but on my face. However, there's a birthday party waiting, so I'll have to post later.

[Gilgamesh37]

Originally posted by MKSquared

but I like delapidator much better.

Delapidator: a device which does not remove any hair, but merely makes the entire bikini area look neglected and run down, so that the hair seems appropriate and in-context?