By Piper Sloane
Today, I’m talking to my ladies (and anyone who identifies as a lady). Let’s be real: shaving sucks. Especially down there. I’ve tried Venus, Schick, Flamingo, and hell, even some men’s razor brands, and I still end up with the same result – red, bumpy skin with in-grown hairs. I get two maybe three days of fun before my skin is itchy and prickly.
So, if you feel my pain, then let me put you on. Hear me out, Brazilian waxes. Yeah, yeah, I know, “but it hurts.” I won’t lie to you, it definitely does, but the pain is a small price to pay for easy maintenance and a hell of a lot of confidence.
I was anxious the few days leading up to my appointment because I’d spent the whole weekend reading articles about whether or not it was worth it. Each time I read one I thought, “I don’t know if I can do this.” But, I convinced myself that I needed to give it a shot at least once. After that, if I hated it, I could go back to the pain-in-the-ass razor.
If you’ve never had a bikini or Brazilian wax before, there are a few things you need to do in preparation for your appointment. First and foremost, you need to grow your hair (and yes, that includes your bikini line). This is by far the worst part of the process, you know, besides the ripping of hair from one of the most sensitive parts of your body.
Your hair has to be about one-fourth of an inch long the day you go in for your wax, or else it’ll be too short for the wax to hold onto. If you can’t really gauge that, it’s about the length of a grain of rice. For most people, it takes about two weeks to reach that length without shaving, but it ultimately depends on how fast your hair grows.
On the day of your appointment, take a shower before you head over. Not only for hygiene purposes, but because you need to exfoliate that region prior to the waxing. I bought a pair of EcoTools exfoliating gloves to help me out a bit. When you exfoliate, make sure to gently move your hands upward to help remove dead skin build-up around and in the follicle.
Some people recommend moisturizing before your appointment and after exfoliating, but my esthetician advised me against it. As long as you’ve exfoliated, your hair will be easier to remove.
I decided to pay Christine Sgambati a visit at The Longmeadow Salon. Let me tell you, she did not disappoint. As soon as I arrived, Christine made me feel totally comfortable. She’d asked me if I’d ever done this before, to which I shyly said no, and she told me that “it was an honor” that I’d decided to come to her.
Christine talked me through the entire process as she was doing it; that way there was no confusion. Before we got started, she had me fill out a form stating if I had any medical conditions and what my top three concerns were for the appointment. 1. Pain. The other two were left blank because nothing else was stressing me out about the whole ordeal.
She laughed at my concern and told me that it wouldn’t be pleasant, but that “the first one is always the worst.” Christine then left me to change and get myself situated on the massage table and cover myself with a small towel. She began by prepping my skin with witch hazel.
Christine uses two different types of wax when doing Brazilians because the skin changes the more inward you get. She started by using a soft wax paired with waxing strips, which is the same one you’d use when you get your eyebrows or lip done. When I asked why you shouldn’t only use soft wax all the way down, she told me it was because that “could do some serious damage.” Some estheticians use soft wax alone, and while it does work, it isn’t the best option because it can tear off layers of your skin and cause severe irritation.
Previously, I thought that the top of my mons pubis and bikini line was going to hurt the least because hello, the lips are super sensitive, but clearly, I was wrong. Christine started at the top and warned me that it would be painful, still, I sat propped on my elbows watching her work and telling myself I’d be fine. As soon as she ripped the first strip off, I swear to God my eyes almost bulged out of my head.
The only thing that came out of my mouth was, “Oh.” Christine explained that this area was the most painful because our central nervous system runs all the way down the middle of our body — right through the spot she’d just waxed.
After the first strip, I made a silent plan with myself to prepare for the ones to follow. When she put the wax on, I’d slowly inhale. When she began to rip it, I would exhale, and honestly, it helped. As she worked, we talked about tattoos and life which aided in my relaxation and allowed me to focus less on the pain.
When she switched from the soft wax to the hard wax, I asked her to tell me more about it. She explained that “the hard wax creates its own strip,” which adheres to the hair and not the skin. Since it creates its own strip, you can go back over those areas multiple times to make sure all of the hair has been removed without damaging the skin.
Following the last bit of waxing, Christine applied an antibacterial soothing cream that felt a little like Icy Hot. It helped calm my skin and protected the freshly waxed follicles from infection.
Overall, my appointment lasted just less than an hour and I’m shocked with how well it went. It’s been over a week now and my skin is still smooth and bump-free. Although waxing regularly can be somewhat pricey (only $55 with Christine), it’s beyond worth it. I don’t have to worry about countless in-grown hairs, razor burn, or accidentally cutting myself. Plus, the more regularly you do it, the less hair grows back. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
If you want to check out Christine and all of her services, you can find her on Facebook as Christine at the Longmeadow Salon or reach her at 413-565-5300!
