Benefits & Possible Side Effects of Waxing at Home

a woman holding a bowl of wax

Waxing at Home

We all want to get rid of body hair and attain smooth and hairless skin and we turn to distinct ways to achieve that. Be it hair removal cream or shaving or waxing, we all do it but for those who head to the salon to get a wax done every month, we feel that it's painful but a little pain to attain beauty the way we want it isn't a big deal. Waxing is one of the most common approaches to hair removal that most women turn to.

This way is also the most effective because it removes the hair from the root and that means that you will have a smooth and hairless body for quite a while, till your hair grows back. But this does not signify that it does not have any side effects, waxing has a lot of side effects that can affect our skin in the long- run.

Different types of waxing

There are two techniques of waxing hot waxing and warm waxing. With warm waxing, the wax is applied straight to the skin using a spatula. Strips of fabric are smoothed over the wax and then removed fast, removing the wax and hair from the skin.

Hot waxing uses hot wax which is applied directly to the skin. The wax is left to cool and harden a little bit on the skin. The corner of the wax is then lifted up and the wax is pulled straight off the skin.

Hot waxing helps to open the pores more before the strips are removed, making it more suited to more delicate areas. For us, hot wax benefits overweigh those of warm wax in utmost scenarios.

Benefits of Waxing

It’s handy: You can do waxing at home or at a salon. The latter one is the best option, of course. Because, sure, at-home waxing is accessible, but why do so when the salon is just as accessible and much, much easier (not to mention speedier — see point above), more precise and less messy?

Lesser irritating: Epilation, hair removal gels and creams generally affect further irritation to the skin than waxing. True, you may witness redness post-wax — but it generally subsides fairly quickly.

Laser hair removal isn’t always an option to choose for everybody. Factors like pain tolerance, cost and even skin tone can play a part. It is even not recommended for pregnant women. So get on the wax.

Waxing produces better results than shaving: You all want unwanted hair to be gone, right? Shaving simply sloughs down the exterior layer of hair, leaving the follicle intact. Waxing removes hair from the origin. Because the more you wax, the longer it takes for the hair to raise. Waxing deadens the hair follicle. Hair regrowth is much slower post-wax.

The more you continue to wax, the more chances the regrowth of hair becomes finer, softer and lighter (not rough or coarse). That amazing feeling of leg stubble one-day post-shave? 

Waxing promotes lesser ingrown hairs: When you wax, your skin is pulled taut and the wax or cloth pulled briskly. This allows for an exact, less painful process ( particularly if you book at a wax salon) — and lessens the chance of ingrown hairs.

And eventually When the wax is applied and stripped off, the outer layer of skin — and any dead, flaky skin cells — is removed along with the wax. Skin is exfoliated and texture enhanced. Just an added bonus. And who doesn’t appreciate that?

Side effects of waxing

  1. When we get our body hair waxed it means that each hair will be pulled out from the root which generally causes our skin to bruise. Tearing the hair from the root leaves a tiny injury under the skin which can often bleed if you have delicate skin and this also means that you need to give your skin some moment to heal and take excess care while you do it.
  1. While waxing our body hair we end up pulling our skin quite a lot and this can have an effect on our skin. It can make our skin lose its elasticity in the long run and prompt our skin to sag sooner than expected.
  1. Waxing continually causes inflammation and this can lead to post-inflammatory pigmentation. This means waxing can darken your skin or can cause dark spots as a reaction to the hot wax and skin damage.
  1. Waxing frequently leads to ingrown hair which makes your skin feel rough and gritty and this is just a side effect of hair removal ways that you can not avoid. But it's important to wait for your ingrown hair to grow out at a certain length before you hit the salon for another waxing appointment.
  1. Waxing opens up all the pores on your skin and makes your skin more prone and susceptible to skin infections. You need to take excess care of your skin after a waxing session and assure that it remains healthy and prevents infections.

id="4"Take Away

Always do a test waxing before using any kind of wax. That can cause an infection. Dead skin and dirt can clog the pores, causing a red rash, so it's better to exfoliate the day before you’re going to wax. For good results, apply wax in the direction your hair grows and then remove it from the opposite direction of hair growth.

Your hair has to be about one-quarter inch long, the length of a rice kernel, so the wax can catch it and pull it out at the roots. That’s nearly seven days of growth on average.

Look for an aroma-and dye-free wax or one that says it’s hypoallergenic if you have delicate skin.

When you are done with the waxing, apply a facial toner that contains chamomile to soothe your skin and reduces your chances of redness and swelling.

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