what should I expect from leg waxing?

It's only the second time I've ever had it done, and thank god it IS done because it's so warm here and jeans were starting to be insufferable.

I had originally had an appointment with a woman who got amazing reviews on yelp.com, and her price is pretty high. She is so popular that I had to book her five or six weeks out. It wasn't a price issue that made me cancel--I just couldn't wait till April 6 to wear shorts and skirts anymore. I very promptly was able to get an appt. with another woman who was well-reviewed and a little over half the price of this first salon.

This job is comparable to the only other waxing I had done, a long time ago. There's stray hairs...it's not like she only removed 50% of the leg hair, but there are more than I would like to see. I also see that a lot of hair that came off, didn't come off at the root but only at the skin surface. To me it's not quite clean and smooth a look, but again, maybe this is always unavoidable? (Some of the reviewers on yelp were talking about stiff wax vs. soft wax, with soft wax being not as good as getting to the root. I don't know if it's true, or what she used today.) Finally, even though she used oil to remove the gunk at the end, there is still some residue of it in spots.

I'm wondering if I'd gone for the chichi waxing salon, I would have avoided all this...don't know if I should try this other place (that costs almost double) or be happy with today's salon, and be prepared to whip out my tweezers when I get home. Thoughts?

13 years ago

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I think the length of the hair makes a huge difference. If it is a bit too long, you get more breaking at the surface instead of coming out. I don't think I have ever not had that happen.

Mochi

It was pretty long because I haven't been able to shave at all since December due to my arm being injured. Thanks, that's a point to consider. All I was told was that it had to be more than a certain length, but nothing about too long.

Diana

I do it myself at home, with the precoated wax strips from Sally Hansen. They never remove all the hair but I go back over with a tweezer (an eyebrow one is fine) and pull out the strays. I find that the few that break at the surface grow back faster (since they still have their root) and I can just tweeze them a week or so later.

Disclaimer though: I have very sparse leg hair (and only on some parts of my leg, it's weird), but it's black and somewhat coarse so it does show. I'm not sure my method would work if one had more hair than me.

Meredith1953

I have always been too chicken to do leg waxing. One time in high school my younger sister and I wanted to wax our legs and it really hurt! It was cold wax and still painful.

ManidipaM

Dianthus is right --- longer hair can break at the skin surface. So can finer hair. Waxing works best with coarser hair. (I'll admit I hate it. I'm a total wuss for the pain, but I get more breakage than average despite coarse hair, because I have keratin-plugged follicles --- benign condition but no fun.)

As for the salon, though, they *should* have gone back over and got all the strays though! They can't do much about breakage, but it is usual here at home for your aesthetician to have you check for smoothness, and then also offer to tweeze any strays the second or third going-over has missed. I also find sugaring is more effective than true 'waxing'. (Sugaring's the default method of defuzzing in India; precious few women shave like me, and I always manage to severely shock my girlfriends with the disclosure! So maybe the extra care we experience at salons here is due to the greater competition? Not sure...)

Meredith, cold wax always hurts worse than hot, I think, maybe because the hot 'sticks' better and the follicles open from the heat. I have friends who get their 'pits done; the very thought makes me go white as a sheet!

krishnidoux

Is it still time for you to go back and indicate that the job is not finished?
This is outrageous.
From a professional waxing job, you should expect satin-like skin all over your legs, no hair left behind, no stray hair, no "broken" hair either. If it takes twice the time, so be it. These jobs are expensive, compared to doing it at home.
I would complain.
And don't let her bully you into the idea that your legs hadn't been done in a while, this is not your problem. They offer a service, and they don't deliver. Imagine a barber who would leave half of the guy's facial hair under the pretence that he hadn't shaved for a while?

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