Intimate WAXING 101

1. Have an open dialogue

Communication is key, as Fiona Bale, beauty therapist and area sales manager for wax brand Hive, explains: “Pay attention to your client’s body language. If you sense any tension, it could be caused by embarrassment about the position they’re in rather than the treatment itself. Continuously inform them of what stage you’re at and look to protect their modesty where possible.”

2. Invest in decent clippers

One of the golden rules is to make sure your client doesn’t trim their hair preappointment as you need at least three weeks’ growth to get a decent finish. Caroline Mears, educator for Perron Rigot, says this essential trimming should be done by the professional pre-treatment with a pair of clippers. “There’s nothing worse than trimmed pubic hair everywhere. On women, you generally only need to trim the hair on the central mons pubis and outer labia, and on men around the base of the penis.”

3. Control stress sweat

Embarrassment, discomfort, hormone issues, tight-fitting clothes and hot weather can all make clients sweat more than usual. “Any form of moisture acts as a barrier to wax and makes it trickier to remove every hair on that first pull of the strip”, says Lucy Jones, wax trainer for Sienna X. Eliminating as much moisture as possible beforehand will give your client a more positive experience. “Talcum powder helps absorb sweat quickly, so keep a bottle by your station, and invest in a fan to keep the room cool”, she adds.

4. Try a specialist wax

You can use most hot waxes for intimate waxing but some specialist formulas are designed to give a better end result. “Most training schools only teach that you can use hot wax twice on an area before you start damaging the skin but if you use a gentle wax that can grab hairs as short as 1mm you should be able to use it up to five times”, says Lydia Jordane, founder of Lycon. “You can put it on twice and may not be able to see any hair, but if you put it on again, hair that you couldn’t see will come out and be visible on the wax. I’m not happy until I see no more hair on the wax because that’s how it lasts longer for the client. If the therapist doesn’t remove those shortest hairs, the client often thinks they broke the hair off.”

5. Be clever with your technique

Be mindful about the way in which you remove the wax to make the process as comfortable as possible. “Don’t pick the end of your peelable wax off the skin. In many cases, the flicking of the end of the wax with your fingernails is more painful than the actual removal”, says Tracey Smith, director of wax brand Ashmira Botanica.

“Instead, daisy chain your wax using the previous strip or dip your spatula into the end of the wax using the waxy end as this lifts it painlessly. If you have a good, smooth end to your wax, it should roll away from the skin when you stretch it.”

6. Keep ingrown hairs at bay

Ingrown hairs can happen for a variety of reasons, so it’s important to give proper aftercare advice. “Advise clients to exfoliate daily in between treatments and to use a product containing active ingredients salicylic acid and glycolic acid to allow the ingrown hairs to get out”, says Angela Sanderson, education ambassador for wax brand Wax:one. PB