Waxing at Home

Crave for a mirror finish skin? Are you looking for ways to get rid of those unwanted hair that does not let you wear your favorite off-shoulders or minis. The best solution is always a session of waxing! You can try the cream and the razor but then they both tend to cause skin darkening along with roughness. And those definitely not the side effects that we are okay with!

But what if running to a parlour doesn’t fit your schedule? Simple. Waxing at home is the answer. There are a brands that will give you packaged wax products that you can use yourself. When check out the shelves for products you can use at home, then you will find two kinds. The hot wax and the cold wax. Then how do decide which to use? Here us a brief on the two.

Hot wax and Cold wax

The two are basically made of almost the same ingredients, a wax base which is usually paraffin or beeswax, a resin and a lubricator which an oil or a fat. The resin is used to make the wax adhere to the hair strands better and the fat or oil is added to make the process of removal smooth. Colour or frangrances can be added to each to make the product more appealing to the consumer. Hot wax however needs to be melted to be used whereas cold wax is already in a semi solid state and in available packed with the strips itself.

Now you must be wondering can do you pick between the two. Here is the list of advantages and disadvantages to both that will let you choose as per your needs.

Hot Wax

Advantages:

• Adhere to hair better
• Hair removal is better and at a single application

Disadvantages:

• Messy
• Painful
• Needs heating to the right temperature or it may burn your skin
• Has to be applied with a stick that makes its use on the upper lips and eye brows hard

Cold Wax

Advantages:

• Comes pre-packaged in strips of many sizes and shapes that allows for cleaning evening your upper lips and eye brows
• Less painful
• Cleaner than hot wax when using

Disadvantages:

• Doesn’t adhere to hair as well as hot wax
• For desired results, repeated application is required with can cause redness and skin irritation

By now we are sure you know which wax you want to use!

If your choice is hot wax, then here is the procedure on how to wax at home.

[Read:Best Serums For Dry Skin]

How to wax at home:

• Your hair should be atleast 1/4th inch long.
• Make sure the area you wish to wax is clean. Before waxing, powder talcum powder or cornstarch on the surface.
• Do not wax right after a hot shower.
• To spread the wax solution, use a plastic knife that isn’t sharp enough to cut through your skin.
• Use a soft washed clean cotton cloth to wax.
• Press it over the surface and rub it back and forth 2-3 times. Then pull it out in the opposite direction.
• If some hair strands are left behind, press the cloth and pull again. Continue till all hair comes out.
• Take a shower and pat dry.
• Finish off by applying a toner. This will reduce inflammation. Apply moisturizer liberally.

Now you are done. Its a bit painful and complicated but you’ll get it right withpractice

How to wax:

• Take the wax strip between your palm and rub a few times to warm the wax
• Peel off the covering
• Place on the desired area and rub a few times in the direction of the hair
• Pull the strip off in the direction opposite to hair growth
• Repeat till all the hair is removed from the area

But what if you have sensitive skin that reacts badly to the wax or resin or the fat in the ready made wax available at the stores and parlours. Do you invariably come back with irritated skin after a waxing session at the parlor? Are you considering switching to a razor or a cream? Then let us warn that this isn’t any less harmful to your skin either.

Are you wondering if there are any homemade solutions to your waxing problem? Of course! What market can’t give us, the kitchen has in abundance for us.

How to make wax at home

Sugar and honey- kept right there on your kitchen shelf, lemon- in your fridge and water- on the table. There you’ve got it all. Start your waxing. Wait! Before that we’ll give you some recipes to how to prepare the wax. Here we go.

Recipe 1:

Things needed: 

• 4 cups Sugar / 2 cups sugar+2 cups honey

• ½ cup lemon juice &

• ½ cup water

Procedure:

• Mix all the above mentioned ingredients in a pan & heat it on gas in a low flame till sugar starts bubbling. The ideal temperature for this wax is 230-240 degree but I guess measuring the temperature would be difficult, so we are going to look for golden brown colour here. Yes when the mixture turns into gold, it indicates that our homemade sugar wax is ready.

• Allow the mixture to cool a bit. Now here the homemade wax tends to cool down very fast. So to keep it at your desired temperature take a bowl of hot water and put the wax container into it to keep it liquidy but not too hot to burn your skin.

Recipe 2:

• Take 2 cups brown sugar and blend with ¼ cup water and ¼ cup lemon juice.
• Prepare it in the same way by boiling on a low flame on stove until it forms a concentrated brown solution.
• Store it in a glass or plastic jar.

Recipe 3:

• Heat 1 cup of sugar with 2 tbsp of lemon juice and 2 tbsp of water. Heat over a low flame.
• Keep stirring continuously to avoid it from getting burnt.
• Boil till the sugar dissolves and it forms a clear solution with a slight yellow tint.
• Refrigerate it in a suitable container for later use.

You can add honey to the list of ingredients and you have another simple and yummy recipe at hand!

Recipe 4:

Things needed:

• Juice from half a lemon
• 1/4th cup honey
• 1 cup brown sugar

If you don’t have brown sugar then you replace it with white sugar too.

Procedure:

• Combine all three in a bowl and stir it till they all blend in well

• Place this mixture in a microwave and heat for 1.5 to 3 minutes. The heats isdifferent with different microwaves to start at the lowest and see which one works right.Stop when it starts bubbling and set it out. You don’t want it to get too hot. The consistency should be about the same as honey

These homemade waxing solutions can be used to wax hands, legs, underarms and wherever else you want. It is safe so you are free to use it anywhere.

Of course avoiding chemicals won’t put an end to irritation completely so here are few additional precaution you can take.

• Make sure than the cloth you use is clean. Wax strips are preferable for this very reason. It is more hygienic.

• Avoid stepping out in the sun after a wax. sensitive skin is prone to hyper pigmentation when exposed to the sun immediately after waxing.

• Don’t use any exfoliating products or loofah for 24 hours after a wax, This can further antagonize the skin irritation. If you do use it, try a mild one after 24 hours as this remove the dead cells and avoid the problem of ingrown hair, However, it is best you exfoliate a few days before as this makes the skin softer which makes waxing a little less painful.

• Moisturize using tea tree oil or aloe vera gel after a wax. These moisturize deeply and also help in calming the skin irritation and pain that waxing can cause.

• Avoid wearing tight clothes as this as increase the skin irritation and also add to the cause of ingrown hair.

• if your skin is that sensitive, try avoiding waxing during your periods.

• Keep at it. Once your skin is accustomed to the procedure, it might not be as sensitive to it.

And now when you look at the mirror the next, your body hair free skin shall glow with joy!