This past weekend, I decided to finally invest in my very own waxing kit. My eyebrows were overgrown and desperate; I don’t always have the time to make frequent trips to an eyebrow bar. If you’re a do-it-yourself kind of gal like me, you might’ve considered investing in a waxing kit. I found the GiGi Student Starter Kit on Amazon to be the best bang for your buck. It comes with everything you need, including pre- and post-wax treatments, for almost $30 less than the GiGi Mini Pro Kit available at Sally Beauty. I don’t have any professional background in cosmetology, and admittedly, the very first time I at-home waxed with my older sister I was left with burning itchy skin. So, I’m here to share with you what I’ve learned from my self-waxing experiences and to hopefully help you avoid a waxing-gone-wrong incident!
The Do’s
DO have someone there to help you. Having someone else with you will insure that you haven’t missed any awkward spots you weren’t able to see with a mirror alone.
DO follow the wax kit instructions. Sure, waxing seems pretty straight-forward, but you’re definitely going to want to follow the instructions carefully on the first go-around.
DO cut the muslin wax strips BEFORE you start! I ran out of strips half way through and I ended up spending more time waxing than I wanted.
DO check the temperature! The instructions suggest leaving it on low, but I found that the medium temperature wasn’t too hot for me and did a better job of removing hair.
DO remove excess wax as soon as possible. It builds up and at the end you’re stuck with sticky waxy skin.
DO have good lighting. I would suggest waxing during the day so you can use the sunlight as well. The more light, the better!
DO tie all of your hair back. I would suggest using a headband to insure that your hair stays in place and doesn’t end up in the areas you want to wax.
DO cut your hair short before waxing — this applies to your sideburns.
DO pull the skin taut. The instructions will tell you this, but it really helps to pull off as many hairs as possible. Don’t skip this step!
The Don’t’s
DON’T wax over freshly waxed areas. There may be some left over hairs that didn’t get waxed, but don’t do it again! You’ll irritate your skin and it can even lead to discoloration. Trust me, it’s more painful than you would assume. Just pluck those pesky hairs after your skin has healed a bit.
DON’T over do it. Before you start waxing, map out the areas you want/need to wax and stick to those. If you start waxing areas that you didn’t plan for, you’ll end up doing a lot more and spending more time than you were shooting for.
DON’T rip off the muslin strips slowly. It’s important to rip off the strips as fast as possible. If this part scares you, have someone else pull it off for you. If you hesitate, you won’t get as many hairs.
DON’T make a mess. I ended up spilling wax because I wasn’t being careful enough. Cleaning wax off of hard surfaces is much harder than I thought it would be. Beware of the mess it can make!
As long as you remember these things, your at-home waxing experience should go fairly smoothly, but don’t be discouraged if you make mistakes. Just be sure to note what you’ve done wrong so next time you know what not to do.