Intimate waxing is a pretty standard grooming habit for thousands of women (and men) who routinely book a session every month or so without batting an eyelid. But if you’re a waxing virgin you may be a little unsure as to what happens once you get over the basic embarrassment of showing your pants to a total stranger!
Here we answer our top intimate waxing questions that you want the answers to!
First of all we want to reiterate that you don’t be self-conscious, remember, wax therapists have seen it all before, they carry out intimate waxes every day. There’s no need to worry about whether you’re too hairy, not hairy enough or are not wearing your best knickers.
1. How long should my hair be before I book my first wax (and how long is too long)?
We recommend a minimum of 4 weeks regrowth to get the best results. If you have removed the hair via waxing/shaving/plucking or any other way any less than 4 weeks ago, then please bear in mind that although we may still be able to carry out your wax, you are likely to get some regrowth quite soon after your treatment. We advise that you do not book an appointment if you removed your hair less than 3 weeks ago.
Worried that your hair (especially your pubic hair) may be too long for a wax? Well don’t! If it needs trimming down, we will do this for you as part of your treatment, so please don’t attempt this at home!
2. Is there anything I need to do to prepare for my wax?
Scrub and rub is nkd’s pre- and post-waxing mantra for all intimate, bikini and body waxing. By this, we mean lightly exfoliate the area 2 – 3 times a week and moisturise daily (and yes we’re talking to you as well here guys!). Make sure you use suitable products, mind – you shouldn’t be using an exfoliator that is too grainy which could scratch the skin, and no exfoliators or moisturisers that are heavily perfumed which could irritate the area. You will get better results if you follow our pre-waxing advice, we promise!
Please make sure for your sake and ours, that you shower/bathe on the day of your wax and put on clean underwear.
We also suggest that you don’t slather on loads of products to the area that will be waxed. Although we will always cleanse and sanitise the area beforehand, we would find it hard to remove large amounts of pre-applied product.
3. What will happen when I arrive for my wax?
Ideally, you will arrive 5 – 10 minutes ahead of your appointment time. One of our friendly and welcoming receptionists will greet you. As a first-time client, you will be asked to fill out a consultation card, which asks questions about your general health, any medication you are currently taking, and whether you have any other medical conditions or concerns that we need to know about. Once your therapist is ready for you, she will come into our waiting area and introduce herself to you and take you to the treatment room. Once there, she will check over your consultation card to see if there are any points she needs to discuss with you in more detail.
Then she will double check with you what treatment you are booked in for before advising you to what extent you need to undress (see next question!). Your therapist will leave the room for a few minutes while you undress and make yourself comfortable on our waxing couch. If you are having an intimate wax, before your therapist leaves the room, she will point out to you the individually-wrapped hygiene wipe which will be left out for you to use if you wish and where you should dispose of this. There will also be a towel for you to put over yourself once you have undressed to protect your modesty!
After around 2 minutes, your therapist will return to the room. She will knock on the door to check that you are ready. Assuming that you are, the treatment will commence!
4. Will I have to take my knickers/boxers off?
If you are having a Hollywood or Hollywood wax then yes you will need to remove your undies (this applies to men and women).
For other types of bikini waxes – e.g. G-string and basic bikini waxes for the ladies and speedo waxes for the men – we will ask you to keep your knickers/boxers on. We strongly recommend keeping your underwear on as well for all eyebrow waxes, legs/backs/chests etc !
Please note that we do not provide paper pants as a matter of course. Like normal underwear, these simply slow us down and may mean that we may not be able to remove all of hair from all nooks and crannies.
5. So exactly where will you be removing hair from and how will you get to that hair…?
A Hollywood wax involves the removal of all pubic hair apart from a strip/triangle on top of your pubic bone. So for women, this means all hair removed from their undercarriage (labia) and around the back (anus). For men, it means all hair removed from their scrotum and anus. The Hollywood landing strip left on top of your pubic bone can be as thick or thin as you like – your therapist will ask you how much hair you would like leaving on top when she gets to that part of the wax. We usually measure the Hollywood landing strip in finger widths!
For a Hollywood wax (both male and female), all pubic hair will be removed from everywhere. That means from on top (the pubic mound, underneath (the labia or scrotum) and behind (the anus), leaving you 100% hair-free in that area.
At nkd, we use a number of techniques and positions to reach the more difficult-to-access areas. We may at times ask for your help to stretch and pull certain bits of skin taut (which will help minimise discomfort).
A lot of salons get their clients on all fours to remove the hair from around the back. Where possible, we will try and avoid this, using different positions instead. Generally speaking, we keep women on their back for the whole treatment, just asking them to raise their legs for a minute or two at the end of the treatment. Sometimes, if we can’t reach all of the hair that way, or if the client has mobility issues (or for example is pregnant) then we may ask her to turn over. Because men tend to have more hair in that area than women, it is more usual for them to have to turn over for some of their wax.
6. Will it be embarrassing having an intimate wax?
We certainly won’t feel embarrassed at this point, and there’s absolutely no need for you to either. Remember that our team carries out hundreds of these types of waxes every single week, so we can assure you that we really have seen and done it all before!
That’s the beauty of coming to waxing specialists, you see. Waxing is all our waxing therapists do, all day every day! So unlike generalist beauty salons where you might encounter a therapist who spends most of her day painting nails/massaging/doing facials and who might not feel so comfortable getting down to business at the other end of the couch, this kind of activity really doesn’t faze our staff (and if it did, they would be working in the wrong place!!).
7. Will it hurt?!
Complete waxing virgins are likely to experience some discomfort, yes. We’d be lying if we said anything different to that. If you have regularly shaved the area to be waxed in the past or have particularly thick or coarse hair, then the discomfort may be greater than for someone with finer hair.
We can absolutely promise you, however, that the first time is the worst! You would not believe how much more comfortable a wax is once you are waxing regrowth (e.g. 4 – 6 weeks after your previous wax). From then on, it’s a walk in the park – read some of our customer reviews if you don’t believe us!
Pain thresholds are different for each person but our therapists are trained in techniques that offer minimum discomfort when performing intimate waxing treatments. If you are new to waxing there may be an element of shock, but it gets easier with every treatment as the hair thins. After all, many women keep coming back.
It’s also worth saying at this point that because of how intensely-trained and highly-skilled our therapists are, you’re not going to get a wax that hurts less than it does at nkd! We have developed a number of techniques over the years to minimise the pain and in fact we now teach the art of specialist waxing to beauty therapists and salon managers all over the country from our nkd training school, so they can try and wax like we do.
The amazing brand of wax we use (Perron Rigot) also helps. For example, before applying the wax, we put oil onto the skin as a barrier, so that the wax pulls at the hair, but not too much at the skin, unlike most other brands of wax. All of these factors really do combine to give an experience that is usually far more comfortable than people expect it to be!
8. What if I get my period?
Worry not. As long as you’re clean and fresh down there and are wearing a tampon, this won’t be a problem.
9. Do I need to do anything after my wax?
Absolutely, YES. Following the correct at-home aftercare procedures are absolutely vital in making sure that you get the best results, for as long as possible, from your treatment. After all, what’s the point in spending all that time and money finding a reputable salon and the best waxing therapist who can give you the perfect wax, if you are not going to look after the area as well yourself so as to prolong the results?
Our full aftercare advice can be read here and is well worth a look at, but in a nutshell, we strongly advise the following “scrub and rub” policy:
Moisturise the waxed area daily (ingrown hairs are often caused by dry or flaky skin which does not allow the hairs to grow through). It is imperative that you use a suitable moisturiser, however, especially for your intimate bits! For this purpose, we especially love products containing natural antiseptic properties such as tea tree oil.
Exfoliate the waxed area several times a week to get rid of dead skin cells. Again, think carefully about which products you use here. We do not recommend delving into the back of your bathroom cabinet for that manky old seasalt scrub that you used a couple of times three years ago! Anything too grainy could scratch or irritate the skin and we advise against anything that is heavily fragranced. As well as an exfoliator, consider an exfoliating cloth, which can do a wonderful job at removing dead skin and can leave you feeling beautifully soft and smooth. If going for one of these though, make sure you buy one that you can regularly put in the wash so that it doesn’t harbour germs.
10. Can I shave in between sessions?
You can shave but this will knock out your waxing cycle because you will need at least 3 weeks growth for an intimate wax. We really don’t recommend doing this but if you want to read more about the difference between shaving and waxing you can read our blog here.
11. Will there be any side effects from my intimate wax?
In terms of reaction, every person’s skin behaves differently to intimate waxing. You may end up with some irritation or redness as the skin can be distressed after the first couple of waxing treatments, but we offer aftercare advice and products that help soothe the skin.
You may also experience some itching as the hair breaks through, but effective aftercare will alleviate any discomfort.
If you suffer from any ingrown hairs we can also help with that but if you want to learn more about ingrown hairs, why they happen and how you can get rid of them, click through to our blog here.
12. When should I come back for another wax?
We recommend that for the first few waxes, you return every 4 – 5 weeks. At this stage in proceedings, you want to be trying to get all of your hairs into the same growth cycle, so that they are all breaking through the skin at the same time. If your hair is not in the same growth cycle, you could come for a wax and then have regrowth soon after, which will be hair that was just lurking under your skin at the time of your treatment, which we couldn’t possibly have reached.
After 3 months or so, once you have trained your hair into the same growth cycle, most clients return every 5 – 6 weeks. Remember that we give a 10% maintenance discount if you do return within 6 weeks for the same kind of wax.
Once you are into that routine, you should find that your skin stays beautifully smooth and hair-free for a much longer time, after each session with us.
So there you have it, your top ten waxing virgin questions answered! If you have anything else at all that you’d like to ask us prior to your first time getting nkd, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch, either by calling us in Nottingham on 0115 924 1454 or in Leicester on 0116 430 0444 or by emailing in**@nk*******.com . Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you for your first wax very soon!
