How To Prep for a Waxing Appointment

Here, we share the six pre-wax strategies we swear by for the best experience ever.

What you’re doing at home for your skin matters big time when it comes to waxing. When clients aren’t using the right products, waxing can become a little bit more painful because stubborn hair refuses to come out due to build-up.

1. Use Skincare Products That Won’t Clog Your Pores

We suggest investing in non-comedogenic skincare products (aka products that don’t clog pores). An important note: that doesn’t always mean organic. For example, organic coconut oil is great, but it is extremely pore-clogging for the waxing area.

The products we recommend, Smooth Me^® Ingrown Hair Serum, which can be used once or twice a day. It’s designed to really calm the skin down, help stop ingrown hairs, and prevent breakouts. We also love the Paradise Strut Body Wash. It cleanses and exfoliates while also visibly reducing the regrowth of hair between waxing reservations.

2. Exfoliate Before Your Wax

Exfoliating leading up to a waxing reservation is extremely important and serves to remove dead skin cells and prepare skin for the best waxing results. Buffing off dead skin cells allows the wax to adhere to the hair instead of layers of dead skin cells which in turn gives you better results. Exfoliating also ensures that any ingrown hairs will be more accessible during a session so they can be removed from the skin.

Because waxing in and of itself is exfoliating, you don’t want to do it too close to your waxing hair removal appointment. Two or three days beforehand is the sweet spot for exfoliation in order to prime your skin. (That rule holds for facials, too, which can include harsh exfoliants and chemical ingredients.)

Need a go-to product? Reveal Me^® Body Exfoliating Gel is non-abrasive, helps calm and restore your skin, and is film-free (read: it doesn’t leave skin coated in oil after use).

3. Hydrate Ahead of Time

We don’t have to tell you that drinking water is a biggie when it comes to your skin—hydration is equally important to a successful waxing appointment. If your skin is dry, that means your hair is dry, and this increases the chance your hair could break when you get waxed (no matter how great your waxing specialist is).

Your best bet: Aim for eight glasses of water a day every day leading up to your waxing appointment, stay away from alcohol and caffeine (both of which can be dehydrating), and use non-comedogenic moisturizing skin/body products. Don’t forget to give areas such as your legs, which can be particularly dry (and forgotten) in cold winter months, some TLC.

We recommend Glow It Shimmer Body Oil for instant hydration via a super lightweight and non-greasy formula that won’t clog pores.

4. Grow Hair to 1/4 of an Inch

Many think they should trim their hair or even shave a bit before a wax? Don’t! Give up the razor for at least five to seven days before a wax. Grow out your hair to 1/4″, the size of a grain of rice. Why it matters: If your hair is too short to be “grabbed” by the wax, not all of it will come out. This can make an appointment less effective and more painful.

5. Limit Pre & Post Treatment Sun Exposure

Limiting sun exposure, or even staying out of the sun is good advice for both pre- and post-wax. 24 hours before and after a waxing appointment. Your skin can be more sensitive and susceptible to a burn because your pores are open and more vulnerable. But if you’ve spent the whole day at the pool and have the burn to prove it, you might not even be able to get a wax in the first place.

We cannot wax sunburned skin as a sunburn makes the skin extremely sensitive and more at risk for potentially peeling after a wax. The week before a wax, consider SPF your BFF and/or park it in the shade to keep skin protected.

6. Avoid Excessive Heat & Sweating Before Your Wax

This includes, but is certainly not limited to, sauna, steam room, gym, hot yoga, hot tub, as well as indoor or outdoor tanning. The wax applied to your skin is already warm, if your skin is already hot and clammy this can result in the skin lifting. Imagine having a sunburn and then having a hot shower… Although this is an extreme example heat on already heated skin is a recipe for some unhappy follicles and potentially a burn. Heat also increases blood flow which in turn can heighten nerve endings resulting in a wax being more uncomfortable than it should.

Take this as the perfect excuse to skip the gym!

7.  Avoid Caffeine at Least 8 Hours Before Your Wax

Caffeine is a stimulant which increases blood flow, flooding the nerve endings in your body. Those heightened nerve endings are going to feel everything a lot more, including your hair removal.

8. Avoid These Treatments

It might be your tried-and-true anti-aging ingredient, but a week before and after a wax, do not use retinol on any areas where you’re getting hair removed. Retinols make the skin more sensitive and put you at risk for a painful experience, a burn from the wax, or even tears in the skin. Also avoid any injectables, such as Botox or fillers, two weeks before your waxing appointment, as they can cause localized trauma or swelling or the skin—aka not how you want your skin to feel pre-wax.

Request a Hair Removal Appointment

To learn more about hair removal including waxing services, SCHEDULE A HAIR REMOVAL APPONITMENT with one of our Columbus Ohio Hair Removal Specialists.