Waxing Information and Process
I am a licensed esthetician in the State of WA. An esthetician is a state-licensed skin care professional who has been trained through apprenticeship or formal esthetic programs, requiring 600 hours or more (in the State of Washington), and offers services to improve the health and appearance of skin. They are also known as aestheticians, skin care specialists, waxing specialists, or facialists. The license for this apprenticeship is granted after completing both practical and written exams at State licensing board-appointed locations. An esthetician is also a licensed skin care professional.
When you come to Simply Mia's Waxing Services, you will be treated in a very clinical and sterile treatment room. Everything is very professional. I wear gloves during the whole process for the genitalia areas. All other areas do not require gloves.
Waxing is the process of hair removal from the root by using a covering of a sticky substance, such as wax, to adhere to body hair, and then removing this covering and pulling out the hair from the follicle. The wax used at Simply Mia's is natural (rosin, coconut oil, titanium oxide, and iron oxides) and not harmful to the skin. Almost any area of the body can be waxed except for a man's beard or hair on your head. I will first prepare your skin by wiping the area with a pre-prep oil. This helps to hydrate your skin so the wax adheres mainly to the hairs and not to your skin. I use both strip wax and hard wax. Strip wax is a warm liquid wax that is heated in a wax burner. I apply it onto the skin using a 1" tongue depressor. Using a muslin sheet (cloth) I press it onto the wax and quickly pull to extract the hairs. Blue hard wax is mainly used on sensitive areas, or areas with a lot of folds and wrinkles such as the scrotum or labia. This wax goes on warm and dries quickly. Once dried, it is pulled to extract the hairs. Any pain felt during the process is quick and temporary. This process is done over and over to remove all the hair. I will remove any residual wax with a natural oil. Once desensitized from the waxing process, I will detail your skin and remove all remaining hairs, with my tweezers, that did not come up with waxing. You will hardly feel this process and many have remarked that it is the most relaxing part of my service.
As you can see from the diagram above, A hair follicle anchors deep inside the skin. Hairs do not grow all at once. They grow individually and the human body sheds hairs all the time, so new hairs are always developing and surfacing. The hair bulb is fed by a blood vessel. Some are also attached to nerve endings (pain receptors). This is why, when hair is pulled, you will feel some discomfort. There is also a sebaceous gland in the pore with the hair shaft. This gland is responsible for creating fluids that push foreign invasion out of the skin. This gland is always protecting you and hydrating the surface with natural sebum (oils) so your skin doesn't dry out. When the hair is pulled out, blood pools up to the surface, and takes 72 hours for it to recede to normal levels. Your skin will appear bright pink or red after waxing and will calm down within hours. Without proper hydration, the skin can feel quite tight and dry. I sell a post-waxing healing cream formulated to help hydrate, soothe, and reduce redness and bumps. It is recommended to use this cream approximately every 3 hours for the 3 days of healing. Please visit the Products page to learn more about these creams. We will go over all this again during intake at the time of your appointment. I will provide you with my post-waxing instructions you will take home with you. These instructions will help as a reminder of how to care for your skin after a waxing session. These instructions will apply every time you get waxed.
If you are doing a Brazilian waxing service, I will consult you on the style you will want to attain. Some want all the hairs removed including the frontal pelvic region from hip to hip (The Bare It All Brazilian) and some want that area trimmed and everything from the shaft down waxed (The Gentlemen's Brazilian) Whatever you decide, my waxing skills will help you achieve your waxing goals.
Getting waxed the first time can be somewhat dramatic to your skin and it is recommended to go on maintenance so your skin gets used to the process. Every 4th or 5th week is when the hairs are still short and thin and the best time to be waxed again. I do not recommend you let your hair grow past 6 weeks. With consecutive treatments, the process becomes easier on your skin and will be less painful. It is important to discuss any concerns with me. I will be asking you often if you are okay and comfortable during the process. Hairs are best pulled when they are more than 1/4" in growth or longer (3.5 weeks post-shaving or trimming). If they are long, do not trim your hair. I will do so if necessary at the time of your appointment.
Ingrown hairs can be a problem. I always address ingrown hairs during the detailing part of my service but what you do between waxing treatments will make the greatest impact to reduce this problem. As you can see In the diagrams, trapped hairs under the skin. Unsightly irritated bumps can become inflamed, and infected and can be quite painful. Many can surface looking like acne. Picking at them and trying to squeeze the hairs out yourself can leave the skin scarred for months or years. You may have experienced them when shaving or trimming in the past. Waxing can produce ingrown hairs too but there are treatments you can do at home that will greatly improve this annoying problem. I will discuss options and self-care that you can do at home to prevent future outbreaks. Your post-waxing routine along with exfoliating (salt scrub in oils) weekly and using lotion daily will help tremendously. You must be consistent and some people need to use an ingrown hair serum (PFB Vanish Ultra), which I sell instead of an exfoliating scrub. I will help you decide which waxing service and post-care products would be best under these circumstances. If ingrown hairs become excessive, then I offer a solution in my menu of services (near the end) My ingrown hair treatment. This should be done 2.5 weeks after a waxing session with me. This is when hairs are surfacing.
One of the main fears about having hair removed by waxing is whether it will be painful. The pain felt is quick and temporary and does not linger. I always recommend that new clients take twice the amount of pain reliever such as 4 Ibuprofen, which is an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Do not take aspirin as it thins the blood. If you have sensitive skin, I also recommend taking one Benedryl. This is a preventative should you have a histamine response (bumps or hives). With Benedryl, the chances of having a histamine reaction are minimized. The service will be performed in my treatment room. All my permits, insurance, and esthetic license are on display. I will talk you through the entire process before (during intake) and also during the service so you will know what positions to move into so I can wax those areas more easily. Most people are very satisfied after their first waxing with me and comment that it was not as bad as they had anticipated.
It is important to go over any medications or medical issues with me at your consultation before your service. During the intake, I will have you read the contraindications form (these are things that would prevent you from getting waxed). Please read my page on Can You Be Waxed? This page describes conditions that would prevent you from being waxed. During intake, you will also sign my client release form. This document is a legal waiver I must have since I work out of my house. This intake process takes 5 minutes to complete, then we will go over some basic waxing education and process and post-waxing care and instruction so you can achieve the best results.
Most important You will want to come to your services freshly showered or cleansed, (especially the anal area). This is to prevent any bacteria from going into your bloodstream. Be sure to wear loose clothing for your ride home. Do not apply any lotions, oils, or creams on the day of treatment. Wax will not apply to oil or lotions. If you shower, please shower a couple of hours before your appointment and not right before. Your skin retains moisture and wax will try to adhere to the moisture on your skin. If you live in West Seattle, please do not ride your bicycle here because riding home will cause friction and chafing. Do not apply deodorant if we are waxing your underarms. I will be sending you my pre-waxing instructions when you book your appointment with me and also sending you my contact. Inside my contact is a GPS map that will bring you to my location.
VACATION COMING UP? Plan your waxing routine several months prior. Your skin can react to first-time waxing. This is most common in areas such as the back, chest, tummy, and buttocks. It is advised that you do at least 3 waxing sessions before a planned tropical vacation so your skin gets used to the process and has less irritation. Always wax a good 4 days before leaving on your trip. This gives your skin a chance to heal. Wear a high SPF block to prevent burns during your exposure to the sun. Wear a T-shirt while snorkeling so your back is not exposed to the sun.
I hope this page helped you understand the process of waxing instead of shaving or trimming. Let me do the work for you. You deserve a spa day.
I look forward to hearing from you