OUCH! THAT HURTS! The TRUTH about the mysterious Bikini Wax

Bikini waxing hurts the fi rst time around, but it’s the price that we women have to pay to feel devilishly sexy and smooth! To top that off, expert ‘waxers’ are more than happy to create exciting pubic hair designs for clients - ranging from hearts to word patterns - so bikini waxing is really something that you can’t stay away from.

A bikini wax virgin will usually have “pain” at the top of her List of Concerns, with “discomfort of displaying privates” running a close second. To calm those fears, choose a clean, professionally run salon that you see yourself being comfy in. The beauty practitioner performing the said operation should be someone who knows what she’s doing, since she’s less likely to cause you any additional pain. Before going to the salon, aestheticians recommend that you gently exfoliate the pubic area, and continue after getting waxed to cut down on ingrown hairs. Ensure that your pubic hair is not longer than threequarters of an inch, but not too short either. Wear regular underwear, but remember, you’ll have to pull the sides in to allow for easy access to certain parts. You can’t wear any undies for a Brazilian, though!

During your fi rst bikini wax experience, you’ll be faced with some mild pain and discomfort depending on how thick or coarse your hair is. But, like waxing your eyebrows, the pain only lessens. It’s a good idea to take an aspirin one hour before to relieve some of the “ouch” moments that you might face. It’s a bad idea to get waxed during pregnancy or during your period since the pubic area is extra sensitive at those times. Diabetics, however, are advised against waxing since the skin may become bruised.

After your wax, avoid swimming or exposing your below-midsection area to sun for a few days. If you develop small bumps on your skin, or it gets red, you can get some ease by applying ice to the area. For ingrowns, use antibacterial cream to ward off any infection.

Even though waxing has been proven to be a long-lasting method (hair will not grow back for three to eight weeks), sometimes hair can start re-growing in different directions when the hair follicles are disturbed during the waxing procedure. This may cause hair growth to be more noticeable and make other methods of hair removal more diffi cult. Fortunately, this is a negligible risk if the waxing is done properly.

If you’re still not convinced, try a hair trimmer for the bikini line; there are hair-removing gadgets especially for that area.

Best of luck!