Waxer beware! Getting an eyebrow wax or bikini wax may seem like a quick fix but long term, it can cause some real damage. Waxing rips off the top layer of skin cells, subjecting the skin to infection, ingrown hairs, follicle distortion and thicker regrowth! Here’s how: Shaving just doesn’t do it for us anymore. Waxing has gotten more and more popular over the years as we have evolved to primping via quick fix. Getting an eyebrow wax can be a five minute experience at a nail salon and bam! You’re out of there. Quick and simple fix to shaping the brows but in many places, you will leave with more issues than a few stray hairs. Hear this- it is common (even encouraged) to double-dip and reuse the same stick for every patron. This allows a salon to cut costs but this is illegal practice. Double dipping subjects every patron to bacterial and viral infections. Imagine that everyone coming through the doors have unique set of bacteria on the skin and possible viruses in the blood. When the wax is applied, it attaches to the hairs and skin. It is then ripped off, removing a layer of hair and dead skin cells. This opens up portals (your pores) for anything to enter. It may look great but let me walk you through how the skin is now affected. When hairs are tweezed, threaded or waxed, it causes “trauma” to the follicle. You will see this trauma in the way your skin responds. It will turn red and swell and may even have little specks of blood called petechiae. Most people will experience this be it for a minute or hours. If you are lucky, your waxer got all the hairs in one shot, which is quite rare and nearly impossible. Now pay attention to what she does with your wax stick. Did she throw it out and picked up a new one? Or does she reuse the same stick to apply more wax? Is she reuses the stick, know that she has done the same for every other patron throughout the day and possibly the week and this wax pot has now become a cesspool of brewing bacteria that you have now contributed to and will be receiving as a parting gift if you do not leave immediately! I remember going into a salon many years ago and this place already had a stick in the pot. I know now that they used the same stick for everyone. I didn’t know any better. I had plans to go out and needed to have brows done. I also remember getting something that looked like a scratch and then little bumps. And looking back, I knew something wasn’t right. But she said it was normal. And who was I to question the “professional”. I don’t know what was in that wax. I know now that it could have been a very dangerous situation and I was lucky that it was only a burn. Which addresses my next concern: some places hire people to multitask and waxing may be one of their many tasks. Waxing is very tedious and requires training. Only a trained esthetician knows the proper guidelines and techniques to waxing. This woman who burned me, if properly trained, would have known to test the wax prior to application. Lesson learned: Jack of all trades, master of none. Another huge concern for waxing, to me has been the trauma and distortion to follicles. As an electrologist and laser hair removal technician, I have seen the damage that waxing has done. Clients come to me when waxing has gone wrong. The best way to explain trauma to a follicle is to compare it to a wound. When a wound heals, you then have a scar. Well, the way a hair follicle heals is by producing a deeper, stronger hair. Waxing, to me, is the worse epilating method because it rips the hair opposite from the natural direction of hair growth. When this hair grows back, it is now thicker and may have a curl because of this newly distorted follicle. If ever you plan to get a permanent solution like electrolysis, stop waxing immediately! It makes the job more difficult and will require more treatments to undo this type of damage. The skin is the largest organ in the human body. It consists of many layers and pores that provide the perfect entry way for bacteria to grow, especially on the face where pores are wider and mucus membranes that inherently, will harbor bacteria. That’s why it is so important keep skin clean and your wax, cleaner! If you are adamant on getting waxed, go to a reputable place that hires licensed estheticians who know how to properly sanitize and sterilize. If you are looking for alternative hair removal solutions such as laser, electrolysis and other methods, please feel free to post or inbox your questions! Happy Skin= Happy You Simply SkinCures
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 06:18:58 +0000
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