Product Reviews

My Brazilian Wax Experience

May 22, 2006

For those are you who are considering getting a bikini wax for the summer, I say go all the way and get a Brazilian instead! I had my first Brazilian a few months ago and now I am totally hooked!


So how does a Brazilian wax differ from a regular bikini wax? Basically, a Brazilian wax involves removing all the hair down there or all except a landing strip. This form of hair removal was founded by a group of Brazilian women in New York in the 80s but did not gain its popularity until the 90s.

Brazilian waxes normally run from $60 to over $100. The first time I got it done, I paid $90 for it. Expensive? Yes but totally worth it. The area was so smooth and the hair did grow back finer and a lot less. As for the pain, it did hurt but was totally bearable. I could walk perfectly fine afterwards and there was no swelling or breaking out either.

Now I do this myself every month with a microwavable hard wax kit by Gigi ($~20). It comes with a stub of hard wax, applicators, pre-wax oil, after-wax lotion etc. It is super convenient, fast, relatively painless and the results usually last for a few weeks. All you have to do is heat up the wax in the microwave, spread it on to the area, wait until it dries then pull. Since it is hard wax, there is no use for cloths/strips meaning less irritation to the skin. You can then use a pair of tweezers to pluck any remaining hair and remember to wait a day before you exfolite the area.

Tips
• For all you first-timers, I strongly suggest you go to a salon and get it done by a professional.

• If you are worried about the pain, down a couple of aspirins at least 30 minutes before your appointment.

• Picking the right time to do this is also very important. The best time for a bikini/brazilian wax would be a week AFTER your period. Never ever do it the week before you start your period. This is when you are most sensitive down there and will hurt the most.

• If you get waxes or shave regularly, make sure you help prevent and treat ingrowns with this homemade Tend Skin recipe.

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11 Comments

  • Reply Karen May 22, 2006 at 5:06 pm

    I am the first to leave comment again. I didn’t want to be such a lurker, but I got into bikini wax. I just bought SURGI Wax Brazillian formula from CVS. I had bikini wax twice, once for the regular, once for brazillian. It HURTS for brazillian… seriously, I wish I could leave after the lady was only done with one side. But I absolutely like the results. I coudln’t afford to pay $60 every time to get it done anymore, that’s why I am going for at home kits right now. I considered Gigi before, but since i could find something cheaper at CVS, I might as well give it a try first.

  • Reply Anonymous May 22, 2006 at 6:55 pm

    “relatively painless”?
    wow you’re a brave woman

  • Reply Phyllis May 23, 2006 at 1:45 pm

    hey Karen, how do you like the Surgi wax? I’ve thought of trying that too. That one uses strips right?

  • Reply Anonymous May 23, 2006 at 8:11 pm

    I saw this Sally Hansen cream hair remover for a brazilian-like removal in a Seventeen magazine. Have you heard of it or seen it? Also, how do you get ALL the areas down there with the wax yourself? Thanks for reading.

  • Reply Phyllis May 26, 2006 at 11:21 am

    Well I personally do not recommend using cream hair removers. Most of them usually contain very strong chemicals which may irritate your skin plus they do not pull the entire hair out like waxes do. Hence, like shaving, they only get rid of the top part and you’re more likely to get ingrowns and stubble.

    It does take a little practice and patience to do it yourself. Basically, you just do what the people at salons do. You lay on your back, spread your legs open, apply wax, wait until it dries then press against the skin so that your skin is taunt and pull. If you cannot see clearly what’s down there, you can also put a mirror right between your legs. I have been doing this myself for a while now and so far I have not experienced any problems. And if you cannot get all the hair with the wax, you can always use a tweezer to pluck them afterwards.

    • Reply Anonymous April 17, 2012 at 8:25 pm

      Oh my god Oh my god Oh my god Oh my god …. do NOT use chemical hair removal down there!!!
      Not the regular kind, not the bikini-line formulation, not ANY KIND AT ALL…
      I speak from experience, it was the single most miserable cosmetic experiment of my entire life.
      DO NOT DO IT.

      (unless you’re looking for an efficient SKIN removal system… )

  • Reply Anonymous June 1, 2006 at 9:40 pm

    Remember ladies, apply wax in the same direction of your hair growth. Then pull the skin and rip it off the opposite direction.
    ~Daisy

  • Reply Anonymous August 8, 2006 at 4:27 am

    Hi! What do u guys use for a regular wax on arms and legs?
    Thankx
    i really love this blog, so helpful

  • Reply yoori March 23, 2007 at 12:02 pm

    Wow I never thought about self-waxing since I always heard that home kits didn’t work. I’ll have to try Gigi! 😀

  • Reply Anonymous July 19, 2007 at 2:34 pm

    Hallo everibody !!
    wONDERFUL AND USEFUL blog!I LOVE IT !
    Actually I do brazilian by myself with a professional heater (I bought surgi wax but never used it since I was afraid to burn myself since it is hard to check temperature)
    I get good results but I never reach complete bareness (as salons do). My biggest problem, besides the pain (OK ok …the great results compensate) is the direction of hairs on the “lips” , they grow in so many different directions! And if I go from inside to outside it is very dangerous! Once I made a bleeding scare! Can any of you suggest a step by step tutorial ?
    About pain: I take iboprufen 20 minutes before starting and I am considering to test a pain relief cream, have you ever tried ?
    THANKS!!

  • Reply Annie September 7, 2007 at 11:37 pm

    I use Gigi’s microwave brazilian wax kit as well. i love it. i’ve only done it once, but it was easy peasy

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