Your face defines your identity. It reflects your personality and you like others want the best reflection that you can get working with what Mother Nature has naturally bestowed upon you. Unfortunately, very few can boast of a natural fuzz free face. The rest of the population needs to work at getting that perfect smooth hairless face with well-defined eyebrows. Some of the methods are threading, epilating, bleaching but the most popular is face waxing. Here is a guide to help you grasp the low-down basics of facial waxing before stepping into it.

How Is Face Waxing Done?

Face waxing is not much different from normal body waxing. The steps involved are pretty much the same. A step by step account is detailed below to guide you through this:

• Your face will be cleaned, and pre-wax gel will be applied
• The wax will be heated and spread evenly over the concerned areas using a knife or spatula
• Sometimes the wax is spread with fingertips for greater precision
• In case of soft wax, a strip will be laid over the spread wax and then it will be ripped
• With hard wax, the wax itself will harden into a strip and that will be removed
• The facial hair will stick to the wax and be removed along with the wax
• The ripping is done against the hair direction
• After wax care is given to the face

You should remember that hard wax is preferred and advisable when doing the face waxing.

Which Areas Are Covered during Face Waxing?

Full face waxing includes all the prominent and even not so prominent areas of the face. The areas included are:

• Chin
• Upper lips
• Eyebrows
• Forehead
• Cheeks
• Sides

It depends upon you which all areas you want to get waxed. Remember everybody is different so choose as per your requirements.

Days before the Face Waxing

Like body waxing, face waxing also requires you to carefully prep your facial skin to avoid unnecessary complications and to ease the process:

• Stop using any acid products or skin peels 2 to 3 days before the appointment
• Try moisturizing well the night before since with facial wax the softer the skin the better the results
• Keep the skin free from any cuts or bruises
• No exfoliation at least 24 hours before waxing

On the Day of Face Waxing

• Avoid any kind of sun exposure or sunbeds
• Makeup is a strict no
• Avoid any kind of moisturizer except ones specially formulated for post-wax facial skin
• No exfoliation for the next 24 hours minimum

Pros and Cons of Face Waxing

Before you make up your mind you need to understand the benefits and the side effects involved with facial waxing. These are listed below for your convenience:

Benefits of Face Waxing

• Precise hair removal
• Reduced hair growth over time
• Provides gentle exfoliation to the skin

Side Effects of Face Waxing

• A certain degree of pain in involved
• It can cause skin irritation
• Redness is almost impossible to escape
• Ingrown hair is a very real possibility
• It might leave your skin very sensitive
• Exposes the skin to infections if hygiene is not maintained

When to Avoid Face Waxing

You should not even consider getting your face waxed if:

• You are on acne medication
• Use a medicated exfoliant for the face
• Any type of blood-thinning medicine
• Are prone to zits and breakouts

Some Questions Answered

Is It A Good Idea to Wax Your Face?

Waxing removes hair from the follicles thereby damaging it. This follicular damage is for your benefit since it causes reduced hair growth over time. In this facial waxing is a good idea.

How Much Time Does It Take for Facial Hair to Grow Back?

It takes about 2 to six weeks for the hair to grow depending on the way your body’s hair cycle growth works. Despite these individual differences waxing is a better option than shaving or bleaching given its results.

Will Face Waxing Cause More Hair Growth?

No, it won’t. It’s a popular belief that removing hair periodically will make it grow thicker over time but this only holds for shaving where the hair is cut at the base. In waxing the hair is uprooted leading to thinner and sparser growth over time.

Which Wax Is Best for Facial Hair?

Professional hard wax works best for facial waxing since soft wax leaves too much room for error.

Face waxing is very popular despite its side effects but then again you have to make the call keeping in mind your skin and your expectations. Also, you should not even think about experimenting with facial waxing at home. That is a very bad idea with very high stakes.