Waxing The City's Waxing All-Stars!

Here at Waxing The City, we take a lot of pride in our highly trained staff! Not only do our CEROLOGIST™ Technicians provide the best waxing services available and our administrative staff do heroic work behind the front desks, but each and every one of our employees is an uniquely interesting individual, each with their own great personality that keeps our clients coming back over and over again!

Because we love our employees so much and because we know that our clients don't get the opportunity to meet every one of our staff members, we've decided to introduce you all to some of our Waxing All-Stars, individually, every month, through these short video interviews! These videos will give us a chance to show off our top-of-the-line staff members and it gives all of our clients a chance to get to know our WTC family better!! Everybody wins!

So, without further ado, we would like to introduce you all to Waxing All-Star, Melissa Guzman! We know you'll love her as much as we do!

Waxing Q&A: Skin Lifting and Break Outs

Question: 

My name is *Sarah and I've been a licensed esthetician for 4 years. I recently had a new client come to me for some facial waxing and everything seemed fine. Her consultation card looked normal and I asked all the right questions. However, I got a complaint the following day claiming she had some lifting and third degree burns and had also broken out all over. Now, I know I prepped the skin correctly, it was not too hot or too thick and am pretty confidant that I did not do anything wrong. Is it possible that some people are just prone to lifting and breaking out? I have never had a dissatisfied client before and I'm at a loss at what could have gone wrong. Please help!

Thanks for the question, *Sarah!

Let us start by saying it is always unfortunate when you have a dissatisfied client as we always strive to provide the best service possible. What is important from here is that you handle yourself professionally, take care of your client and try to restore her faith in you. Please keep in mind that although these incidents seem negative and intimidating they help us grow professionally. There are many variables that contribute to a bad experience. Because every situation is different, it is important to recognize when these things happen and try to problem solve with your client. Hopefully we are able to help by giving you some insight as to why this may have happened, how to educate your client and offer client restoration.

It sounds like there were two different things that happened from this service so we will address both separately. The first was a break out from the wax and the second was skin lifting/3rd degree burns.

Let’s cover the breakout first...

Breakouts are very common in facial waxing and look like small white pimples. With all new clients we let them all know that breakouts are a possibility depending on the sensitivity of their skin. Unfortunately, neither of you will know until after the service. The bumps will usually appear in 1-3 days after the wax. You want to educate your client on how to keep the skin clean and minimize the products used in the effected area. Make sure you educate your client on mentioning this before their next wax so you can take precautionary measures to avoid breakouts from happening again. We would discontinue using the post wax oil and would replace it by using the high frequency machine. Also tell your client to avoid touching their skin afterwards because oil/dirt from their hands will contribute to breakouts.

Skin lifting/3rd degree burns...

First and for most if this was a 3rd degree burn your client should have received medical attention. If you are confident that you performed the service correctly and your wax wasn’t too hot, chances are skin lifted and she was not burned. If skin lifted and it was not addressed in the room before your client left the room she may be upset and jumped to conclusions about the condition of her skin. It is very important that you contact your client to follow up. You want to be empathetic to your client and try to find out what may have caused her skin to lift and how to care for it now. You need to get more detailed information on her skin care regimen ie; percentage of active ingredients. Ask her if the wax felt too hot or if you did anything different than what she has experienced before (going over an area more than once, using a different type of wax, etc). We would recommend using Neosporin to keep the area moist and will help prevent scabbing.

We would like to give you a black or white answer to this email but with waxing there are a lot of grey areas. Again there are many variables to why these types of things occur when waxing. You have done the right thing by looking back at your process but sometimes you need to involve your client to problem solve and come up with an answer to why this has happened. Don’t let yourself get frazzled by this incident and make sure to follow up with your client in a timely manner. Do let your client know that you are concerned and you would like to help the situation.

We hope this is helpful!

Sincerly,

Summer and Alex

*Name has been changed to protect identity.

We're Breaking More of Those Pesky Waxing Myths!

We've all heard the rumors about getting waxed: what to do, what not to do, how much it hurts, what it can do to your skin...and, the one about the girl who broke out in hives just from the smell of the hot wax...

Okay, so, we totally made up that last one but, that's our whole point! It's hard to know what's true and what's just a myth when it comes to body/facial hair waxing. (And, if you've been reading the Waxing The City blog lately, you know that rumors and misconceptions about waxing have been swirling around for centuries!!)

And, as it goes with rumors, there is a lot of false information out there. So, we've decided to set the record straight! Here are a few of the most popular myths swirling around out there about waxing:
 
1. Waxing will make your hair grow back thicker and makes your pores wider.

- False.  In fact, since waxing removes the hair at the root, the new hair is softer than the previous hair.  And, if you continue to wax with regularity, hair growth will eventually begin to slow down.
 
2. After you get a wax, it’s impossible to prevent skin redness and bumps in that particular area.

  - Well…Yes and No.  Yes, sometimes your skin will turn red after waxing and sometimes there is minor swelling and some people do get small red bumps in the waxed area. It all depends on your skin’s level of sensitivity.  If your skin does become red, it will go away within a few hours _and it's considered completely normal. After a wax, your skin naturally creates a buildup of dead skin cells which makes it harder for the new fine tipped hair to break through. That's why it's important to have a regular exfoliation routine. Avoiding saunas, hot steamy showers and tanning for a few days afterwards helps as well. One of the most important things, along with regular exfoliation, is to use a treatment 1-2 times a day for a week after waxing. Waxing The City suggests using TendSkin to reduce bumps and ingrown hairs. It's amazing because it has the ingredients of salyclic acid and aspirin, which helps to exfoliate and tighten pores.
 
3. You have to let your hair grow out really long before waxing.

 -False.  The hair growth needs to be about ¼” long for body hair and about 1/8” for eyebrows and hair on the ears. And, don’t worry: it actually only takes about two weeks to grow your hair to that ¼” length. So, with careful planning, it really is doable!

4. Waxing will change the pigmentation of my skin.

 -False. However, if you spend time in the sun after waxing, you will burn more easily, which can result in sun damage and dark spots later on in life.

Weird Facts About Your Body Hair!

Curly, straight, course, fine, mousey, rich...we all know that human hair - whether it's on your hair or elsewhere - is as individualistic as the person it belongs to. And, truth be told, most of us spend a lot of time fussing over our hair. Which is really kind of silly when you think about! Because, in the end, it is heredity that is the deal breaker here; all the products, weaves, cute cuts in the world aren't going to change the fact that hair is hair, a feature on your body with some very definite biological directives that we can do nothing about.

Below you will find some weird facts about your body hair that you probably never know and that only body-hair-waxing experts like us would actually have stored in our brains!

1. Hair grows everywhere except both lips, palms of hands, soles of feet, backs of ears, peripherals, certain external areas of genitals, inside the navel and scar tissue.
2. Hair is dead above the follicle.
3. Fancy shampoos and expensive conditioners can do nothing to fix or prevent split ends.
4. No new hair follicles are formed after birth. You are born with the same amount of body hair folicles as you will have as an adult.
5. The number of hair follicles on your head are the same as the number of hair follicles on the rest of your whole body.
6. Hair normally grows at the rate of 0.4 millimeters per day. It grows four times faster than human nails.
7. Female hair grows more slowly than male hair.
8. Male hair is more dense than female hair.
9. Hair grows faster in warmer weather.
10. Hair is the fastest growing tissue in the body, second only to bone marrow.

We're Breaking Those Pesky Waxing Myths!

We've all heard the rumors about getting waxed: what to do, what not to do, how much it hurts, what it can do to your skin....and, did you hear the one about the girl who broke out in hives just from the smell of the hot wax??

Okay, so, we totally made up that last one but, that's our whole point! It's hard to know what's true and what's just a myth when it comes to body/facial hair waxing. (If you've been reading the Waxing The City blog lately, you know that rumors and misconceptions about waxing have been swirling around for centuries!)

And, as it goes with rumors, there is a lot of false information out there! So, we've decided to set the record straight! Here are a few of the most popular myths swirling around out there about waxing:

• It's always a good idea to get waxed right before a special occassion.
  • FALSE. This myth must be broken! Many people schedule their wax appointments the day of, or the day before, a really important event and it's not always a good idea! If you are only waxing for special occasions, you're doing yourself a disservice: you will get "in between growth" and may not be smooth for that special event after all! When you wax regularly the process gets easier, is more effective and less painful.
• You should never take ibuprofen or aspirin before getting waxed.
  • FALSE. Actually, it is sometimes recommended by waxing professionals to take ibuprofen or aspirin an hour before the wax to cut down on any discomfort during and/or following your appointment.
• You should avoid caffeine and alcohol 24 hours prior to waxing.
  • TRUE. Caffeine and alcohol can both make your skin more sensitive so it's a good idea to stay away from both of them before getting waxed.

**We'll be breaking more of those pesky waxing myths in our next blog post coming soon! Stay tuned!**