A friend of mine has mentioned she gets waxed with “blue wax.” What is that? Is it different from the traditional wax strips? If so, what are the benefits of using blue wax? Is blue wax for everyone?

When it comes to waxing there are two main types of wax: hard wax and soft wax. At Waxing the City the cerologists use both. While we are dedicated to doing one thing and doing it well, we are also big believers in having many different tools and approaches available to us to do that one thing brilliantly. Depending on the area to be waxed, we determine which wax is best. The practice of waxing is as much an art as it is a science and not all waxes are created equal. The difference in quality from one brand of wax to the next can be significant. At Waxing the City we use only superior top-performing waxes, and depending on the client and the procedure, that might mean a hard wax or it might mean a soft wax for their hair removal needs. Either way, all of our cerologists go through extensive training at our Waxing University to be efficient with both kinds.

Hard wax, which is commonly called blue wax because of its color, is a stripless wax. Hard wax is gentler to the skin in sensitive areas, such as the face or bikini area. Hard wax goes on the skin warm and then cools and hardens acting like saran wrap to the hair. As it hardens it lifts itself from the skin making the pull less painful.

Soft wax, also known as strip wax, is best for larger body areas. It is ideal for speed waxing full legs, arms, backs and chests. These areas are also thicker skinned, less sensitive and can handle the pull of a wax strip.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you have any further questions about the type of wax we use or our training process please don't hesitate to ask any of our cerologists.

Sincerely,

Summer
Waxing The City- Denver

Now that I am in my late 30’s I don’t typically have acne issues. However, after I get waxed anywhere on my face I ALWAYS break out. They are just little bumps but still unattractive. Why does this happen? Is there a way to avoid this?

Everyone reacts differently to waxing and unfortunately, bumps can happen. Bumps have nothing to do with age, bumps can happen to someone who is 20 or 55 as a result of waxing. Your pores open after a hair is pulled out and bacteria can enter the pore and cause a pimple or little red bump. Everyone thinks they are the only ones who get these bumps, but bumps are actually quite common, especially around the more sensitive parts of the face like the upper lip, top of the brows and sideburn area.

There are some things you can do to help prevent these red bumps from occurring before/after waxing:

1. Lightly exfoliate before waxing. This will help to rid the follicle of oil and debris.

2. Ask your cerologist to use “the zapper,” a high frequency machine. High frequency treatments help to kill bacteria that is on the surface of the skin, thus minimizing potential outbreaks. And the great news…there is no extra charge for this high frequency treatment at Waxing the City. We offer this as a value added service to make your experience as pleasant as possible☺

3. Avoid touching the freshly waxed area. The skin feels so smooth and irresistible afterward, but your fingers will put oil and bacteria on the skin and your skin tends to be more susceptible to irritations immediately after a wax.

5. Exfoliate again the next day, unless your skin is red and tender.

6. Women love to pick! But don't pop or pick the red bumps if they happen. This will spread the bacteria and can encourage additional pimples or red bumps. Instead apply a spot treatment for pimples using a Q-tip. Tend Skin, a product we recommend highly for ingrown hairs, works wonders, too.

7. Lastly, try to wax on a regular basis. Regular waxing should lessen the occurrence of those pesky little red bumps over time.

Keep the questions coming! These are great!

Until next time,
Summer

Waxing the City- Denver

Hi, I'm thinking about getting my first bikini (maybe Brazilian) wax. I've heard good things about Waxing the City, but I do have some questions.

I pulled out some magazine articles about waxing, and I'd like to hear your take. One of the articles says that the wax should be 99 to 101 degrees and that the cerologist should either use a new pot every time or not double dip. Another says that a salon should incorporate an anesthetic into the wax. I want to wax, but I need to know!
Thanks!

My name is Summer, I am one of the owners of Waxing the City. I received your email and would like to ease your mind about the concerns you have about waxing. Your safety and your comfort is our number one concern, and you’re right, if you’ve never been waxed before it can be a little intimidating. What makes it even harder is that there is a lot of misleading information out there regarding hair removal. There was an article in a recent issue of Women’s Health magazine that was great and really informative, but anyone that didn’t read the entire article – because all the “good stuff” explaining the facts about waxing safety wasn’t until the end of the article – would be scared away.

But, asking questions and getting all the information you can is the best way to ease any nervousness.

Rest assured that at Waxing the City we take all precautions to provide a clean and safe environment. We have our sheets and towels professionally laundered, our instruments are soaked in barbacide which is diluted to appropriate FDA standards, our cerologists wear new gloves for each client and, last but not least, our wax is heated to the appropriate and safe temperature, 140 degrees to 160 degrees, to avoid the spreading of any disease-causing bacteria.
The following are some facts about bacteria and wax:

To survive and reproduce, bacteria needs time and the right conditions: food, moisture, and high temperatures. Other factors affecting bacterial growth and reproduction are pH, oxygen and light. The ideal temperature for bacterial growth is between 40 and 140 degrees, what the Food Safety and Inspection Service calls the "danger zone.”

The fully heated wax pot temperature is greater than 140 degrees, making it a hostile environment for bacterial growth. A bacterium also needs moisture for growth, and there is no moisture in depilatory wax.
Pasteurization, which occurs at 159 degrees, renders the Hepatitis B virus inactive, meaning that there is no risk of spreading HBV in this manner; nor HIV, which is much less resilient than HBV. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has no record and has received no reports of cross-contamination from waxing services.

I hope this answers your questions about waxing safety. Please feel free to contact one of our salons if you have any further questions.

We will look forward to seeing you and providing your first
waxing experience.

Sincerely,

Summer
Waxing the City- Dallas