I waxed my legs… [Pics]

Spoiler alert: It was a terrible idea.

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I’ve been shaving my legs since I was about 14. There was a brief period where I let it grow out because of transness, but I’ve more or less decided that I don’t like having leg hair. It’s disconnected from gender for me; I just don’t like it very much. Smooth legs = one of the best feelings.

Waxing has seemed appealing on a few occasions because how awesome is it to not have to deal with leg hair for, like, two months?! After thinking about it for forever, I finally found a waxing kit at the local grocery store and decided I’d go ahead and try it. Documenting the experience just seemed like extra giggles.

The first thing about this–and the part I wasn’t aware of or prepared for–is that your hair has to be something like 1/4-1/2 of an inch long in order to wax it off. Which is annoying when the whole point is to get rid of the hair. Since my hair pokes through the skin at variable intervals, I had most of it at the appropriate length, but still had hairs which weren’t even popped up through the skin. Very inconvenient. As a result of this, I ended up doing the actual waxing before all the hair was at the appropriate length, but I just couldn’t handle it any more.

COMMENCE THE PROCESS.

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It’s very important to read all the directions if you’re planning on doing something like this. And to follow those directions. They directed me to put this *totally microwave safe* container in the microwave to heat up.

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Then you mix up the stuff until it’s a decent consistency for spreading. Looks delicious, right?

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You take the stick and rub the white stuff on your leg, in the direction that the hair grows.

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Smooth a piece of this fabric-paper-stuff over the wax, rubbing in the direction that the hair grows. Then you wait a second.

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You’re supposed to hold the skin taut from the top while you pull from the bottom. And voila! They look like very long, thin sperms.

This actually doesn’t hurt excessively. My leg hairs are relatively fine and aren’t super deep-seated in my skin, and I have a tolerance for that kind of pain because I tweeze my various body hair often. I was prepared for it to hurt some, and it does.

Here’s where things started to suck.

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So, the microwave instructions said to put it in for 30 seconds, mix it, then 15 seconds more as needed. It said not to exceed one minute total. It was not mixable until it had been in for a full minute, and of course it cooled down while I was working on this and I had to reheat it. I think overheating it ruined something of the binding agents, so it started to stick to my skin and wouldn’t come off on the strips. Which led to a bunch of this horrifyingly sticky shit clinging to my leg hairs.

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I took this picture of all the supplies just so you could see what all was in the kit. See that little blue bottle in the foreground? That’s supposed to help clean the wax off of your skin. It does not do a very good job.

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I ended up scraping most of the wax off with one of the sticks. It was painful. And it took several days for the stuff to come off completely.

TL;DR:

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Fun fact: When I crouched to take the two pictures for that gif, a blob of wax on the back of my calf that I had forgotten about stuck to my pants. For some reason, when I stood up it hurt a LOT, and I ended up with the bruise below.

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Basically, that sucked a lot. If I were to have my legs waxed again, I would probably go to a place where a person was trained to do it, rather than attempting it myself. However, the discomfort involved with letting the hair grow out is a little much for me, so I’ll probably just continue shaving.

 

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I waxed my legs… [Pics]
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23 thoughts on “I waxed my legs… [Pics]

  1. 1

    Have you tried a rotary electric epilator? I used to use pre-prepared wax strips to get rid of the hairs on the back of my hands and shoulders, but I switched to the epilator a few years back and found it much better. My leg and facial hair is far too thick, densely packed and deeply rooted for it, alas, but it works a treat on the arms and shoulders. It’s basically a rotating roller with mini tweezer-type things attached, many can be used either wet or dry, and the worst I’ve ever had from it is the occasional pinch.

  2. 3

    I have super sensitive skin, horrific ingrown hairs, etc and have a lot better luck with sugar “waxing” (like Nads) than traditional waxing. Might be worth a try, once you’ve healed of course. Looks very ouchy.

  3. 4

    I will second the electric epilator recommendation. It isn’t even a tenth of the hassle of wax, gets the same result, and although the upfront cost is higher it’s ultimately much cheaper than waxing. There are no consumables to replace. The two biggest downsides compared to waxing are that you might have to make a few passes over the same area to catch everything, and it’s kinda noisy. But IMHO it beats the crap out of waxing or shaving. Saves me water too since I can do it before getting into the shower.

    I don’t find it particularly painful. The vibration from the device actually helps numb the effects of the hair-pulling. The exception is my armpits. That’s the one place where I still shave cuz…ye gods. Ow.

  4. 5

    I have been using a home laser system. At first I used it weekly after shaving (so the hair shaft doesn’t absorb the energy that needs to go to the root). After a few months there is little regrowth and I use it only when I think I need it. My laser cost less that $500 from an online store, but I’ve since seen another brand at Best Buy for less that $250.

    1. 5.2

      If you’re interested in laser and okay with putting some money into it, try looking around for a professional there too. A lot of cosmetic surgery places and some salons do it, with high-quality equipment and trained operators. Fully removing facial hair costs around $1000-$1500 spread over several sessions. I glanced over the price list when I got the quote for my face, and I think most body hair was significantly cheaper. It’s at least worth calling around to compare to the cost of the home kit. Your dark hair means it will probably be very effective.

      Also, the prepared wax strips that you heat via friction (rubbing you hands on it) are no better.

  5. 6

    Home waxing is horrible, tedious, and messy. Salon waxing, on the other hand, is quick, tidy, and pleasant. It is one of those things that are totally worth paying a stranger to do.

  6. 7

    I apologize in advance. I probably shouldn’t be commenting at all, but…

    That picture of the contents of the kit? You know, the one with the little blue bottle of ineffective wax remover? Well, surely that roll of flowery duct tape wasn’t part of the kit, was it? I’m just having a really hard time trying to figure out what use a roll of duct tape might be in these circumstances. Maybe to tape your leg back together after ripping off three or four layers of derma?

    Enquiring minds want to know.

    1. 7.1

      Haha, I don’t actually remember why it was in the bathroom at the time. Actually, my husband had probably used it to get cat hair off of his hat, if I had to guess.

  7. 8

    This is pretty much exactly how my venture into home-waxing went. Since it wasn’t just my legs I had sticky wax residue in really terrible places for days to come, as it wouldn’t even come off in the shower with exfoliation. I just stuck to shaving.

  8. 10

    Store-bought wax really does suck and the way you described it just made it sound nightmarish. In terms of waxing, I think the best way to go would be natural sugar wax or making your own sugar wax. It’s actually very good and healthy enough for your skin. I used it for the first time a month ago and there are only a few hairs on my legs. It works miracles and washes off really, really easily.
    Epilators are good once you’ve waxed a few times (me, I’ve never waxed prior to this, BUT since you say you have thin hairs close to the surface it would be quite the viable option for you).
    I’m currently saving up for electrolysis for my face, and maybe laser for the rest of my body, but I hear the former is much more painful than the latter. You may enjoy those possibilities as well.

    All the best šŸ™‚

    Vera

  9. 11

    I’m so glad to know that I’m not the only one that couldn’t figure out this waxing business. I stupidly tried it on my neck and got burnt from it being too hot and then was left with sticky junk all over my for days and days. Terrible experience!

    I’ve since switched to an epilator and LOVE it! My only complaint (other than it hurts to use on sensitive places) is that I seem to get more ingrown hairs on my upper arms and shoulders when I use it there šŸ™

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