Waxing Kits (Hair Removal)

Sets around the hair and pulls it out at the root, clearing an area for two to four weeks.

Also called: soft wax, hard wax, strip wax, sugaring paste

Waxing Kits

At a glance
Product type	Hair Removal
Category	Beauty & Fragrance
Synonyms	soft wax, hard wax, strip wax, sugaring paste

Watch out

Temperature and technique cause almost every bad outcome: wax hotter than body temperature burns, a pull taken upward instead of parallel to the skin bruises, and soft wax applied twice to one patch lifts skin.

The basics

What to know about Waxing Kits (Hair Removal)

A waxing kit is wax and resin that grips hair, sets or is backed by a strip, and comes away in one fast pull that takes the hair out of the follicle. Since a new hair has to be grown from the base, an area stays clear for two to four weeks rather than two days. Regrowth also returns tapered rather than blunt, so the in between stage feels softer than shaved stubble.

Two chemistries do that job differently, and picking wrong causes most bad first attempts. Soft wax, also sold as strip wax, spreads in a thin film and is lifted off with a cloth or paper strip. It sticks to skin as firmly as to hair. That makes it quick over legs and too harsh for a face, and it must never go twice over the same patch. Hard wax is laid on thick, cools, shrinks around each hair and is pulled off by its own thickened edge with no strip involved. Its grip on skin is much lower, so underarms, faces and bikini lines belong to it. Sugaring paste is the third option, a cooked mix of sugar, lemon and water applied against the growth and flicked off with it, water soluble enough to rinse away with a wet cloth.

Length is not negotiable. Hair needs about a quarter inch, six millimeters, roughly two weeks of growth. Anything past half an inch should be trimmed first because long hair snaps instead of lifting. Epilators reach the same root level mechanically and cope with far shorter hair. Threading Tools also remove at the root but one row at a time. That is why brows go to thread and legs go to wax.

Warm the wax to body temperature and test it on the inner wrist, since a pot that overshoots burns before you feel a warning. Pull parallel to the skin and close to it, never up and away, holding the skin taut behind the pull. Press a palm flat on the area straight afterward, as pressure dulls the sting.

Skip waxing over sunburn, broken skin, moles and varicose veins, and skip it on skin treated with a topical retinoid in the past week, because thinned surface skin lifts along with the wax. Anyone on oral acne medication should ask the prescriber first. Leave the area alone for 48 hours before exfoliating or applying anything scented.

Best for

When to choose this style

Legs and arms clear in one session and stay clear for two to four weeks, which is the trade the format exists for.
Hard wax handles underarms, faces and bikini lines, since it grips hair far more firmly than it grips skin.
Holidays and events reward the timing, because you can wax three days ahead and stop thinking about it.
Regrowth returns with a tapered tip rather than blunt stubble, so the in between stage feels softer to the hand.

Style comparison