How to Wax Difficult Areas of Hair

Small, tricky areas are often times more difficult to wax than larger ones - especially when dealing with thicker or more difficult hair. Practicing your technique on these trickier areas can help you learn how to control the wax. By the time you start waxing larger areas, laying long strips will feel like a breeze! (Especially when you are using a premium formula - like Nova Wax)

We are  using knuckles as a way to show you how to wax difficult areas of hair. There are many technical aspects to master when on your way to becoming a stellar waxer, here are just a few: 

• Knowing the correct amount of wax to use
• Applying enough pressure when you finalize the wax strip
• Setting the proper temperature for your wax
• Achieving the perfect consistency 
• Understanding when a strip is ready for removal
• Removing a clean strip with minimal breakage (preferably no breakage at all!)
• Completing your work by removing EVERYTHING with clean-up strips (when necessary)

All of these steps are what makes a good waxer and executing them all perfectly will give you a really good understanding of wax control. With this expertise, you can wax anything! From the more common areas like legs and bikini line, to seemingly “simple” areas like the fingers and toes. 

In Liz’s demonstration below, she is waxing her partner’s knuckles. As we mentioned in thelast blog, there are differences between men and women’s hair so they require different processes. Men’s hair is usually thicker than women’s, and requires a lot more wax for an effective removal. In the first strip she applies, you can see that it was very thin which caused breakage upon removal. This is not only painful for the person you’re waxing, it is also ineffective in removing hair. As a result of this, you’ll need to re-apply a thicker strip to fully grasp the hair. Applying too many strips one after the other can cause further irritation to the skin, so always try to limit the amount of times you wax over a single area by applying a strong strip right from the get-go. That way you can get all that thicker hair out of the way and will likely only need a small, thin cleanup strip to finish off the area. Knuckles also tend to be a drier part of the skin, so laying a thicker wax strip will avoid any cracking and drying out on the skin during the application process.  

As Liz continues on with the rest of the knuckles, you will see that the strips are thicker and are coming off easier as a result. Regardless of the area you are waxing, it is important to keep in mind that thicker strips will take a bit longer to dry. To keep the rhythm going, lay other strips down. Not only will this keep the process moving while allowing ample drying time, it creates a visual guide to help you navigate the rest of the areas that still need to be waxed. 

Clean up strips are usually always necessary when dealing with stubborn, difficult hair. Since you have already removed the thick hair with your initial strips, these clean-ups can be thinner and removed in a slower peeling motion. A technique Liz likes to use to help with removal is using another wax strip to remove a strip that is still on the skin. To do this you take a used strip, fold it shiny side out, and stick it to the strip that's on the skin for an easy removal. You can also use this same technique to remove any wax residue left behind on the skin. 

It may seem silly, but practicing on small areas like these that are difficult to maneuver can really help with fine-tuning your technique. If you learn how to control the wax in these areas, working your way to the larger areas will be that much smoother.

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