what happens during a hollywood wax?
We understand that the prospect of having a Hollywood wax can be daunting for clients who have never had the treatment before. So you can read our written guide to What happens during a Hollywood wax below.
We understand that the prospect of having a Hollywood wax can be daunting for clients who have never had the treatment before. Once you’ve had a few Hollywood waxes at a professional salon which knows what they’re doing, you’ll wonder what you were ever worried about (really!). But in an effort to answer the question of “What happens during a Hollywood wax” as fully and transparently as possible, we’ve broken the whole procedure down for you into all of the steps involved.
1. If you are a first-time client, you’ll need to fill out a Consultation Card before your first treatment, which tells us about your medial history and any personal health issues that are relevant to the treatment. E.g. do you have sensitive or reactive skin, or are you allergic to anything? Are you taking any medication? Do you have any bruising or scar tissue on the area?
2. Once it’s time for your appointment, your therapist will introduce herself and take to you the treatment room. She’ll look at your Consultation Card, and if there’s anything relevant she needs to discuss with you or ask more details about, she’ll do this in the privacy of the treatment room.
3. Your therapist will double-check what treatment you are having and that you know what this involves (e.g. that you’re booked in today for a Hollywood wax, and that you understand that this involves all hair being removed from underneath and behind with a landing strip of hair left at the front.)
4. Your therapist will then leave the room for a few minutes so that you can get undressed and freshen up. Before leaving, she’ll point out the tea-tree wipes for you to use to cleanse and freshen the area and where the bin is so you can dispose of them when done. She’ll also explain that you need to remove your bottom half clothing, including your underwear* and to lay on your back on the couch when ready. There is a clean towel provided for every client, which you can use to lay over yourself to protect your modesty (!)
*nkd deliberately does not use or advocate the use of paper pants. Paper pants impede us from doing our job properly, slow us down and may mean that hairs are missed. Remember that nkd therapists spend their days carrying out male and female intimate waxes, so have literally seen it all before. Our therapists will not feel embarrassed and there’s absolutely no reason for you to either.
5. After around 2 minutes, your therapist will knock on the door to check that you are ready for her to re-enter the room and for the treatment to begin.
6. After applying a clean pair of disposable gloves, your therapist will help you position your legs, which will probably mean keeping one leg stretched out and bending the other leg to the knee. She will then lift one side of the towel, ready to begin the treatment.
7. The first thing your therapist will do is apply some lotion to the area with a cotton wool pad, which will cleanse and sanitise…….. Then, she will apply some oil to protect the skin……………. Only now, will she be ready to start applying the wax!
8. Your therapist will likely apply the wax* first around your upper thigh crease and will work inwards and downwards from there. She will keep her wax strips nice and small to minimise discomfort for you (the larger the strip, the more hair you are pulling out in one go, which means more discomfort for the client. This is where a lot of less-experienced waxing therapists go wrong!). Your therapist may remove any stray or rogue hairs that won’t come out with the wax with some tweezers.
*For Hollywood waxing, nkd therapists will only EVER use non-strip wax. This means that instead of using paper or fabric strips to remove the wax, the therapist removes the wax strip itself, which in the process also removes the hair. Benefits of hot wax
9. During every step of the way, your therapist will be explaining to you which area she’s about to work on, which products she’s using and why. This constant communication keeps you fully aware of what is happening and will make sure that there are no surprises along the way!
10. When applied to your intimate area, the wax should feel pleasantly warm, but not uncomfortably hot. However, as your therapist starts to wax your inner labia, the wax will start to feel more hot. Don’t worry though, it will still be perfectly bearable and your therapist will warn you before it happens!
11. Once she’s done removing the hair from the top of your legs and both sides of your labia (which will involve you swapping legs, i.e. straightening the leg that was bent and bending the other), your therapist will then start removing the hair from your perineum and from around the back (once she’s cleansed and prepped the area). For most clients*, this will likely involve you lifting both legs and “hugging” them into your chest for a few minutes so she can access those areas where the sun doesn’t usually shine (!). Your therapist will talk you through this, so you’ll be absolutely clear about what you need to and when.
*There are many different positions that can be adopted to carry out a Hollywood and Hollywood wax, but we know from our extensive experience that the “chest hugging” positioning works by far the best for both the client and the therapist, assuming that the client is sufficiently mobile. Unless it’s for mobility reasons, we are NOT fans of asking our clients to go on all fours, or alternatively to lie face down and to part their buttocks with their hands, which are other common Hollywood waxing positions. However, if there are reasons why you are physically unable or reluctant to hug your knees into your chest, your therapist will discuss alternative positioning with you.
12. Once she’s finished removing the hair from this area, your therapist will apply a tiny bit more oil, which will moisturise and nourish the area, as well as remove any residual wax, before finishing with some refreshing gel and cooling milk. She will ask you to lower your legs and will then apply these products to the rest of the area to soothe and nourish it. These products contain ingredients such as tea tree and menthol.
13. And finally, you’re done! At this point, your therapist will ask you whether you’d like to give the area a quick once over (with a mirror, if you like) to check that you’re happy with the results and that you can’t see any rogue hairs (occasionally, you may be able to see hairs from your angle looking down, which our therapists find it hard to see from their angle).
14. At this stage (bearing in mind that your therapist will also have been talking to you throughout the treatment about the necessary aftercare advice you need to follow, as well as which products you need to best maintain the results at home and when you need to book your next wax for), your therapist will leave you for a few minutes to get dressed. She’ll wait for you outside the room and then she’ll take you down to reception, where she’ll leave you with our Front of House staff to book your next appointment and purchase any necessary aftercare products.
So, we hope that you’ve found this step-by-step guide interesting and that we’ve manged to answer all of your questions about what happens during a Hollywood wax!
