Waxing

breezyblueyez

Ladies, i'm trying to decide on what to do as far as waxing.  ive been waxing my eyebrows for years no problem, but want to do my legs before the honeymoon and am debating on whether to do bikini wax vs. brazillian ?  never done either before...

who's done it? how painful, and is there bruising or swelling after?  how far in advance ?

TIA

KST_

Personally, I don't like the look of the "landing" strip of the brazillian so I opted for the bikini. I did mine a week in advance and that was too far. I did it that far because the one previous time I had waxed (legs), I had lots of red bumps that lasted for days and I wanted to make sure they were gone by the wedding. The red bumps on my legs lasted about 2 days. I had a few bumps at the bikini line but they were gone after a day. You might be a little tender within one day, but no bruising or swelling. Just be aware that your hair oh your legs (if you're considering that as well) is in different growth cycles so I already had some stubble by the time of my wedding. The bikini area stayed nice through the length of my honeymoon though!

breezyblueyez

Oooh yea your right, i was thinking the Brazillian was all of it! lol i forgot about the landing strip. 

thanks for the advice! i will definately do my legs as well, i want to shave as little as possile while we are in hawaii.

Sweet_Adeline

I think the brazilian takes it all off... I've never done it myself (it sounds like it HURTS!) but I have friends who do it and swear by it. 

I've had my legs waxed, and while it was painful, it was tolerable.  My skin was slightly irriated for a day or two, but I didn't have to shave for 2-3ish weeks.

amandasw

I voted "other" as in, a very thorough bikini wax.  I think everyone has different definitions for these terms, here's what I think of and what I feel my waxers have interpreted these terms to mean...

- bikini: basically gets the sides and top of the hair - so nothing shows if you're wearing a swimsuit (I prefer more than this, as I explain below). 

- brazillian: they get hair all the way inside the WHOLE area down there... it doesn't have anything to do really with the front and "looks" IMO, they'll leave whatever you want in the front.  Let's just say you have to hold and spread things for them... I have friends who get it all the time, and I can see why for "fun times" that might be preferable, I just can't bring myself to do it and don't think it's necessary.

- a really good bikini wax: I would qualify this only because some estheticians care more than others (some less expensive places or beauty school tranies may only do what I mentioned above).  When I've said I just wanted a bikini, but was able to direct what I wanted, they made sure to get a lot of the hair all around the top and inner thigh area and pretty close in and then leave whatever shape I wanted in the front.

anyway, hope that wasn't too TMI, but I think if you are basically looking for a clean look, esp for the beach too, a really good bikini is enough! (and it's less expensive, just be assertive with what you want)

amandasw

Oh, and I would say it's tolerable.  I would do it at least a week in advance, because it is a little irritated and can have a bruised look.  I have pretty high pain tolerance and I would say that underarms and lip are more painful, if that gives any indication.

BrandyL10

I've done my legs and bikini wax a few times. Bikini wax is sore and tender the rest of the day. Personally, I think waxing your legs hurts worse than a bikini wax. I don't know why, my opinion. And I was also under the impression that brazilian takes it ALL off. That's what all my friends say, and why I never did it. I didn't want them going in deep! lol!
I'd do a week before the wedding. But make sure you have hair to wax, I've been turned away for leg waxing because my leg hair was too short, weird, but it happens.

carrieoz_76

Yea, I had my eyebrows waxed, and I had a bikini wax (what Amanda described above as a "thorough bikini wax" ).  The bikini wax seemed to hurt more this time, but maybe that's b/c I had more done?  Dunno.

I'm just gonna shave my legs.  I only need to do them like twice a week to keep them ok, and frankly waxing hurts, and I'm fine with how my legs are when they're shaved. 

emyinpink

I get regular brazillians. Honestly, once you start going for awhile, it really doesn't hurt that bad at all. Although my poor sister got her first one, and it wasn't easy for her. I'd recommend a few things: don't wax for the very first time right before your wedding (do at least 2 cycles beforehand, they can be done about 4-5 weeks apart. Make sure the hair is long enough before you go (at least 1/4 of an inch). Finally, go to a good place. I highly recommend wax on spa, either Stephanie in Belltown or Cap Hill, or Heather in Kirkland.

karebear219

I get brazillians. I do sugaring instead of waxing though. The first time is the worst, but if you get a good person it isn't that bad. Start poping advil 24 hrs in advance to help the pain. Also allow 2 days to heal before you plan any activities. I love Kelli at Magnolia Skin care. She is really friendly and bubbly. She keeps you destracted while she is working and is really scensitive to the fact it hurts.

jennlin

brazillian is everything....and that's what i voted. if you've never done it, i think it is something your H will appreciate. TMI, but the first time i did it, my H went CRAZY about how much he loved it....

breezyblueyez

Hank you so much ladies!  sooooo much information   I love my waxer at Obadiah, i'm going to have to get a wax done soon and then again before the wedding! 

yay for waxing, Jennlin i think my FI will love that too lol i think i will try it

niq24601

Wow, uh ... maybe I saw The Vagina Monologues one too many times when I was in college? Anyway my $0.02 is to do what ever you want in order to look good/comfortable/confident and not conform to any sort of "hair down there=disgusting looking norm. Presumably FI/DH thinks you're smokin' whether you have a brazilian, bikini wax, shave, or look like a member of the East German women's track team. I mean, don't get me wrong, guys like it when girls look good ... but somehow we can tell when they're doing things just to fit some ideal and when they're doing it because that's how they *want* to look. Heck living out here just seeing people in swimsuits at all is exotic unless you're a boat person :P.

Okay, dirty hippy musings about body image over. I of course can't offer any opinions on how painful or effective these things are.

jennlin

i niq. you make ladies feel beautiful.

GeorgiaGC

So I'm a little late on the response, but I've had my legs done many times. It's not bad at all. It's very tolerable. I've also had a bikini done once, to my surprise it really didn't hurt at all. There was no redness or swelling and didn't hurt afterwards. I as well am going to do bikini or brazillian for my wedding and plan on getting it done once in September and again in October for the honeymoon.