The Story Behind: The Perfect Waxed Look

Waxing has been around for centuries in some form or another, but it's really made a comeback in recent times thanks to celebrities like Christina Aguilera who might be known for her singing chops, but she's also famous for being almost hairless - a trend that other women have followed. Waxing is a form of hair removal that removes unwanted hair from the root. It's a popular service done in many beauty salons and spas worldwide, as well as by many individuals who do it themselves.

Waxing your hair is an intimate experience. It's a ritual that many women, as well as men, partake in, not just because they want to remove hair but also because they want to care for themselves. Waxing removes body hair from your underarms, legs, bikini area, arms, face, etc., and it can also help protect against ingrown hair as well as unsightly bumps caused by shaving.

Know the story behind waxing and how it has changed over the years. 

Origins of waxing

Waxing has been around for a long time. According to some sources, “It's not possible to pinpoint exactly when waxing was invented, but it has been known that it existed in the ancient Greeks era.” Waxing has been documented as early back in history as Ancient Egypt, when Egyptians removed their body hair with honey, butter or olive oil. The ancient Egyptians were big fans of full body hair removal as they considered it a sign of hygiene and cleanliness, and we still use some of the methods they discovered today, including waxing and sugar. 

Until the early 20th century, body hair removal was practised by both men and women—beginning in the Stone Age, then through Ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire—using shells, beeswax, and various other hair removal products. A few thousand years later, both men and women in Egypt removed all body hair except for their eyebrows. According to Elle, wealthy women of the time began to remove all their body hair with pumice stones, flint razors, very scary-looking tweezers called “volcells”, and depilatory creams. Women in ancient history used beeswax and sugar-based wax to remove unwanted hair. The Egyptians applied a mixture of beeswax and oils to unwanted hair, placed strips of cloth over the wax, and pulled it out.

How waxing will benefit you?

• Smooth, glowing skin - 

Using hair removal wax will make your skin smoother and healthier for a long time. Wax removes dead skin cells and the protective layer of hair, so your skin will touch in a new way. During hair removal, you not only remove excess hair from your body but also dry and dead skin cells. In addition to removing unwanted hair, wax also removes superficial dry and dead skin cells. Unlike shaving, which simply cuts off the hair that emerges from the skin, waxing completely removes all hair at the roots. You will find that after waxing your skin will be smoother as you remove the hair at the root and exfoliate the skin. Because the wax removes the hair at the root, you end up with smooth, hairless skin, while a razor can only cut so close to the skin. While waxing is the best way to remove hair, if you shave with a stick in wax, it will encourage hair growth and eventually, the skin in that area will become very rough. It is important not to shave between waxing sessions, as this will cause the hair to continue growing coarse.

• Slower hair growth in future- 

When you wax, it takes longer for the hair to reach the surface of the skin; thus, you will feel comfortable for longer. Slower hair growth will also reduce the cost of waxing supplies and allow you to take longer breaks between waxing sessions. Technically, you can always shave your hair, no matter how long it is, but when it reaches about half an inch in length and starts to overlap with other hair, your sessions may be less effective. 

• It’s convenient and gentle on your skin- 

Generally, waxing leaves your skin hairless for weeks longer than shaving. In addition to the convenience of waxing and saving time, waxing can also cause less skin irritation than other traditional hair removal methods. As a result, waxing gives an extremely even and smooth complexion, which depilatory creams or shaving cannot yet achieve. While shaving the body has its benefits, it's not one of them due to the fact that the hair is removed at the surface of the skin and not at the root, leaving your skin rough and with razor bumps. 

To shave or not to shave? 

Over the years, the obsession with having smooth, flawless, hairless skin has increased. Women especially, drive themselves crazy, shaving off every nick and corner of their body hair. Many a time women have been slammed for having body hair. Women are still expected to live up to the unrealistic beauty standards set by society. Body hair is natural and it is important that we normalise them. One should shave only for themselves and not for pleasing others.