I have always been one to shave my legs--in fact, I've never waxed any part of my body before. But for some reason, recently I've been feeling inclined to get my legs waxed. I'm not quite sure why, except maybe that the weather is getting warmer and shaving is getting more annoying. But I also don't really like pain. So I have questions for those of you who wax. Exactly how painful is it? How long do your legs stay smooth after you've done it? Is it worth it, or is it just some big fashion magazine conspiracy to prepare women for the pain of childbirth? And for those of you who don't wax, why not?
I've actually been considering the same thing. I can't really help you here, but I am anxious to see what everyone thinks :)
ReplyDeleteI've never waxed my legs before, but I have had several Brazilians done and I'm thinking the skin is way more sensitive by your lady bits than it is on your legs. And the pain of a Brazilian isn't that bad. It goes away like 5 seconds after they rip the strip off.
ReplyDeleteBut I'd be interested in waxing my legs, too!
I've heard that it hurts way worse on the legs than in the bikini area.
ReplyDeleteI did my legs once. It hurt like a mother and didn't last the promised 4-6 weeks. More like 2. It hurt too bad for it to last only 2 weeks.
I tried it at home and it was a failure. The wax was hot, but then hurt like a (#)&@ when I pulled the strip off and I still had all my hair. I never tried again. I'm sure a professional could do it better, but who has time? Shaving works just fine.
ReplyDeleteI have also heard the legs are horrendously painful from a friend. I only do brows.
ReplyDeleteI've had my armpits waxed a couple times. It doesn't last six weeks, but the stuff that comes in is pretty hard to see for a couple more (and it's a little softer because it's new).
ReplyDeleteBut it hurts. Like a bitch on crackers (or something like that). The gal who did mine would rip off the strip and stand back until she knew it was safe to approach. But, it beats cutting the hell out of my armpits every week or so.
I don't shave my legs.
I am way to much of a wuss to get anything other than my eyebrows waxed! :)
ReplyDeleteI get brazilians from time to time, and I don't think they are too bad. I have never gotten my legs waxed because a)it is pretty expensive, and b)I don't want to take the time to grow my leg hair out long enough to get waxed.
ReplyDeleteI used to wax my legs. It hurts alot and there's not real point to doing it sporadically intermittent with shaving. Waxing works b/c the hair starts growing back thinner- but shaving has the opposite effect. your legs stay smoother longer than shaving, but you need the hair on your legs to be long to wax- so you have to be prepared for hairy legs in btw waxings. and it definitely hurts!
ReplyDeletei shave now- its easier, faster and you dont need an appt
Bikini hurts WAY more.
ReplyDeleteCan I say that again? WAAAAAY more.
Anyhow, I don't bother with legs cause I hate having to grow it out, and it never lasts as long as I would like. I do brows though.
I think how much it hurts depends on your pain threshold. Brows, legs, etc doesn't bother me much at all. But the people at the salon are so compassionate all the time, that I think some people must really find it painful.
Yup, I have waxed and still do. Waxing my legs (I actually shave them most of the time now) doesn't really hurt me all that much, but I do know that it hurts some of my friends (those who have done it) quite a bit. It really depends on how sensitive your skin is to it. You can always try it and see how it goes. And in my experience waxing lasts quite a bit longer than shaving. Only problem is you have to wait for the hair to grow back each time you want to do it (which is difficult to do in the spring/summer).
ReplyDeleteI say try it and see how it goes!
It hurts. It's like... taking a rubber band and snapping it against your body without the aid of drugs to numb it, or alcohol to distract you.
ReplyDeleteSeriously.
Although, my mom says I'm overly dramatic so maybe it's not that bad.
omg don't wax, OW OW OW OW!!!!! crazy woman! Granted, I wax my brows, but only because plucking tiny hair out by tiny hair is disgustingly painful (and slow).
ReplyDeleteI Nair my legs once a month or so. I hate shaving and I always nick myself, and who looks cute and sexy with a big fat bandaid on their shin? If you don't know, Nair is a cream you rub gently on your legs, leave on for 10-15 minutes, and then wash off. Benefits include (in list form since I know how much you love them):
1) You spend probably 15 minutes total actually working on your legs instead of however you spend now; while you're waiting for it to work you can do other things, like, oh I don't know, write a blog post, pay bills, read a blog etc etc.
2) They have different formulas for different senstivity of skin.
3) A bottle lasts me 2-3 applications and its about 10$.
4) I only have to Nair my legs once a month(ish). That means that 10$ every three months...
5) Absolutely no cuts or pain involved.
I do something called 'sugaring' for my bikini line which is like wax except it uses thick sugar instead of wax. It is supposed to hurt less and give you less ingrown hair.
ReplyDeleteIt still hurts though.
Never tried the legs!
Done it. Hurts like hell the first two times but after that is a breeze. Go for the bikini line too. Once you do you'll never go back. Glorious!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, i've done sugaring too. Much prefer it to waxing. Last longer and doesn't seem to hurt as much. WHy I do not know.
ReplyDeleteI just recently tried some wax strips! You and I are on the same thoughtline!
ReplyDeleteI didn't mind the pain---but perhaps that was because it removed a layer of skin but left the hair right where it was?
My legs are strangely and wonderfully void of hair, so I don't wax or shave. But let me know how it goes :)
ReplyDeleteI had the same experience as Swistle and Devan- the home kit I used ripped my skin off (seriously) and left my dark, thick leg hairs right where God put them. Lovely. I hate shaving and am always getting razor burn, but I have to anytime I want to show my legs at all because my leg hair is so thick and dark.
ReplyDeleteLarissa, you don't know how lucky you are.
leg wax do not hurt at all, but I think it also has to do with how thick your hair growth is. I have very thing hair so it doesnt hurt so much. It feels like ripping a band aid off, the pain is tolerable. I get montly brazilians and I dont think they hurt as much either. Why dont you just try a little strip and see how you react to it and not do the whole leg.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge fan of waxing. Sure it hurts. I have quite a low pain threshold and waxing is bearable. The truth is that waxing doesn't give you the same smoothness that shaving does. But, it DOES last longer and your hairs do grow back much thinner.
ReplyDeleteAlso? You know how after shaving your and you run your hands down your legs and its spiky? Or prickly? Yea, that doesn't happen with waxing.
But really I think it all depends on the type of hair you have. My hair was pretty think so shaving just made it worse.
waxing is goor for bikini area, but not worth it for legs. but that's just my opinion.
ReplyDeletelet's just make sure your leg is good and healed before you even consider doing said waxing!
ReplyDeleteI don't wax because I don't often wear shorts or skirts and even when I do, and even when there is hair on my legs, you can't see it from afar, because it's nearly blond. Thank goodness for blond leghair, becuase otherwise I think I would probably disgust people.
ReplyDeleteIT'S SO PAINFUL! Especially the shins, you'll die. Don't do it.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I see you removed your last post, which I wanted to leave a comment on saying HAVE FUN IN NC and THAT READER WAS A DOUCHE! Because you looks fantabulous in Alice's pictures!
Jamie
I've had my legs waxed and it didn't hurt... but that's me. I agree that your leg should be fully healed before going in for a wax.
ReplyDeleteI'm not brave enough to wax my legs...it just seems like it would feel like a thousand tiny kicks in the shins or being dragged along concrete? But then again, I'm a total wimp when it comes to pain, so you probably shouldn't count my input!
ReplyDeletei considered getting a DIY kit...but decided it's not worth it. shaving is just fine for me. i get the eyebrows waxed and that feels good. i've considered waxing the underarm and bikini....but the idea of growing it out before getting it done grosses me out.
ReplyDeleteI've done the eyebrow thing before (after years of fearing the pain). It wasn't as bad as I thought. And I've stuck with it for years (though not nearly as regularly as I used to).
ReplyDeleteI think the only thing that keeps me from waxing my legs is the cost of having to do it regularly.
I am not sure how painful it is, having never done it but I do wax my upper lip myself...and get my eyebrows waxed professionally. What I have noticed is that different times of a period cycle hurt different amounds. I always used to walk barefoot for 5 mins and step on something sharpish to see how much it hurt before I waxed anything. Some days the sharp thing barely hurts, others it hurts like a mo-fo!
ReplyDeleteSo... I'm way late to comment. But. Waxing doesn't hurt but it's more expensive and takes too long.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm lazy and cheap.
I don't wax because it's expensive, and I am not rich. Also to be entirely, brutally honest: I hardly even shave, because I am not having sex. I haven't had any sex in FOREVER so it just seems pointless to primp. Of course, with summer and sunny weather and in all likelihood shorts on the way, I'll have to quit slacking. But waxing? Nope.
ReplyDeleteI don't because the idea of growing it out in between is too annoying for a neurotic like me.
ReplyDeletePS. I know-- I've been suuuuch a bad blogger lately!
I have waxed my legs before and gotten a Brazilian wax before, and I didn't really think that either of them were worth it.
ReplyDeleteIt hurts like hell! And then it really only lasts for 2 weeks or so. And then to top it off, you have to let your hair grow really long before you can even get it waxed, and that sucks too!
Reading through the comments made me laugh. I've never had my legs or bikini line waxed, the eyebrows are enough pain for me!
ReplyDeleteAlthough having an excuse as to why I haven't shaved my legs in a week would be nice. ("But sugar, I can't shave them! I'm getting waxed.") hee hee.
I have only done my eyebrows only because I am tweezer clumsy.
ReplyDeleteYes it hurts...but it is more of a sting.
My suggestion take two advil about 1/2 hour before you go. It helps
i've tried the Nair stuff but never will again because man does it stink! i actually don't mind shaving but i would love to have the nether regions waxed but you have to let the hair grow out for like two weeks or something first! i can't wait that long, talk about itchy!
ReplyDeleteI have never waxed my legs, but I am a regular bikini waxer. For bikini waxes, using Hard Wax is far less painful than the strip kind (though sometimes more expensive.) I'm not sure if they use hard wax on legs, though!
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to ask the SAME question. I've never waxed anything in my life!
ReplyDeleteI waxed my legs once and was not thrilled. It hurt SO bad and it didn't last very long, maybe a week of total smoothness. Now bikini wax, that is worth the pain! I do my brows too, but they don't hurt.
ReplyDeleteI've used Nads, the Australian do-it-yourself stuff. It hurt, but I could have handled it except that there were patches where no matter how many times I went over it, the hair stayed. I ended up shaving afterwards just to get the leftover hair, which took less time and was A LOT less messy, so I just went back to shaving. Maybe a professional would have done better? I'm too cheap to find out.
ReplyDeleteI've also tried Nair. Also left whole patches of stubborn hair. And even the sensitive skin formula burned enough to bring tears to my eyes.
I'm a Brazilian only kind of waxer...I don't mind shaving my legs, it means I get to take longer showers. ;o)
ReplyDelete(Um, Brazilians hurt like HELL! But, for me, they are worth it)
xox
late to the party! but my input:
ReplyDeletea) holy eff the thought of waxing your leg w/that gash on it just nearly made me swoon
b) nair was a COMPLETE BUST for me. i've tried about 3 times, because every few years i convince myself i must have "done it wrong" last time, because look at the commercials! works so well! and HA HA NOT AT ALL. it makes my hair... icky, like 1/2 dissolved, but NOT GONE. awful.
c) never waxed, but am prob about to try eyebrows and maybe the Lady Parts in the near future..
Jess, I have had my legs waxed before...ONCE. It hurt like a MUTHA! I guess it got a little easier as the process went on because my leg was going number from all the hair being ripped out. But I am so not interested in ever doing that again. Oh, and it did not stay smooth anywhere near long enough to justify that amount of pain. You know what I've been wanting to try? Those hair removal foams on the commericials. Those look so easy...I bet they suck.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to read all of the other 44 comments, haha, but here's my opinion:
ReplyDeleteWaxing is great for parts of the body that I wouldn't shave (eyebrows, upper lip, bikini area), but it's definitely not worth the expense/pain for something I could shave as easily as my legs. I say... no to the legs, yes to everything else. (I might be a little bit of a Brazilian waxing addict...)
I need to go back through and read all these comments because I would love to get a bikini wax but I'm a huge chicken!
ReplyDeleteI've done Brazilian, legs, and eyebrows.
ReplyDeleteThey all hurt, but the more times you do it, the better it gets.
None of them last a full 6 weeks, and you do have to grow them out before doing it again.
BUT, it gets thinner and thinner. If you're a hairy beast like me, that makes it worth it.
When I did the shaving thing, I had to shave my legs every morning, and even then, I'd have stubble by bed time. At the moment, I epilate (device with lots of tiny tweezers). It hurts more and takes longer, but I can wait a week, and I'm not disgusted by my legs' appearance...
One day I'm gonna get laser hair removal. Expensive, but worth it!
I wax my eyebrows, and I'm kind of numb to the pain at this point. I think your legs would be much, much easier. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI've never waxed my legs, but I have waxed my brows and my underarms (just for my wedding) and I've done the Brazilian thing. The underarms weren't bad and the Brazilian was excruciating. However, here's my tip: there is a prescription topical skin numbing thing called EMLA. If you get anything waxed (except maybe brows - they don't hurt that badly), ask your doctor to write you a scrip for Emla, and it will not be so bad at all.
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of creams like Nair and Neet. I could never go through the pain of waxing (I tried it at home, and boy did it hurt) and shaving is just a ridiculous idea for the bikini area. Nair smells, but if you open a window it goes away.
ReplyDeleteA tip from my friend who waxes EVERYTHING and whose mother has been waxing people for 30 years. Get waxed 2 days after your period ends because the skin is less sensitive. Take 2 Advil/ibuprofen before you go but NOT aspirin as it will make you bleed. This makes the waxing much less painful. I can't say it's true from experience though. I am WAY too chicken to try it myself! Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteI get my legs waxed - I have thick dark hair so when I shave I have 5 o'clock shadow the same day! LOL
ReplyDeleteIt stings, but isn't that bad to be waxed. And although my hair can be seen in 2-3 weeks it's sparse and not nearly as bad as 4hours after shaving.
Go for it!!!