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How Long Does Waxing Last?
When you just start out in the world of waxing, one of the most popular questions you’ll have from clients is “How long does waxing last?”. Additionally, as a new client, this is often a consideration to take into account to make sure you keep your results looking great, while keeping your skin hydrated and moisturized.
How long does a wax last, actually? It can depend on a lot of different factors, including a client’s skin type, hair type, and their overall genetics as related to how fast their hair grows.
So how do you figure out how long waxing results will last for each client? Though it’ll most likely dampened client to client, and will be easy to estimate as you familiarize yourself with them, we’ve got some great ways to accurately measure how long to leave in between waxing services.
Table of Contents
Areas of Waxing
A very common question clients might query about is whether their hair growth has anything to do with the area they’re getting waxed.
Hair growth depends on multiple factors according to different areas of the body. Different people can also experience different rates of hair growth, or no hair growth at all in certain areas - especially when factoring in general hairyness or hairlessness associated with different genders.
However, some hair can grow back faster or slower depending on which area of the body is being waxed. So how much time do you need to leave in between different types of services? Read below for more information.
Facial areas, including around the eyebrows, upper lip, nose, or ears, often grow a lot faster than, say, the hair on your legs. Because of this rate of growth, you’ll need to schedule services a little closer together. Wondering how often to wax your face? Leave anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks in between facial waxing services depending on your individual growth patterns.
Just like facial waxing, underarm waxing also will need to be done more often than your usual full body waxing. Underarm services should be done around 2-3 weeks to keep up with your usual hair growth.
Additionally, you’ll want to keep up with your underarm waxing just for comfort reasons, as long underarm hairs are rather uncomfortable (and prickly!).
For all bodily and regular waxing services, the ideal length of hair to have at the time of waxing is around ¼ inch, which takes some time to achieve when waxing regularly.
When receiving regular full body waxing services, clients will want to leave between 3 and 4 weeks in between appointments to allow for hair to reach this length.
READ MORE: The Complete Guide to Leg Waxing
Bikini and intimate areas waxes last around 3-4 weeks. Because these areas specifically experience different sorts of hair growth depending on your genetics, you might be able to leave more or less time between services.
If you’ve ever wondered “How long do Brazilian waxes last?”, you’ll want to follow the same time frame for these services as you would for a bikini line or other intimate waxing service.
READ MORE: The Complete Bikini/Brazilian Waxing Guide
Does Wax Type Impact How Long Waxing Lasts?
Hair growth or the amount of time left in between services isn’t necessarily affected by the type of wax used during a service, but certain types of wax can provide a more effective service than others.
At the end of the day, waxing allows hair to be gripped and removed at the root, which provides clients with more effective and longer lasting results than with other methods of hair removal - but we’ll get into that!
READ MORE: How to Use Hard Wax Like a Pro
Waxing vs. Other Hair Removal Methods
As we all know, waxing provides hair removal with more effective results, for longer. So how does it really stack up against other hair removal methods?
Waxing vs. Shaving
Shaving is known to cut off hair at just the surface of the skin, which does not give clients long term results. For some areas, people can even feel the need to shave everyday to stay as hairless as they’d like.
On top of this, shaving leaves hair with blunt ends, which result in uncomfortable stubble upon growing back in. When using shaving for hair removal, many people shave anywhere from everyday, to every week to keep the look they’re going for.
Unlike shaving, waxing removes hair at the root, and allows clients multiple weeks in between appointments. During this time, clients experience enjoyable and smooth skin. Plus, once hair begins to regrow, it does so with a finer end, instead of the blunt end shaving results in. This makes hair (even when growing in!) feel finer, more comfortable, and less noticeable.
READ MORE: Waxing vs. Shaving: What is the Best Method for Hair Removal?
Waxing vs. Hair Removal Cream
Like shaving, hair removal cream only removes hair from the surface of the skin, instead of getting down to the root. Chemicals break down the hair, and remove it from the surface of the skin.
Most hair removal creams require you to leave at least 72 hours in between sessions, to preserve the safety of your skin against the formula’s harsh chemicals. However, even if you’re experiencing hair growth after using hair removal creams after 72 hours, it’s not advised to use these creams regularly, as it can result in negative effects or reactions on your skin’s surface.
Waxing is extremely effective for hair removal, all while remaining kind to skin. Even for people with aged or hypersensitive skin, there are waxes (like Starpil’s Starsoft or Calendula formulas) which provide amazing results while leaving the skin's surface soothed, moisturized, and hydrated post-wax.
Waxing vs. Laser Hair Removal
When using laser hair removal techniques, clients are usually looking for permanent hair removal as an end goal. It’s generally recommended to leave between 4-8 weeks in between hair removal appointments, and once all sessions are finished, clients should not see hair again for around 2 years.
Like laser hair removal, does waxing eventually stop hair growth? Waxing allows clients to spend around 3-4 hair free, and allows hair to grow back finer and thinner. When keeping up with regular waxing appointments, clients can also experience less hair growth in these treated areas, or hair growth can cease completely.
READ MORE: Permanent Hair Removal: Your 2021 Guide
Does Hair Grow Back Faster After Waxing?
In short, no hair does not grow back faster after waxing. Actually, when compared to other methods of hair removal, waxing actually gives clients smooth, hairless skin for longer periods.
Because waxing removes hair at the root instead of just cutting it off at the surface of the skin, it allows hair to grow back both thinner and without the blunt edge caused by shaving.
Professional vs. At-Home Waxing
When waxing at home, it can be a little harder to judge how long to leave in between waxing appointments. However, don’t be tempted to wax your hair too often, just because you have access to your waxing supplies at any time!
No matter if you’re waxing at home or being waxed professionally, you should always leave the same amount of time (as outlined above!) between services to allow for your hair to reach the proper length needed to wax safely and effectively.
READ MORE: Waxing at Home
General Waxing Recommendations
The most important thing to remember when scheduling you or a client’s next waxing service is to make sure to leave enough time for hair to grow long enough to be safely waxed.
So how long should your hair be to wax? As we briefly mentioned before, hair needs to be at least ¼ inch long to be safely and effectively waxed. Any shorter, and your wax will not be able to grip hair and remove it from the root. Any longer, and you’ll have to cut or clip it down to size.
Why does hair seem to grow faster on certain areas of the body? If you’re wondering why you seem to get stubble or hair growth on your face or armpits faster than you notice hair growth on say, your legs, it all comes down to hair growth cycles.
Hair Cycles
There are four hair growth cycles to consider when consider how long to leave between waxes:
Anagen
This is the phase of hair growth where the hair is long enough to be waxed, and is visible above the skin.
Catagen
This is the phase where the hair transitions from a dormant to an active phase.
Telogen
During this phase, the hair is below the skin, and dormant.
Exogen
This is the phase in which the body sheds the hair and a new hair begins to grow under the skin beneath.
Hair Types
Believe it or not, there are actually two types of glands containing hair follicles: apocrine and eccrine.
The areas of your body that have apocrine sweat glands are your underarm and bikini areas. These types of follicles produce sweat and odor, which is why your underarms get sweaty and smelly. These types of glands also contain a lot of hair follicles, which is why hair can grow so quickly and in such thick volumes in these areas.
The rest of your body hair is rooted in eccrine sweat glands, which control temperature, and are usually more spread out (which is why your body hair is a little more sparse, and grows a little slower than in other areas).
Other Factors to Consider
At the end of the day, hair growth depends on your individual genetics and what kind of hair type and skin type you have.
Once your esthetician (or you!) get more acquainted with one another (or with your client!), and more used to how much your hair grows, you can make the most accurate assumptions as to when to schedule your next appointment.
How to Make Results Last Longer
When it comes to waxing, there are a lot of ways to keep your skin smooth and looking its best, for longer.
Whether it comes down to skincare routine, or just making sure you wax regularly (and properly), there are plenty of ways to care for and elongate your waxing results.
Experiencing Quick Regrowth?
You might have heard before about clients (or just people on the internet) experiencing waxing regrowth after 1 week, this is usually a pretty uncommon experience. Keep in mind that hair has to go through each of its hair growth cycles, which can happen for different hairs at different times.
If you’re experiencing hair growth one or two weeks after a waxing service, the growth you’re experiencing is not from the hair that previously had been removed - it’s the hairs that were still in the midst of their regrowth cycles at the time of removal.
Additionally, over time you’ll be able to leave more time in between waxes as hair begins to take longer to regenerate.
Pre & Post-Wax Care
A great way to make sure that your clients’ waxing results last longer, and that skin is kept looking smooth and at its best is to emphasize the importance of practicing a proper pre and post waxing routine.
Prior to waxing, make sure clients are properly cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing before their appointments with products like Starpil’s Pre-Wax Gel. This will not only prepare the skin for the waxing process, but will also rid the surface of debris or dead skin. This will allow for hair to be removed easier, and will keep skin in its best shape.
Following a wax, make sure to hydrate and moisturize skin with post-waxing care products, like Starpil’s Post-Wax Oil and Post-Wax Lotion. This will not only help skin regenerate and repair itself after a wax, but will also allow users to keep skin soothed and moisturized, which will help to keep skin smoother, longer.
Final Thoughts
By now, we can all conclude that waxing provides users with the best and most effective hair removal results possible.
So how long does waxing really last? It really depends on genetics, skin type, and hair type. However, as long as your hairs are at least ¼ inch of length, you or your clients will be good to go for your next appointment!
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