Waxing FAQ — everything to know before your appointment

Waxing may cause some discomfort, especially during your first appointment, but most clients say it is much easier than they expected. Nobody should promise you a painless service — comfort is individual, and it depends on the area, the day of your cycle and your own pain threshold. What we can do is work quickly, use the right formula for the area and keep you talking through it.

Aim for about ¼ inch (6 mm) — roughly the size of a grain of rice, or two to three weeks of regrowth. The American Academy of Dermatology gives ¼ to ⅜ inch as the workable range for waxing. Sugar paste can grip shorter hair than wax can. If it is much longer than about ¾ inch we will trim first.

Most clients enjoy smooth skin for 3 to 5 weeks, depending on the area and their own hair growth cycle. Published figures range from two to eight weeks, so your own rhythm matters more than any average.

• Bikini Line: cleans up hair outside the panty line and across the top bikini area.
• Bikini Full: takes off more than a Bikini Line service, including further inside the sides and upper area.
• Brazilian: removes nearly all hair from the front and back, with the choice to keep a small strip, a triangle, or go completely smooth.

Not sure? Book the one you think you want and tell your specialist when you arrive — we can adjust.

Gently exfoliate the area 24–48 hours before — not the same day. Wash and dry the area well; wax and sugar paste both grip better on clean, dry skin. Skip lotions and oils on the day. Wear loose, comfortable clothing.

If discomfort worries you, the AAD suggests an over-the-counter pain reliever or a cold pack about 30 minutes beforehand.

For the first 24–48 hours, avoid hot baths and showers, saunas, hot tubs, swimming pools, tanning, heavy workouts and tight clothing. Freshly epilated skin has open follicular openings and a briefly disrupted barrier, which is exactly the condition in which irritation and folliculitis take hold.

Also skip exfoliating scrubs and oils for a few days, and never use a depilatory cream such as Nair on a freshly waxed area — there is a documented case of severe irritant dermatitis from exactly that combination.

Ingrown hairs are a risk with every root-level hair removal method, and no honest studio will promise you none. What genuinely helps: gentle exfoliation a few times a week between appointments, loose clothing, keeping the skin moisturised with something that will not clog pores, and letting us handle strays instead of shaving between visits.

Coarse, curly hair and skin folds carry more risk, because the hair is more likely to curve back into the skin. Please do not pick at them — that is how a bump becomes an infection or a scar.

Usually, yes. We use hard wax designed for sensitive skin and delicate areas, and we can switch to sugar paste, which contains no rosin. Rosin (colophony) is the adhesive resin in depilatory wax and a recognised contact allergen, which is why dermatology references list sugaring as a suitable alternative for people who react to wax.

Tell us about your skin before we start. That is not a formality — it changes which formula we reach for.

Waxing during pregnancy is common and there is no medical guidance against it, though skin is often more sensitive because of hormonal changes. Tell us and we will adjust. If you have any concerns, check with your provider first.

One specific note worth knowing: the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises not shaving, waxing or lasering within two weeks of a planned gynecological surgery.

Yes. We simply ask that you wear a fresh tampon or menstrual cup for your appointment. Skin is often more sensitive in the days just before and during your period, so you may find it less comfortable than usual.

No. That myth belongs to shaving, and even there it is false — the Mayo Clinic is explicit that shaving does not change hair thickness, colour or growth rate. What changes is the tip: a shaved hair has a blunt cut end that feels coarse, while hair removed from the root grows back with its natural tapered tip.

You will also hear that waxing or sugaring makes hair grow back permanently finer. Be a little sceptical. Laboratory work does show that pulling hair from the root damages the follicle, and long-term clients often describe patchier, softer regrowth — but that is client experience, not a clinical trial, and no dermatology body claims it for waxing or sugaring. Electrolysis is the only method the FDA recognises as permanent hair removal.

Most clients settle into a rhythm of about 4 to 6 weeks. That is not an arbitrary number: body hair runs on a much shorter cycle than scalp hair — roughly one to three months of active growth on the arms and legs — and your follicles are not synchronised, so hairs surface in waves. Coming back on a regular schedule catches more of the area in the same wave.

Yes. Velora offers professional waxing for both women and men, including body waxing and intimate waxing, with the same privacy and the same standard of care.

We use premium hard wax as our default for delicate areas — it grips the hair rather than the skin, which makes it a better option for the bikini area, underarms and face. We offer three hard wax options plus soft wax for larger areas, and sugar paste:

• Classic Hard Wax — works well for all skin types, first-time and regular clients alike.
• Cocoa Hard Wax — enriched with cocoa butter, recommended for dry or sensitive skin.
• Turmeric Hard Wax — known for its soothing properties, an excellent option for sensitive skin.
• Soft Wax — for legs, arms, back, chest and stomach, where speed over a large area matters.
• Sugar paste — sugar, lemon juice and water, at body temperature. Read the full sugaring guide.

Please tell us before booking if any of these apply. Some mean we reschedule; some mean we simply adjust.

• Isotretinoin (Accutane) in the last six months. These medications thin the skin — the AAD warns that when the wax is removed, the skin could tear. This applies to sugaring too, not just waxing.
• Retinol or prescription retinoids on the area. Stop at least 5 days before; some dermatology references advise 3–4 weeks for prescription strength.
• Acid exfoliants (glycolic, lactic, salicylic) — pause about a week. FDA research found AHAs measurably increase the skin's UV sensitivity, and it takes roughly a week after stopping to return to normal.
• Antibiotics — the AAD advises against waxing while taking them.
• Recent peels, laser or microneedling — wait until the skin has fully healed and check with the provider who performed it.
• Sunburn, open wounds, rashes or active skin infection on the area — always a no, on every source we consulted.
• Keloid-prone skin, diabetes, or varicose veins on the area — tell us and check with your doctor. We will patch test or work around it.

No — not on the same area. Laser needs the hair present in the follicle to work, so removing it at the root defeats the treatment. If you are mid-course with laser, finish that course first. We would rather tell you this now than take a booking that wastes your money.

Yes, when it is done properly. South Carolina's Board of Cosmetology sanitation rules are specific: a spatula may not be re-dipped into the wax pot — not even using the other end — and the pot must be emptied and disinfected if it is contaminated. We follow that, we never double-dip, and with hand-method sugaring a portion of paste is used for one client and discarded.

This matters more than it sounds. There are published cases of severe folliculitis after wax epilation, and the authors' recommendation was precisely that epilation be performed under optimal hygienic conditions.

Certain services may require a 50% deposit to secure your reservation; our team will tell you during booking. We allow a 10-minute grace period, and we ask for at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule. Full details are on our Deposit, Cancellation & Late Policy page.