As a professional, the last thing you want is to hurt your client. Not only is damaging the skin embarrassing to you and painful to your client, it also means that your reputation and potential for clientele are at risk. As a waxing specialist, ensuring that you avoid any potential for skin lifts or wax burns is crucial.
What can cause skin lifting during waxing?
Although this is a hard topic to discuss, it’s important to go over the causes of skin lifting so that the integrity of your business, and most importantly, your client’s skin, can remain intact.
Skin lifting, also called wax burn, is the result of the wax removing or burning the top most layer of skin, leaving behind heavily irritated skin, scabbing, and potentially permanent discoloration. This type of injury is most often seen when eyebrow waxing, but can happen on any part of the body. Unfortunately, if you’re not sure what to look for, or do not thoroughly verify the quality and temperature of your wax, your client may not be aware of the injury until later on.
As a wax specialist, it is our job to know what to look for in order to prevent any harm to our clients.
Not knowing your client’s skin type
We stress the importance of a consultation prior to beginning the appointment so that you, the wax technician, have a firm understanding of the client’s skin. Knowing if the area is dry and flaky, or tough and calloused can make a difference in what materials you use during your session. Additionally, speaking with the individual getting waxed allows you to determine if they are on any specific medications or using topical treatments, such as retinol, that cause skin to become sensitive and fragile. Being aware of contraindications is the first line of defense against skin lifting in waxing.
Applying wax to the skin that is too hot
Unfortunately, we see quite a few examples of ripped skin when waxes of a lower quality are used. These waxes can have extra additives and adhere to the skin differently than you would normally expect from a product of quality. Additionally, if these hot waxes, both soft and hard wax, are kept at too high of a temperature when applied to the skin, the client can end up with a nasty wax burn.
Waxing over the same area multiple times
If using soft wax as your preferred method of hair removal, it is thoroughly taught and continuously advertised that waxing the same area repeatedly is not advised. Seeing as soft wax is a mild exfoliant that removes the top most layer of skin, repeating the waxing process on a customer could result in ripped skin, as well as permanent discoloration to the affected area.
Pre-waxing preventative tips to keep your clients happy and their skin safe
Thankfully, if you know what to look out for, you can plan ahead and keep the integrity of your clients skin intact. It is important to note, though, that not all potential red flags are things that you can see from just examining the surface.
To help you, we’ve compiled our most frequently recognized indicators to ensure you know what to look out for and what to ask.
Know how to identify areas of concern when you see them
For clients of all ages, but primarily those with mature skin, look out for varicose veins and circulation issues. Both of these conditions could indicate potential trouble. Additionally, excessively dry skin and any discoloration may be a reflection that your clients skin may not be suitable for your standard wax. Identifying these areas of concern can often be overlooked during full body waxing sessions.
If you see anything unusual, make sure to discuss it with your client and inform them of what options they have if they want to pursue hair removal.
Help your clients identify if they’re using any retinoid derivatives
Using a retinoid can help the skin remain youthful, but is also detrimental when combined with waxing services. Since you can't visually detect if a client is using products derived from retinoids, it is important to discuss this with them as waxing any area that has been exposed to these products can cause serious harm. Since retinoids are generally applied to the face, the most common area of concern would be surrounding the eyebrows during a brow wax, or around the lips and cheeks during a facial wax.
Have varying waxes available for clients with sensitive skin
It’s important to exercise inclusivity by stocking your business with products that are suitable for those with sensitive skin. After all, getting an intimate wax with sensitive skin can feel irritating enough as it is, there is no reason to amplify that feeling by being ill prepared – leaving your client with a Brazilian wax burn.
Connect with high quality waxing ingredients at Bare Beauty Wax Supply
Bare Beauty Wax Supply has all the waxing tools and products you need to be successful. Visit our online store today to fully stock your business with the industry's best brands that are trusted by estheticians all around the country! Our mission is to provide you affordable supplies that never compromise on quality.