After working with tens of thousands of waxers, we’ve come to learn that not everyone is taught the same way—and that’s perfectly fine. There’s more than one method to achieve a smooth wax, but a few universal tips can make your life easier and your clients happier.

Before you start, ensure you’re asking the right questions. Check for recent retinol use, same-day exfoliation, or allergies like pine. If a client says “yes” to anything that could compromise their skin, it’s better to reschedule.

• • Pro Tip: Kick off your service with a quick but pointed consultation. Clients will appreciate the extra care and see you as a professional from the start.

Your warmer’s temperature isn’t always 100% accurate—consistency is crucial. For Honeycomb Wax products:

For Honeycomb Wax:
Professional (Wild Honey) Hard Wax - 50C in our small wax warmer, 60C in our large wax warmer. Cake batter consistency, easy to spread.
Natural (Smooth Nectar) Hard Wax - 50C in our small wax warmer, 60C in our large wax warmer. Cake batter consistency, easy to spread.
Petal Soft Cream Wax - 52C in our small wax warmer. Runny honey consistency
Smooth Nectar Soft Wax - 40C in our small wax warmer. Runny honey consistency

Environmental factors—like room temperature and humidity—impact how your wax sets and pulls. Here’s how to handle different conditions.

Look at the skin you are about to work on. Can you see flakiness, ashy skin, or any indication of dryness? On the other hand, are you seeing sweat or a sheen from oil? Make a note, we will talk about this next.

Spray your favorite cleanser, such as BeeClean, on your 4x4 to eliminate excess moisture on the skin and ensure that you are applying only to the necessary areas.

Face Specific Cleansing: Too much product means that a single cleanse often does not do the trick in removing that product. We recommend double cleansing on the face to help remove excess product.

Dry Climate:

Dry climates have a slightly different recommendation based on skin type and Dry/Normal skin fall into the same category.

Dry Skin to Normal Skin (ashy, flaky, cracky): Take a few drops of your favorite post oil, such as BeeSmooth, and apply it to a 4x4 (important!), swirl the 4x4 to spread the oil on the wipe, then wipe the OPPOSITE direction of hair growth. You should not see any sheen on the skin. If you do, wipe it away.

Oily Skin (shiny): Take a tiny bit of powder, such as cornstarch, and apply it to a 4x4 (important!), swirl the 4x4 to spread the powder on the wipe, then wipe the OPPOSITE direction of hair growth. You should not see any excess powder flakes on the skin. If you do, wipe them away.

Humid Climate:

Humid climates, such as coastal areas or after a heavy rain, require that normal and oily skin fall into the same method of treatment.

Dry Skin (ashy, flaky, cracky): Take a few drops of your favorite post-oil, such as BeeSmooth, and apply it to a 4x4 (important!), swirl the 4x4 to spread the oil on the wipe, then wipe the OPPOSITE direction of hair growth. You should not see any sheen on the skin. If you do, wipe it away.

Normal to Oily Skin (shiny): Take a tiny bit of powder, such as cornstarch, and apply it to a 4x4 (important!), swirl the 4x4 to spread the powder on the wipe, then wipe the OPPOSITE direction of hair growth. You should not see any excess powder flakes on the skin. If you do, wipe them away.

Make sure the consistency is correct coming out of the warmer, this is important.

Pressure is the #1 key here. It is best if your stick is bending slightly (even more with soft wax). This doesn’t hurt the client (try it on yourself), but, it will get you a better pull. The wax needs to be able to get around the entire follicle.

Your stick should be at a 45 degree angle for hard wax, 90 degree angle (straight up and down with your stick) for soft wax.

The biggest trick to success with removal is pulling the skin tight. Don’t forget to ask your client for help! If you’ve done everything else right, you can still fail by not pulling the skin correctly when pulling the wax.

The timing of removal depends heavily on the wax that you are using.

For Hard Wax, there are a couple indicators for hard wax that it’s ready to pulled, which include the color of the wax itself and the feel of the wax when you go to touch it. There are no hard waxes that should still stick to your glove and be ready to pull. However, there are some hard waxes, like Honeycombs, that are best pulled when still “tacky”. For the color, some waxes, like Smooth Nectar Natural Hard Wax, will turn opaque (white) to let you know they are ready.

Soft wax is actually best when pulled immediately. Most will give you some time to work, but, be careful, soft wax has no real warning that it has sat too long and is now “too cool” besides that it sticks to the skin. Don’t worry! If this is happening to you, it can be fixed. Apply a LOT of pressure across the strip, then rub back and forth at least 10 times quickly to provide heat from friction before trying again. Hard wax can actually be used to remove soft wax in a pinch situation as well.

Pro Tip: If soft wax “freezes,” friction helps loosen it. Rub fast on the back of the strip. This simple trick can xsave an otherwise stressful appointment.

Cleansing after waxing can actually help remove bacteria that would otherwise enter exposed pores, as well as help with some residue. Using your post-oil after this helps repair the lipid barrier on the skin as well as reduce inflammation. Do not skip these two steps, they will increase your client return rate by increasing client satisfaction post-waxing.

If the skin appears to have ingrown hair or other addressable issues, this is the right time to offer a post-waxing treatment for your client and an upsell to drive more revenue in your business.

PRO TIP: Wondering how a simple cleanse can dramatically reduce redness and ingrowns? Small changes like this can lead to big improvements in client satisfaction.

Before your client leaves, talk about products that fit their needs—preferably something you used during the service so they already trust it. Then, secure that next appointment right away.

• • “Would you like to come back in 4 weeks to keep those results?”
  • Scarcity Principle: Consider limited-time bundles or new-product launches to encourage clients to grab what they need sooner rather than later.
  • Encourage Commitment: Invite your clients to share their experiences or tips in the comments. Engagement builds community—and community grows your business.

Being successful as a waxer is a lot more than just removing the hair. We hope this guide helps you on your journey. Feel free to reach out to us with questions!