After working with tens of thousands of waxers, we’ve come to learn that not everyone is taught the same way. In fact, there are actually multiple ways to accomplish the same goal with waxing. That being said, there are a few things that can make your life easier when it comes to pulling off the most successful waxing service.

We will not cover a full consultation here, but there are a couple key questions many people forget to ask: Has retinol been applied to the skin in the last 48 hours? Was it exfoliated this morning? If yes, do not proceed.

Exfoliation should be 24 hours before an appointment. Does the client have any allergies? Pine allergies are rare, but pine is the most common ingredient in wax right now.

Warmers are not perfect at measuring temperature. Your consistency is really king when it comes to using your hard wax or soft wax. Keep in mind that there are differences in the proper consistency and temperature between brands. It’s really best to pay close attention to the directions and review any educational material for the specific product you are using.

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

This is one of the more challenging areas to give advice on. Most waxers forget that the skin, room temperature, humidity, and where your warmer is placed in your room ALL have an effect on the application, set time, and pull of the wax. To make it easier, let’s break this into “humid” and “dry”, but know that you can fall in between.

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.

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.

While finishing up, remember to offer the right product to fit your client’s needs. Ideally, it will be one you’ve used in the service because clients will trust that more. Immediately pick a date on the calendar that you think is appropriate for the client to come back, and ask them if that date will work for their next service. The worst they can say is no :)

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!