I always promised Trampus I would write an opinion on waxing, when I originally wrote this she was taking a break from Ciao, so she missed it, tut! As she is now back I have updated it especially, Sarah this one if for you honey....

Right, let's get started then. First rule of waxing, don't try it yourself. Yes, you may have just read about the most wonderful product, how the wax rolls on easily and smoothly, but don't be fooled. Waxing isn't easy at all, that's why they have professionals that do it.

If you try it at home you will end up looking like a hairy toffee apple, unable to remove the wax or hairs properly and your legs stuck to your knickers for the day. Find yourself a decent beautician, by word of mouth preferably and let them do the work for you.

I have a girl who comes to my house, Claire. She has been with me for almost ten years now and we are actually very good friends, so I get a discount too, see I told you it was better.

Anyway, she comes to 'wax' me usually every fortnight. I say usually as different areas have different growth rates for different people. All will become clear I promise.

She charges the general public (not me!) as follows:

Full leg ................................... £7.00
Half Leg ................................... £4.00
Bikini ..................................... £5.00
Full arm ................................... £7.00
Half arm ................................... £4.00
Arm Pits ................................... £4.00
Eyebrows ................................... £4.00
Upper lip (tash to me and you!) ............ £3.00
Full body waxing (all of the above) ........ £25.00

I personally am not a very hairy person, just bikini line and arm pits for me. I also have my eyebrows waxed instead of plucked.

So, what does it entail? Well, the wax is heated in a thermostatically controlled pot. This is where the first thing normally goes wrong with home waxing. If the wax is to hot or cold it will either not remove the hairs properly or worse, remove the hairs and a layer of skin ... OUCH.

The wax is applied to the area using an orange stick and a piece of fabric placed over it. The fabric is then pressed onto the wax to 'catch' the hairs and ripped off. YES RIPPED.

Which begs the question, does it hurt? Well, erm ... what do you think? You are ripping the hairs from the root, not one at a time but hundreds, ever ripped a plaster from a hairy bit? Ok, well times that by a million and you are somewhere close. It does hurt a bit obviously, but not as much in some areas than others, it also depends on the person and amount of hair.

I find my bikini line worst, especially when I was pregnant for some reason, Claire says this is quite common and also happens around period time, so if you are going for a wax choose the time of month carefully. Thank god I only need it done every six weeks.

Arm pits are a doddle, the same for eyebrows really, hardly hurt at all. Those are done fortnightly.

After waxing Claire applies some cream which helps to take away the redness a little and soothes the area.

~~~~Some waxing do's and don'ts~~~~

Do have it done by a qualified beautician, may cost more but hurts a lot less.

Do make sure you have set enough time aside to have it done at home and are not interupted 'mid wax' by the Sainsburys delivery man.

Do make sure the area is clean before waxing, not from a stinky point of view you understand, but wax will not adhere properly to dirty skin.

Don't put on any creams or lotions before waxing for the same reason.

Don't have your bikini line waxed at the wrong time of the month, it hurts more.

Don't have a hot bath or shower for at least 24 hours after waxing.

Don't sunbathe for at least 24 hours after waxing.

Don't have your bikini line waxed if you have a recent C-section scar. Claire made me wait three
months for the scar tissue to heal. And be prepared for it to hurt like hell because of the extra growth, ewwwwww.

Don't put deodorant on newly waxed pits, it stings, trust me :o)

Don't EVER EVER try to wax your own eyebrows, it's totally impossible, even Claire has hers done by a beautician.

I have been waxing for years and years now, it is so much easier and far more convenient than any other hair removal system. Shaving gives you a rash and stubble, creams never get the hair from the root although they claim to. Waxing is by far the best.

Also, now I have been waxing for so long you find some of the hairs actually don't grow back at all. I could actually leave my arm pits for a month and no-one would notice, the hairs are so sparse now, so obviously as the years go by it hurts less too.

There is one teeny weeny problem with waxing, ingrowing hairs. You will get one or two of these. The best way to deal with them is to gently scrape your nail over the top of them, they generally then pop out of the skin and can be removed with tweezers. Don't squeeze them and don't stick needles in your skin to try and remove them, they will pop out eventually.

Simple huh? Nothing to it, so go out and find yourself a nice 'Claire' like me and get yourself waxed.

And no, I am not going to reveal whether I have it all off (brazilian) or leave a little Mohican, some things are better left unsaid :o)

Mel X