Obligatory “Wax-On Wax-Off” Headline (for lack of a better one)

I am kind of lazy about waxing myself. I have the fancy professional accoutrements, but never the time, energy or inclination to get myself up on the table for a good old strip-n-rip session. I wax, the hair begins to regrow, I don’t have time to wax and then I can’t stand all the hair. So I whip out the razor in the shower. Because of this, I have never been able to put that old “the more you wax the less you have to” theory to the test.

Intellectually, I understand hair-regrowth patterns. Here’s how I break it down for clients–it’s more complicated than this but it gets the general idea across. Your hair is constantly in different growth patterns. So when you wax for the first time, you are removing hair already at a certain point in its growth, and there is another hair right next to it that is just starting its growth path. This is why hair seems to grow back shockingly fast to first-time waxers, who assume that one wax means no re-growth for 4 weeks. The hair basically needs to be “trained” into same growth pattern, which eventually happens with faithful, regular waxing sessions. Waxing at the right stage of regrowth is when the damage to the hair follicle happens. As the follicle gets damaged, eventually the hair regrowth will be less and less. Hence the need for regular waxing.

By July, I was fed up with the constant wax/shave business that was getting my legs nowhere fast. So I became determined to only wax. Even if my legs got so hairy that you’d confuse me with my Manly Man Husband from the knees down, I would not take a razor to them.

Since I have been razor free for almost two months, I am finally able to test out the theory. My first wax session resulted in fairly fast regrowth, as expected. Probably about a week later the hair was back to being annoying enough for the razor to tempt me. My second waxing session was last week and while I can feel a little fuzz on the leg when I run my hands down it, the hair is not visable, even in sunlight. I think I can get away with this for about another week before I grit my teeth and hold out for the requisite 1/4 inch or until I have the time to pull out the pot again.  I hope I can hold out for 5 – 7 more sessions, which is when I should really begin to see the difference.