I am--of course--talking about the hair removal kind of waxing.
A few weeks back, QVC had a Bliss waxing kit as the Today's Special Value. I dithered a bit, but decided I'd check out reviews/prices when I got home from work. The reviews I found on line were positive, QVC's price, even with the shipping, was better than what I found online, and so I ordered it. And found myself on back order. My kit finally came.
For those unfamiliar with Bliss, it's apparently a salon wax that's now been made available for home use. The wax is microwaved rather than heated in a special machine and their special oil is supposed to make it nearly pain free.
On Wednesday, I decided it was a good time to try it out. I set up at my kitchen breakfast bar with my lighted makeup mirror, a handful of cotton balls, and easy access to the microwave.
The directions said that a full cup of wax would likely need five or six 30 second zaps in the microwave and that the wax should be stirred between each interval. The first two times in the microwave, stirring was impossible because the top was rock solid. The third time through I had a little hole form, maybe the size of a nickle. By the fifth time, the wax was way too hot. It's supposed to be the consistency of honey. I had it the consistency of water. :-) I waited a bit for it to cool down and thicken.
I started with my eyebrows. After all, how hard can it be, right? And this is a good place to test for pain. Because of years of plucking, I'm pretty inured to pain there and if it hurt, then using that wax in other areas was not going to happen.
Seriously, the directions needed to say something like: Idiot, reconsider doing the eyebrows yourself. Or get adult supervision.
Wax got into areas where I wanted to keep eyebrow. A little wax string dipped down into my eyelashes. I dripped wax on my floor. And my counter top. It required following their emergency instructions, but I did manage to not lose half my right eyebrow. It's a little thinner than the left, but it is intact. :-/
Lessons Learned:
1. Do not wax in the kitchen. Take the cup into the bathroom.
2. The thicker wax is easier to work with, don't overheat it and get it too thin.
3. When the wax cools, it won't adhere will to the hair and nothing gets removed. Stay in the sweet spot as far as the time goes.
4. Pluck the eyebrows from now on. Use the wax for other places instead.
