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Tag: Waxing

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  • Tom Tries It: What it’s like to get an Intimate Waxing

    Tom Tries It: What it’s like to get an Intimate Waxing

    The world of male grooming can be a daunting place. With a myriad of product types and treatments available, it’s hard to know what products you need to be using and what treatments are right for you. This is why at THEGAYUK, we have sent our beauty expert Thomas Swallow to try them out and decode the enigma of male grooming.

    CREDIT: Depositphotos ( FILE PHOTO)

    Carry on reading below, to hear about Tom’s experience trying intimate waxing for the first time. Yes, you heard right, he even put his manhood on the line this week!

    So as the intro suggests, this week to kick off this new series I put my manhood on the line and leapt into the world of male intimate waxing. I really don’t do things by halves, could have started with a cheeky chest wax but no, not me. With the help of Jimmy Bodur Male Grooming inside the 193 Whitecross Street clinic in London, we went all out and did the full Hollywood wax experience. Yes, I am now quite literally as smooth as a baby’s butt!

    So if you’ve ever been curious about waxing your meat and two veg, then make sure to carry on reading. As myself and Jimmy take you through the whole procedure from preparation to after-care.

    So what is intimate waxing?

    (C) BIGSTOCK (FILE PHOTO)

    I suppose the best place to start for those of you who don’t know, is to explain just exactly what intimate waxing is.

    The basic premise of waxing is to use warm or hot wax, to physically remove hair from the body. In the case of warm wax, this is often done with the help of waxing strips that adhere to the wax and help the remove the product and hair from the skin. When dealing with hot wax, however, the use of a waxing strip is often not needed. The wax is left to cool on the skin and then removed directly.

    Intimate waxing as the name suggests is the same premise but centred around the removal of hair from the genital area. There are two main types of intimate waxing offered to men:

    1. The Hollywood Wax: The complete removal of all hair from the pubic triangle, balls, penis, scrotum, buttocks and crack.

    2. The Brazilian Wax:The complete removal of all hair from the balls, penis, scrotum, buttocks and crack. While only trimming down the pubic triangle.

    So, of course, we went for the Hollywood option! It was the week of my birthday, we had to go all out!

    How to prepare for intimate waxing?

    (C) BIGSTOCK (FILE PHOTO)

    Now, this is something that I definitely thought was more daunting than it actually was. Personally, I thought there would be a multitude of steps in getting your skin/hair ready for waxing. Whereas Jimmy outlined it all in 3 simple steps:
    1. Don’t moisturise the area on the day of waxing, otherwise, it will be harder for the wax to adhere to the hairs.

    1. Don’t do any sports or gym work for at least 3 hours prior to your appointment. We need to be clean and avoid sweat here guys!

    2. Finally, simply don’t shave or trim the area being waxed. I was personally conscious of this, may have let the bush grow out a bit to make sure it was long enough. Jimmy very simply said though, if it needs trimming I’ll do it. If the hair is too short or too long, the wax can’t adhere.

    Simple right?

    During the treatment:

    Now, this is the bit that I know you’re all the most curious about. We’ve all heard the stories of how much waxing hurts and I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s painless. When being waxed you are physically ripping the hair from your skin and so, of course, it is going to painful. Especially in sensitive areas. <

    What I will say though, is that it is in no way as painful as you think it is going to be. The best way I can describe it is a burning sensation that goes away just as quickly as it comes. Of course, there are certain areas that are more sensitive and naturally feel more painful than others but with a light bit of pressure from Jimmy’s hand on the skin afterwards, the burning sensation quickly disappeared.

    This is why it’s important to have an expert clinician like Jimmy doing a procedure like this though. The pain you experience is directly relational to how good your clinician is. If they can get the wax on and off in a quick and effective motion, the pain will be minimal. If they don’t know what they’re doing and are tugging at the wax, it’s gonna hurt like hell!

     

    So now the pain rumours have been dispelled, let’s get on to going through the procedure:

    1. Jimmy had me get on my elbows and knees to wax my buttocks and crack. This position although a little embarrassing is the best position you can be in for getting waxed in this area. The skin is made taught in the position and ensure the wax can be removed easily and effectively.

    2. He started proceedings by checking the temperature of the hot wax against my skin and then dripping some down my crack. By doing this step first, he was allowing the hot wax to cool and adhere to the hair between my cheeks as long as possible.

    3. While cooling he then went on to use warm wax along with waxing strips to remove the exterior hair on my buttocks and lower back. By doing warm waxing in these less sensitive areas, he was able to remove the hair in the most effective and speedy manner.

    4. It was time to wax my crack and honestly, I thought this part was going to be the most painful out of the entire treatment. You know, nerve endings and all that! Surprisingly though, it was the least painful and after expressing my shock to Jimmy, he explained why. Basically, using hot wax is a much more painless method of hair removal than using warm wax and therefore he only ever uses hot wax on sensitive areas.

    5. Jimmy then went on to moisturise the entire area and by the time he was done, I was pain-free and smooth as a baby!

    6. After I had my smooth baby butt, I was asked to lay on my back and think of England. It was time to wax little Tom! Now similarly to waxing my crack, Jimmy used hot wax to remove the hair from my frontal area. This was by no means as pain-free as having my crack waxed but it wasn’t unbearable. Surprisingly though, it was my pubic triangle that actually caused the most pain but as I said earlier, with a light bit of pressure from Jimmy the pain was gone in seconds.

    7. Finally, once all the hair had been removed, Jimmy went on to moisturise the area and once again by the time he was done, I was pain-free. Job’s a good’un, as my dad would say.

    After-care:

    Similarly to the preparation stage, I thought this would be a lot more complicated than it actually was. The basic premise for after-care, was as follows:

    1. Just don’t shower for the first 24 hrs and when you do, make it a cool shower. You need to let your skin recover after hair removal and the best way is to let it rest for the first 24 hrs, while the skin barrier repairs.

    2. Avoid any fragrance for the first 24 hrs and avoid any sporting activity for the next 48 hrs. As with the showering, this is to avoid any unnecessary irritation to the skin.

    3. Following this initial period, the after-care is straightforward. Exfoliate once a week to avoid ingrown hairs and apply moisturiser regularly to avoid irritation.

    How much does it cost?

    Well obviously we can’t speak for every single salon in the UK but in terms of Jimmy, who is by far our recommendation. The pricing is as follows:
    Male Brazilian Waxing: £50.00

    Male Hollywood Waxing: £60.00

    Personally, for the level of service you get, I think the pricing is completely justified. Obviously, this is all subjective but for a treatment that lasts for around 6 weeks, I think the results by far justify the pricing.

    Final thoughts:

    You know I can safely say, that I’m glad I tried the whole Hollywood waxing experience at least once in my life. It’s a strange sensation at first being completely hairless down there but I think aesthetically everything just looks well-groomed and sharper.

    So would I have it done again? You know, I probably would. I would definitely have my ass waxed again, as I don’t feel I could deal with a hairy crack again after this but I would possibly opt for a Brazilian wax next time. Basically, I’d go through it all again but maybe just trim the bush. You know to avoid the most painful part!

    Finally, I just wanted to say a massive thank you again to Jimmy Bodur Male Grooming and the entire 193 Whitecross Street team, for all their help in making this feature. He’s a great guy and they are a great team, so I definitely recommend giving them a visit the next time you are in London!

  • What’s it like getting a Back, Sack and Crack wax by a perfect stranger

    We sent brave Aaron Holloway to get waxed. Firstly we wanted to know how much it hurt and secondly we wanted to know what it was like to have a perfect stranger fiddle about with your junk.

    CREDIT: Dmytro-Sidelnikov-bigstock
    CREDIT: Dmytro-Sidelnikov-bigstock  (FILE PHOTO)

    Looking for that “perfect” no hair look – then a professional wax might just be the ticket.

    It was a surprisingly sunny morning in London when I arrived at the Chelsea office of Wax in the City.

    The front desk assistant was especially friendly, helping me with a place to store my many bags since I had just arrived from the airport. Wax in the City has a drop-in style service, so you don’t need to bother with an appointment, and the wait time was short when I arrived.

    I had just enough time to catch my breath and have a nice cold, albeit super wanky lemonade at a local café (where I was later informed the real housewives of Chelsea – apparently that’s a thing – meet for brunch or whatever) before I was called in to see my expert ‘Depiladora’ (Wax in the City’s own word for their hair removal experts).

    My Depiladora was a very friendly young lady, who made me feel very comfortable before leaving the room so I could undress and lie on the table. I was there to have my back waxed, so I wasn’t expecting it to be too painful. The process used by Wax in the City was different to my previous experience with waxing strips. Here they use a larger patch of hardening wax, which is removed after a few minutes of cooling. This process allows for larger areas to be waxed than cloth strips, and this means less time, and less pain overall. I was informed that they use different waxes for different areas, so if you have a more sensitive region done, you may have another type of wax applied.

    During the process we chatted about what she was doing to me, and how long she’s be working there. I got the feeling that I was the only chatty-Cathy because there seemed to be a lot of silence coming from the other booths in the salon. Perhaps we were alone, or maybe women just don’t like to chat while they’re having hair ripped out of their naughty-bits. Who knows.

    After only about 30 minutes my back was ready to go and I was brushed off and given a few care tips to look after my newly bare back.

    Waxing offers a few benefits over shaving in that the regrowth is much longer coming in, and is also softer than shaving stubble. I did notice a slight amount of itching about 3-4 weeks later as the hair began reappearing on my back, but this soon passed and was not as irritable as shaving stubble. The other obvious benefits are that the waxed area is hairless for much longer than shaving, and never has the feeling of dry sand when running your hand over the regrowth when it does come in. The pain is minimal, and worth the results.

    Wax in the City in London can be found at 370 King’s Road in Chelsea, SW3 5UZ, and is close to transport stops. They are open every day from 10am to 8pm, except Sundays when they are open from 12 – 5pm.

    Not so brave but want to try waxing at home – we’ve got some advice for waxing your bum and your sack.

  • ADVICE | How to wax your bum

    If you’re tired of a hairy crack and you’re looking to do a bit of waxing then listen up as we’ve got some tips for you!

    Last week we gave you tips on how to wax your sack and this week it’s all about the crack. If you want a smooth bum then here are some tips to help you get the most out of your waxing experience.

    We asked waxing expert, Fardad Moayeri, the CEO of Parissa, for some top tips on waxing your bum and back in the comfort of your own home.

    To do these areas Fardad suggests using leg-body wax strips, you can get these from Amazon

    GET A PARTNER TO HELP

    Best thing to do is to work with a partner on the back and crack as they can be difficult areas to access. If you can’t work with a partner, then your mirror will have to be your best friend.

    BACK TO THE MIRROR

    Stand with your back facing the mirror and turn your head to determine where you need hair removal.

    DIRECTION OF HAIR

    Check out the direction of hair growth…then start applying the wax strips in the direction of hair growth and zip-off in the opposite direction.

    KEEP IT TIGHT

    Since you’ll want to keep your skin as tight as possible, you can try either sitting backwards on a chair and arching your back…or just arch your back when you’re standing.

    THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER

    1) The key point that makes all the difference: press-on strips IN DIRECTION of hair growth. Zip-off in the OPPOSITE direction of hair growth.
    2) The quicker the strip is removed the better the results.
    3) If you’ve got long hairs…trim them to about 0.5cm.

    We recommend Parissa’s wax strips, which you can buy from Amazon.

  • ADVICE | How to Wax Your Sack

    ADVICE | How to Wax Your Sack

    If you’re hoping for a hairless look around your balls you might want to opt for a waxing…

    So if you normally shave your pubic area but you’re wanting a more long-term result you might want to try waxing. There are plenty of salons where you can get a professional to perform a back, sack and crack wax, however, these can tend to be a little expensive. Also, many men might feel intimidated or embarrassed to reveal all to a total stranger, so we asked waxing expert,  Fardad Moayeri, the CEO of Parissa, for some top tips on waxing your ball sack in the comfort of your own home.

    SPREAD YOUR LEGS

    Unless you’ve had anti-wrinkle plastic surgery on your sack, the skin on and around your sack can be quite loose. Waxing loose skin can be painful so the key is to keep the skin extremely taught during hair removal. One of the best ways to do this is to lie on the back and spread your legs open (like a frog laying on it’s back). This will stretch the skin around your sack.

    FROM THE OUTSIDE IN

    Start waxing from the outside and work your way in. move your sack out of the way of the side you’re working on and flip it over when working on the other side.

    AND STRETCH

    Hold and flip your sac up for getting the hairs under the sack. When waxing your sack, make sure you’re stretching the skin as much as possible. Try holding your marbles and pulling the skin to one side or the other, this will help keep the skin tight. The tighter the skin… the less the pain!

    LIFT AND PART

    Hold and flip your sac up for getting the hairs under the sack. When waxing your sack, make sure you’re stretching the skin as much as possible. Try holding your marbles and pulling the skin to one side or the other, this will help keep the skin tight. The tighter the skin… the less the pain!

    BLOOD?

    Don’t panic if you see pinpoints of blood where your hair has been removed. Pubic hair is coarse and deep rooted.  However, if you’re bleeding heavily, go see your doctor.

    ©-artofphoto-Depositphotos

    THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER

    1) The key point that makes all the difference: press-on strips IN DIRECTION of hair growth. Zip-off in the OPPOSITE direction of hair growth.

    2) The quicker the strip is removed the better the results.

    3) If you’ve got long hairs…trim them to about 0.5cm.

    We recommend Parissa’s wax strips, which you can buy from Amazon.

  • More And More Men Want Pain Free Manscaping

    After years of controversial rhetoric on the reasons women get their body hair removed, the conversation and focus is once again shifting towards men.

    According to a new report out today, record numbers of men are feeling under pressure when it comes to managing their body hair. ‘Manscaping’ – media slang for body hair management for men – is on the rise again with half of British males saying they feel under pressure to groom their body hair. Celebrities such as David Beckham continue to fuel the cult for a cleaner and hair free body.

    It’s a trend which is reflected in the growing number of men seeking laser hair removal at Courthouse Clinics. Recent statistics on the breakdown of in-house treatments revealed a 156 percent increase in the number of men getting permanent hair removal since 2009, particularly with men aged 18-35 (59 percent). Almost half are looking to de-fuzz their back or shoulders, 20 percent their chest or abdomen, and 15 percent get rid of hair on their cheek and beard areas.

    A survey in 2012 showed that 77% of men aged 18-34 admitted to a bit of manscaping, with an incredible 97% saying that hey often took the razor to their down under region. 9% admitted to shaving their legs.

    Dr Patrick Bowler, Medical Director of Courthouse Clinics comments, ‘Men are increasingly expressing a desire for a hair-free body while looking for less time-consuming methods for body hair maintenance – just like their female counterparts. Advanced technology now means that hair removal can take less than 20 minutes with a treatment such as Alma Lasers’ Soprano Ice, with no pulling, tugging or ripping of the hair. It goes a long way to explaining the rise in popularity for laser hair removal – what was once a painful process is now a gentle treatment, especially compared to waxing which, apart from shaving, was seen as the only alternative for men.’

    Makers of the Soprano ICE, from Alma Lasers, say it is the only laser hair removal solution for year-round application, suitable for use on all skin types, and all types of hair, too. Unlike traditional laser technology, patients who tired Soprano Ice reported it as almost zero pain – a first for laser hair technology.

    Soprano ICE cools the skin with a sapphire tip to prevent any burns to the skin as the laser penetrates the dermis. This means patients feel no discomfort at any point throughout the procedure, and still get the best possible results. Multiple clinical studies conducted by leading dermatologists confirm Soprano ICE’s status as safer and equally or more effective compared to other lasers. Soprano ICE can also be used to treat small and difficult to target areas like the eyebrows, nose and ears making it the ideal treatment for men.

    Prices start at £35 for a single treatment; courses from £959 (courses available as 3/6/8 treatments)