The world of beauty is fraught with challenges—we never know if a lipstick darkens lips, a hair serum makes hair dry or a hair removal cream thickens hair growth.
It’s always a gamble. One such myth that has been causing us sleepless nights is: does waxing cause wrinkles?
Since waxing is practically indispensable in our lives, we’re tempted to say no and just move on. But we’re forced to think, there’s no smoke without fire. Where did this claim even come from? What if it’s true?
Today, we’re going to delve a little deeper and see if the assertion that waxing causes wrinkles is a myth or truth.
Does Waxing Cause Wrinkles?
Before you bite your nails with worry, let us just put your concern to rest. The claim that waxing causes wrinkles couldn’t be further from the truth, when done right. Skin experts get this all the time.
Most clients worry that waxing delicate areas of the face, like around the eyes, can incur the risk of wrinkles from an early age.
However, there are many factors that exacerbate wrinkles like pollution and exposure to the sun but waxing? Not so much.
Now, to make it worse, the skin around the eyes and above the lip is much thinner and isn’t that protected by clothing as other parts of the body.
Therefore, wrinkles become more evident in these areas, and unfortunately, these parts of the skin lose their elasticity more quickly too. Of course, there are many things you can do to prevent, or at least delay, that.
Why People Believe Waxing Causes Wrinkles
Now, let’s answer the question we asked earlier. It’s simple. People believe that the act of waxing stretches the skin, and delicate facial skin could therefore suffer lines and wrinkles due to all the pulling and tugging. However, skin aestheticians state that this is indeed a misconception.
But before you go on a waxing spree, you should bear in mind that using the proper waxing technique and choosing an appropriate waxing frequency will keep you far away from wrinkles.
Before we explain what this means, let’s look at some of the real causes of wrinkles that closely align with the act of waxing.
Causes of Wrinkles
While smoking, pollution and aging are all there at the top of the list, we’ll just be discussing that which is relevant to our topic today.
Facial Expressions
You must have heard the old adage: you can tell the kind of a life a person has lived by the wrinkles on their face.
This actually holds true because repeated facial expressions, like frowning or laughing, become etched into our features. This is why we call lines around the mouth ‘laugh lines.’
Pulling Delicate Skin
Delicate skin, as we mentioned above, is more susceptible to wrinkles. Since it has a tendency to lose its natural elasticity, the repeated act of pulling and tugging under the eyes or around the mouth can actually cause a breakdown of the underlying skin structure.
But even for that, you have to be of age, and the frequency of this act needs to be higher than the amount of face waxing you get for sure!
Waxing ≠ Wrinkles
So if you bear that in mind, you can think that waxing, which does stretch the skin, may cause wrinkles. The thing is, if you use the right waxing technique, you can prevent damage to the skin’s underlying structures.
This, too, is just an ‘in case’ situation, as our waxing frequency isn’t even close to our conscious and unconscious facial expression frequency.
For example, an average adult smiles 20 times a day, while we probably get waxed 20 times a year (or less), so you get the idea!
There isn’t any obvious threat of wrinkles through waxing, so if you were frantically searching ‘does waxing cause wrinkles’ on the internet, no, it doesn’t.
Why Waxing Doesn’t Cause Wrinkles
If you’re in your 30’s, you’re probably worried that your waxing routine might escalate the effects of aging, aka, the bane of wrinkles.
But we get that you might not be convinced by just a statement telling you there’s nothing to worry about. So let’s talk about why that is.
Since waxing does involve some tugging and pulling, we get why you think it may lead to permanent creases. But that’s not how it works. To start with, waxing isn’t listed as one of the causes of premature aging.
However, with that said, we would like to stress that it should be done using the right technique, as you’ll find as you go down the article.
Basically, waxing requires stretching the skin so it is taut and firm. This is done so that there would be an efficient removal of skin and so you’d feel less pain.
Now, this motion itself is conducive to the prevention of wrinkles. When you use a good quality wax and stretch the skin, there is a high chance that you’ll be able to take out the hair in a more effective manner, preventing the need for repeated applications over the same area.
All other more definitive causes of wrinkles like smoking, harmful UV rays, and aging have an effect on collagen and, therefore, the skin’s elasticity. Collagen is a fibrous protein that is found abundantly in the skin.
Simply put, it allows the skin cells to adhere to each other, providing the skin with elasticity and support. As we age, the body’s natural production of collagen drops, and we become more vulnerable to wrinkles.
On the other hand, waxing is a non-invasive treatment that does not interfere with collagen production the same way causes of wrinkles do. Let’s quickly go over them.
- Aging reduces collagen production
- Tobacco smoke has 4000 chemicals, many of which incite the destruction of collagen
- UV rays can catalyze the destruction of collagen, even more than aging
To sum up, the simplest answer to “does waxing cause wrinkles” is no. Collagen is important for the prevention of wrinkles and all the causes mentioned above do contribute to its destruction or depletion in some way or the other. As for waxing, it doesn’t even come close! Phew.
To Wax or Not to Wax
Interestingly, even if you Google the side effects of waxing, the incidence of wrinkles is nowhere to be seen. You might find pain and redness listed there, but that’s mostly the cause of facial waxing, as that is considered a more sensitive area.
But as we mentioned before, like all other things, you need to be responsible with your waxing technique to avoid any side effects.
You can’t not take off your makeup and then blame your foundation for causing breakouts due to clogged pores!
Beauty requires responsibility, and when you do it the right way, you really don’t have to choose between waxing and keeping a stache (imagine that).
Tips for Waxing to Eliminate Possibility of Wrinkles
Now that we have established the answer to the query about “does waxing cause wrinkles,” let’s discuss some of the ways we can ensure our waxing appointments are safe and, more importantly, conducive to the health of our skin.
Not saying that waxing does incur the likelihood of premature aging, but we like to be safe than sorry, so here goes!
Waxing Frequency
Fortunately, you can only get waxing done (for it to be effective, anyway) when your hair is about ¼ inch long. In fact, experts even claim that the length of the hair is key for a successful waxing session.
Anything shorter than that will be harder to pull out with the motions involved in waxing. This even works out great because too much of anything can never be good, especially if you have sensitive skin.
It is advisable that you wax every 3-6 weeks, according to your individual needs, of course.
Anything too frequent will just cause an excess of pulling and tugging, especially when it isn’t even going to effectively remove your hair. Why take the chance then?
Avoid Shaving between Waxing Sessions
While this doesn’t directly correlate to wrinkles since no study shows a causal relationship between wrinkles and waxing, it will safeguard you from any possible side effects.
When you shave between waxing sessions, your skin tends to become coarse. There can be several detriments of shaving, especially if you are trying to reap the perks of waxing.
For waxing to have minimal to no side effects, the canvas, i.e., your skin, needs to be smooth.
Coarse skin is more susceptible to damage, even structural damage to the skin, which may be a minor addition to the appearance of wrinkles.
So you need to ensure that your skin is free of cuts and scrapes for a pain-free waxing appointment.
Use Hard Wax for Facial Waxing and Soft Wax for Other
People tend to worry about wrinkles around their eyes and mouth as it is more prone to structural damage. So when you are waxing these delicate areas of your face, try to use hard wax.
This is because hard wax tends to stick to the hair only and does not adhere to the skin itself, saving it from excess pulling.
For other parts of the body where there is a larger area to work with, you should try out another option other than hard wax. Hard wax often breaks and cracks, due to which it may be harder to remove.
Since this will reduce hair removal efficiency on a larger skin area, you’d need repeated applications that may escalate redness and pulling.
Wax Parallel to the Skin
Unless you’re going to a professional who knows what to do, do your homework when waxing at home. To ensure you reduce pain and remove hair on the first try, always apply wax in the direction of your hair growth.
This allows the wax to adhere to the hair more effectively and will save your skin from repeated pulling and the scare of wrinkles!
Try waxing parallel to the skin and in close proximity so you can get the job faster and with greater efficacy.
The motion should be like you’re turning the page of a book. Don’t lift or yank the strip in the air, as this will just extend the pulling and exert more pressure on the skin.
Hold the Skin Taut
A common mistake that just aggravates the act of tugging is letting the skin loose when pulling the wax strip off.
The skin should always be held taut when pulling off the wax strip, as this will reduce the tugging on the skin that may damage the skin’s structure over time.
When the skin is stretched out, there will be less pain, and you’ll be able to get the hair out as well.
In fact, when people say waxing causes pain, it’s mostly due to the skin tugging than the actual hair removal. With this technique, you can completely eradicate the possibility of wrinkles.
Apply Moisturizer
How you treat your skin before and after waxing will greatly impact how smooth your waxing session is.
Well-hydrated skin will be easier to work with, also reducing the incidence of fine lines and redness after the appointment.
Dehydrated and dry skin is anyway precursor to wrinkles, so you’ll be doing your skin a favor.
Moisturizing should be part of your daily skin regimen but don’t apply a cream or lotion right before waxing as this will make the wax difficult to stick to the hair.
Don’t forget to apply moisturizer after the waxing session, as this will ensure the skin’s elasticity remains intact, which is important to avoid fine lines and wrinkles.
Final Word
Research and experience show that waxing does not lead to wrinkles. By nature, waxing causes some tugging, but that too can be reduced with the tips mentioned above.
With a good quality wax and technique, you can ensure a painless and smooth hair removal experience.
With this, now you can wax to your heart’s (and skin’s) content with arguably the best hair removal method to have been invented!