Waxing is a hair removal method we all have mixed feelings about. It’s extremely effective, long-lasting, and even makes hair regrowth thinner and sparser.
However, it’s also painful, time-consuming, and messy. Anyone who has ever gotten waxed knows the frustration that comes along with having wax residue left on your skin after you’re done waxing.
While unwanted facial and body hair is gone, you now have to deal with the aftermath of the waxing process.
Wax is known for being thick and sticky and is generally hard to work with. That’s why it can stick to your skin and refuse to budge.
Don’t waste your time and your energy trying to pick off the wax residue – it doesn’t work and can end up doing more harm than good.
There are easier and more effective ways of removing this sticky residue. This guide delves into how to remove wax after waxing and teaches you to work smarter, not harder to achieve perfectly smooth, wax-free skin.
Why Does Wax Stick To Your Skin?
Before we delve into how to remove wax after waxing, it’s important to discuss the reasons behind wax sticking to your skin in the first place.
A little residue is normal, but sometimes, a lot of sticky wax gets left behind, leaving you wondering where you went wrong.
Examining the reasons behind this sticky situation can help you avoid these mistakes the next time you get waxed or wax yourself at home.
Dry Skin
Removing wax from your skin can be extremely difficult if you have dry skin. This is because dry skin craves moisture, which the wax provides. Thus, it clings onto the wax and makes removal messy and difficult.
Sweating
Dry skin can worsen wax residue problems, but so can excessive sweating. When you sweat, the wax is more likely to stick to your skin, making it harder to remove.
Wrong Kind of Wax
Both hard wax and soft wax are easy to use and have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Neither is “wrong” in itself but some wax can be easier and more convenient to use depending on your needs. Soft wax, for example, leaves behind more residue than hard wax, making it the “wrong” kind of wax to use when you’re frustrated with a messy clean-up.
Your Hair Is Too Long
If your hair is too long (more than a couple of inches), it may get tangled in the wax and cause it to come off unevenly. Shorter hair (as long as it’s more than ¼ inch thick) is much easier to wax and remove.
Improper Technique
Some people leave the wax strip on for too long. This allows the wax to cool down completely, making it harder to remove.
The wax strip should be pulled off in a timely manner and in one swift motion. Do not pull off the wax strip too slowly.
Using improper technique for waxing can make the entire process much more difficult than it has to be and leaves behind sticky residue.
How to Remove Wax After Waxing
There’s nothing worse than spending an hour waxing every inch of your body only to realize you have to spend another hour clearing things up and removing the sticky wax residue left behind.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to safely remove wax residue from your skin. With a little patience and our expert advice, you’ll be wax-free in no time.
The following tips and tricks can help you with how to remove wax after waxing, no matter how stubborn and sticky it is.
Use Warm Water
Washing it off is the simplest way to remove wax from your skin and is probably something you’ve tried.
However, you may not have done this with warm water, which can soften the wax and make it more pliable.
This makes it easier to remove, especially if you have a small amount of wax to deal with.
Because this method is the easiest and most straight-forward, it should be tried before anything else. If it doesn’t work, you can move on to the other methods mentioned in this guide.
Hot Water Compress
If you couldn’t use warm water to soften the wax, it’s time to break out the hot water. Hot water will also work to soften the wax and make it more malleable.
Unlike the last method, this method concentrates the heat on a single area to remove any residual wax. Use the following steps for best results:
- Get a clean washcloth
- Soak it in hot water and wring out the excess water
- Place it on top of the wax residue and hold it in place for 60-90 seconds
- Once the wax is softened, use the washcloth to wipe away the wax from your skin
- Repeat this on all the areas that are covered with the wax residue
Wax Strip
If you only have a little bit of residual wax on your skin, try using the wax strip itself to remove it.
You can use the wax strip as blotting paper to remove the sticky residue on your skin by using the following steps:
- Fold the wax strip you’ve used in half with the wax on the inside, leaving behind the clean, uncoated side
- Use this side to blot your skin as if removing a stain
- Press the folded strip onto the area with the sticky residue, and then pull it off swiftly.
- Do this a couple of times or until the residue is completely gone
Oil
One of the most popular and well-known ways to remove wax residue from your skin is by using oil. Just as oil breaks down your makeup, it does the same to the wax residue you apply it to.
Warmer oil may work better than cold oil so make sure that the oil you use is warm for best results.
You can use any oil that you have, whether it is massage oil, mineral oil, or even olive oil.
If you’re in a pinch and don’t have access to oil, an oil-based lotion can also work. Just be careful to do this near your shower to avoid making too much of a mess.
- Use a cotton round, cotton ball, or a washcloth, and dip it into the oil you’re using
- Hold the soaked cotton ball or cotton round over the wax residue so that the oil can seep under the wax
- Press it on the skin so that it can saturate the wax and loosen it
- Once the wax residue is slippery, you’ll be able to slide the wax right off
Petroleum Jelly/Vaseline
Petroleum jelly works like oil to soften and loosen the wax residue so that you’re able to wipe it off with no problem.
- Apply a thick layer of petroleum jelly to the area of skin with wax residue on it
- Make sure it surrounds the area so that the petroleum jelly is able to saturate the wax
- Leave it on for 3-5 minutes
- Use a cotton round or an old washcloth to wipe the petroleum jelly off
- The wax should come off along with the petroleum jelly, leaving your skin wax-free
Ice
Ice can also be used to remove stubborn wax residue left on your skin. While oil and other methods are more effective, this can be used in a pinch. Please keep in mind that this can be dangerous if you try and peel or scrape your skin.
Follow the instructions exactly, and if the method doesn’t work, move onto another one.
- Get an ice cube from the freezer and hold it over the wax residue for 30 seconds
- The wax should get brittle and flake off your skin. If this happens, you’re not wax-free. If it doesn’t, move onto another method instead of trying to peel or scrape the wax off.
Alcohol
If you have some rubbing alcohol lying around the house, you may be able to use it to remove excess wax from your skin.
However, we would urge you to try other options first since this can lead to dryness and skin irritation in those with sensitive skin.
- Dip a cotton round or washcloth in 70% rubbing alcohol and saturate it
- Rub it onto the wax residue until it either peels off or dissolves.
- Since alcohol can be extremely drying, make sure you moisturize the area afterwards
Also don’t forget to checkout how to clean out wax warmer or wax melter?
Minimizing and Preventing Wax Residue
We understand that removing wax residue isn’t a fun process. It can be frustrating and time-consuming on top of an already time-consuming hair removal process.
To save time, focus on preparation before waxing to minimize wax residue or prevent it altogether.
Instead of focusing on how to remove wax after waxing, this optimizes the preparation stage, so you don’t have any residue to deal with.
Moisturize Your Skin
As we mentioned in the reasons behind wax residue, dry skin can lead to wax sinking into the skin and clinging to it. One of the ways to combat this is to moisturize beforehand.
If your skin is hydrated, it won’t crave the moisture from the wax and will make any residual wax easier to remove.
That being said, it’s important to use a water-based moisturizer instead of one that is oil-based. The oil won’t sink into the skin as quickly and can affect waxing.
It’s also integral to ensure that your skin is moisturized and hydrated, but not greasy. If your skin is overly greasy, the wax won’t adhere to the hair and won’t be able to pull it out.
Use the Wax When It’s Hot
This doesn’t mean that you should put scalding hot wax on your skin and burn yourself. Checking the temperature on thick skin such as on your hand is best practice before applying it elsewhere. Your wax should be hot but not hot enough to burn you.
As wax cools down, it becomes thicker and it becomes more difficult to spread it evenly or to remove it cleanly.
Patch-test your wax and apply it when it’s thin and hot. This will ensure an even application and thorough removal.
Use Hard Wax
There are two different kinds of wax available on the market – hard wax and soft wax. Soft wax requires you to use a wax strip when removing the wax from the skin. Hard wax hardens as it dries and can be easily pulled off on its own.
One of the main advantages of hard wax is that the quick dry-down and hardening leaves behind little to no residue.
Unlike the sticky wax that soft wax leaves behind, hard wax is either removed completely or leaves behind small flakes of hardened wax that can be picked off with minimal effort.
Trim Your Hair
For best results from waxing, it’s essential to trim the hair if it’s too long. Waxing works on all types of hair, even hair as short as ¼ inch.
However, longer hair, i.e., hair that’s more than an inch or two may get tangled up in the wax and make it difficult for you to get the wax off easily. This will leave patchy wax residue all over your skin.
Trimming your hair to about ½ inch is an excellent way to prevent messy residue since the entire wax strip will be removed more easily.
Powder Before Waxing
If you’ve gotten waxed at a salon, you’ll notice that some salons apply powder on your skin before waxing you.
This is because it prevents sweating, which can then make the wax stick to your skin. However, you shouldn’t ever over-apply powder since it causes problems with the wax adhering to the hair and skin.
Use a small amount of powder, sprinkle it over the area, spread it in, and then apply wax on top. Pull off the wax strip quickly for best results.
Conclusion
Every hair removal method has its downsides, and unfortunately, for waxing, leftover wax is one of them.
This can be annoying, but if you know what to do and how to deal with the situation, you can tackle it with ease.
This guide on how to remove wax after waxing focuses on exactly that and teaches you all the ways you can remove residual wax as well as preventing it from sticking to you in the first place. We hope our tips and tricks on removing wax residue were helpful!