the five things i wish i'd known before i got my first bikini wax

When I got my first bikini wax, it kind of felt like a rite of passage. I’ll admit: I was terrified. I pictured stripping down and lying on a cold table while a stranger ripped off my down-there hair. But who doesn’t love that clean, I-don't-need-to-worry-about-my-bikini-line feeling? 

At the age of 25, I decided I was finally ready to brave it. Here are the 5 things I wish I’d known before going in.

Five things I wish I'd known before I got my first bikini wax:

1) The average waxer sees at least 10 vaginas a day. Yours isn’t the first they’ve seen, and it won’t be the last!

2) There are more options than just the Brazilian: I was handed a menu from which to choose, with options that ranged from a standard tidy-up to a full Hollywood wax (where there’s no hair left behind…in front and round the back).

3) Waxing prep: your hair needs to be between ¼ and ½ an inch long before you head in for a treatment. Too long, and it’s a bit of a bush-whacking situation for your aesthetician. Too short, and the wax won’t adhere properly.

4) You don’t have to take your knickers off: my aesthetician provided me with a pair of optional disposable undies, but said I could also just keep my own on. I opted for the disposable pair, just because when I got in there, I was feeling a lot less self-conscious than I thought I would be.

5) It doesn’t hurt as much as you think it will: I was so tense when she applied the wax—sure that I was in for a world of pain. When she ripped off the canvas strip, I felt a tug on my skin, but not the burning sensation I expected. It was actually super manageable. Take it from me, it’s so not as bad as a lip wax…

What are your thoughts on the subject? Have you ever braved it?