Going to college is a big deal for almost everyone, I guess, and so it was for me too. Things changed so much so that it became difficult to keep track of the changes. With the excitement of not wearing a school uniform came the dilemma of “What do I wear today?” Looks started mattering a little more than they used to back in school… Or at least to me they did.
It was in the first year of college that I became familiar with the concept of waxing and threading. My friends had been doing this stuff for a couple of years, but I had stayed away from it for some reason or the other.
During the first month of college, our freshers party was announced and I was super excited! I really wanted to look my best and more than that, I wanted to get to know my classmates, make friends and have fun. So now the dilemma of “What to wear?” became even more pronounced. I decided to wear a knee length black dress. But that meant I finally needed to get waxed.
What was scaring me more than the pain was the fact I didn’t trust any random aunty with my skin and hot wax. So I decided to give the readymade waxing strips available in the market a shot.
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One night before my freshers, I took a bath and sat down as my mom prepared to help me wax. As she rubbed the first strip between the palms of her hands, peeled it off and applied it on my leg, I clenched my jaw and my fists. I was expecting pain and pain I did get! The first time she pulled it off, it hurt for a split second, but gradually I got somewhat used to it.
I was really happy when my legs looked and felt all flawless and smooth. So then my mom proceeded to wax my arms, and after the strip had been pulled twice, I started feeling itchy all over the area that had been waxed. I noticed a similar sensation on my legs too, but it wasn’t as severe there.
After a minute or so my mouth fell open and I was horrified by what I saw. The waxed area of my arm had developed huge red bumps all over it. It was looking as if tens of mosquitoes had bitten me all at once. I was almost at the verge of tears, and was kicking myself for trying such an experiment just a day before my freshers! My mom then calmed me down a little and finished waxing both my arms as gently as she could. She then gave me an anti allergic pill which I swallowed and went to sleep.
I could feel the bumps even as I lay on the bed and decided that if they did not disappear by tomorrow, I would not go to the party. I cried a little and then dozed off.
The next morning when I woke up, the bumps had settled down quite a lot. I could still feel them if I ran my hand across my arms but they were not as noticeable. My mom laughed at me as she saw me relax visibly. She explained that it was probably just an allergic reaction.
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I went to my freshers and had a gala time, but I couldn’t muster up the courage to get waxed again for about a year. When I finally did, I noticed the same thing happening again, but this time it was milder than before.
Over the years I came to realize that my skin was a little too sensitive, which is why it reacted somewhat violently to waxing. Whether or not the readymade strips caused more trouble, I do not know because I could never bring myself to trust them again. I do make it a point to get chocolate wax instead of normal wax and ask my waxing lady to be as gentle as she can on my skin. I then come back home and calm my skin with a semi-cold shower. My rashes take around an hour to subside completely but they are not that bad now.
My advice for anyone who is trying readymade strips, is to try and use a trusted brand and test it on your skin before you actually subject your skin to the full waxing routine, like I did. And especially if you have an important event the next day!
Images: Shutterstock
