What could our writer possibly learn from an ultra conservative bridal shower? That being feminine means being almost hairless for one. Here’s how to achieve it…
Recently I attended a bridal shower. It was not one of those raunchy ones telling girls how to work their magic in the bedroom; on the contrary, it was very conservative and informative for young ladies leaving their mothers’ homes to go to their own.
Interestingly, one of the bits of advice given on the day was that a lady should not have any hair below her eyebrows. I took a thorough look at my hands and my legs and I thought of my nether regions too; they were rather neglected. Should all that hair go? Won’t I feel cold?

The ladies in the room raised their voices; going against what the ‘Auntie’ (a woman who advises younger women on how to behave in marriage) had come to tell them. Opinions flowed fast and thick:
“If I shave, the hair grows back twice as fast, and twice as coarse.”
“If I use depilatory creams my skin gets really dark.”
“I don’t want dark armpits, so I let it stay until it’s long enough to cut.”
“If I shave, he too should shave the hair on his legs.”
Auntie was rather shocked but let the little ladies speak on. When they had exhausted themselves she introduced the best way to keep hair at bay. She called it waxing.
Waxing is the removal of hair on the body, straight from the root hair. Yes, it can be painful but it has great benefits; the hair does not grow back to its visible length for about 6-8 weeks if done properly.
To get the full effect of waxing you need to be calm and the skin cleansed of any product like body oil or lotion. It would be wise to take a shower before you get waxed and even better if you use a body-scrub on the area that is to be waxed. The main reason for using a body scrub is to loosen the hair from the hair follicle so that you do not feel too much pain when the hair is yanked out. Ouch!
Next, try and stay as calm as possible. Being nervous can make you sweat and make it really hard for the wax to stick on the hair. Some people also anticipate much pain so the procedure becomes more painful than it would generally be. During a waxing procedure, escape to your happy place and you will get good results.

The procedure step-by-step
First, the beautician will examine the area that is to be waxed and may apply powder to it. This helps her determine the direction of the hair growth; the powder also absorbs any sweat making it easier for the wax to adhere to the hair.
Then, using a spatula, she will spread a thin layer of the wax onto the area you want waxed.
A waxing strip is then applied to the skin and pressure applied to it by rubbing the strip up and down.
Finally the strip is pulled of quickly, much as you would pull off an adhesive wound plaster. This process is repeated until all the hair is gone. You may notice some redness on the waxed area but that should not raise concern.
It is important to remember not to take a bath for at least four hours after a waxing procedure. It could lead to an infection as your pores are still open. Two to three days after the waxing procedure, scrub the area using a body scrub so that the hair does not grow backwards into the pore — to avoid the painful problem known as ingrown hair.
Happy Waxing!

By Charmaine Mwenesi