I Survived My First Brazilian Wax and This is How it Went

There are some things I make impulsive decisions about. I think of an idea and love it so much that I just go for it. Getting a Brazillian wax wasn't one of them. This is something I've been considering for a handful of years.

If you're not familiar with what a Brazilian wax is, Elle recently did a piece on it and described it as,

"There's a bikini wax, where the hair on the sides and top area along the bikini line is removed, and then there's a Brazilian, which leaves your entire pubic area bare (!). A Brazilian wax removes all the hair from your bikini area (top, sides, and front), and those hard-to-reach areas in the back. Simply put: everything goes. You can opt to leave a "landing strip" or a triangle, the choice is up to you."

The idea of getting one comes from the fact that between being very fair-skinned and having very dark hair, no amount of shaving made me feel comfortable enough to wear a traditional bikini bottom during the summer. It looked like someone took a black Bic to the bikini line and made a bunch of tiny polka-dots. I could only wear swim shorts or skirts. Not to mention, shaving is a royal nuisance.

There are plenty of women that embrace the au naturale life, and I think that's great. It's just not for me. Even outside of summertime I'm just more comfortable without.

So I had been going back and forth about going. There was always a reason not to. I was busy, the place that I looked at was booked up, money was tight, I was feeling self-conscious, etc.

Thanks to my Facebook feed I watched an acquaintance of mine, Erika Sawtelle, document her journey through school to be an esthetician during the pandemic. She then opened her own business from her home, Rise Beauty Co.

She regularly talked about her love for what she does and normalizing conversations about waxing in the most delicate of areas.

This week I finally pulled the trigger and decided to go see Erika.

I'm not gonna lie, I was nervous leading up to the appointment. I had her list of prep tips and one of those tips included a shower.

I get up and shower at 3am and my appointment wasn't until 1pm. I knew I had to squeeze one in before making the trek to Hallowell. So, yes, I did go to Planet Fitness just to use their shower. (At least I'm getting some use out of my membership!)

When we got started it was so awkward. There I was with my legs wide open in this cute little room with someone I've met a handful of times. I joked with her that normally I'd need someone to take me to dinner before getting into such a position.

The awkwardness of it went away as soon as it started to hurt. Or as Erika liked to call it, until it started to feel "spicy".

I've been getting my eyebrows waxed for over half my life at this point and let me tell you, that's nothing.

Erika said that many say the pain is similar to getting a tattoo. Being tattoo-less myself I cannot confirm nor deny that. But it did hurt. Quite a bit.

Erika said she's been hit during waxes before and people will reactively shut their legs effectively trapping her in there and I believe it. My body contorted and tensed up in ways I did not anticipate. Thankfully Erika was not injured in the process of the waxing.

With every pull I found myself grabbing onto the side of the table for dear life. Honestly, it felt like a bit of a workout between my tense arms and legs.

All in all, it took about 45 minutes which, as Erika informed me will not be as long for subsequent appointments. The first time she is learning what waxes and pulling directions work best as well as walking me through every step. Plus, there will be less hair and less thick hair growing back the more I go.

I took a video of the process (waist up). This is taken from about 15 minutes of footage but the whole thing took around 45 minutes in total.

Now I'm smooth and awaiting a pool party invite.