I know, some people do both and some people do neither, and some tweeze or do a combination of tweezing/waxing/threading/drawing them on with a magic marker.
But between just waxing and threading, what do you prefer? Like, if you could be stranded on a desert island with food, books, movies, and your choice of on staff waxer or threader, who would you go with?
Me, waxing for sure. I’ve tried threading and it’s SO painful, I can’t deal.
I’ve never tried threading, so I picked waxing. Generally I don’t do either, but waxing is familiar and I can do it at home.
I’ve done both and must have had a good threader because it didn’t hurt much at all. The salon I go to offers sugaring which is a lot more gentle than waxing and seems to last longer. I always despised tweezing so anything is preferable to that.
Anyone ever use the Epilady? Talk about pain. OH. MY. FREAKING. GOD. But how good my legs looked that one summer when I kept it up diligently. After the initial (intense) pain, keeping it up was easy and relatively pain free.
Give me sugaring and/or waxing anytime.
I like threading. I used to have them waxed, now I have them threaded. I tend to break out after waxing, but not after threading. Yeah, its painful - or rather, the pain is extended instead of one quick RIIIIIPPPPP you have about a minute of it, but my eyes go back to “normal” instead of puffy red irritated messes faster.
I like threading because a. it’s almost always cheaper than waxing b. I like the Indian aesthetic better (never had a threader who wasn’t Indian) and c. I like that the redness seems to go away faster than with waxing, and without the tacky residue. How painful either of them are seem to vary a lot. Sometimes it hurts a lot, sometimes it doesn’t hurt at all.
It definitely hurts less when I go regularly and there’s less to do, but of course I always wait until my eyebrows are threatening to take over my face before I go.
ETA: One thing that bugs me about threading, though, is that I have been asked several times if I want my upper lip threaded. I guess this is a standard service, but I don’t have very much hair there and what is there is blond. I always feel a twinge of indignation that anyone would think my facial hair, such as it is, is so offensive.
It’s irrational, don’t mind me.
For me, the redness isn’t a huge issue. I get red but it goes away soon–I guess my body is used to waxing. I’ve put myself through quite a bit of it over the years. Plus, I know a lot of people hate how rough waxing is–it takes off a bit of the dead layers of skin, but I kind of enjoy that. I feel SO smooth and clean afterward.
I go to a waxing place that does both threading and waxing (where I mainly go for arm and leg waxing) and they charge the same (i.e., seven for waxing brows, seven for threading them, five for threading lip, five for waxing, etc.) for waxing/threading. But the place I usually go to for my brow needs is about eight, and they only do waxing. So I’m glad that I do have access to cheaper brow places.
Threading is absolutely the best. I’m lucky a Hindu beauty salon opened nearby right at the time I decided to switch to threading, and I couldn’t be happier. This was a few years ago when the only beauticians who knew how to do it were from South Asia. Recently I’ve noticed Americans learning how to do it, because it’s caught on. I can DIY wax but would much rather get threaded. It’s fascinating and mysterious how it works, because no matter how many times I watch it being done, it still looks like magic to me. I have no idea how to do it or how it works so beautifully. It’s also quite affordable even for those on a tight budget.
Neither but maybe waxing wouldn’t be painful? I actually shave the hairs outside the natural line with a razor. I tweezed for years but I’m older and lazier I mean more efficient with my grooming these days.
I’ve never had any problems with waxing. Gawd, I’ve been doing it for so long that I think my skin is immune.
I have tried threading, and the bzt bzt sound that the threads make when they move against each other is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I practically crawled out of my skin. I went right back to waxing.
I hate that sound, delphica! Alone, it’s not so bad but coupled with the pain…and my eyes tear up like mad and I have to just wait. Granted, my eyes used to do that when I had them waxed (they tear up a lot less now that I’m more accustomed), but blech. Just thinking about the sound is quite awful. Sure, waxing makes a sound when they rip it off but it’s over soon enough.
I’ve been getting my eyebrows threaded for years, as recently as this afternoon, and I have no idea what you’re talking about. Must be the technique of the threader you guys have used.
Personally, I’m 100% threading. Waxing would- long term- cause bald spots on my brows, because when they would wax the edge, inevitably a little middle hair would get caught up. Over time, I’d have a missing patch. And I mean, this is whether I paid $10 at the ghetto place in the mall or $40 at the fancy salon. Same issue. Waxing is beautiful, though- long, gorgeous lines, thick but clean brows. Love it.
As far as pain. I’d say they work out to more or less the same. Either you are ok with a huge, short burst of pain or slightly less pain but drawn out longer. That’s waxing vs threading. Yes, threading hurts, but the more you do it, the less it hurts. I’ve also noticed that practicing my yoga breathing (in the mouth, out the nose— focusing on the breath) helps make it so I can’t feel anything.
I’ve never tried threading, but having my eyebrows waxed really doesn’t hurt me. It stings a little, but certainly not to the point where it makes my eyes tear up or anything. It hurt when I was twelve and getting it done for the first few times, but ever since then I’ve never had a problem with it hurting.
As it is, I love the crisp lines waxing gives. I don’t ever want to switch.
I grew up in an Indian-less land (while being half myself), and when I went to college, sometime in second semester of freshman year, one of my then future roommates (now current close friend) gently asked me if I wanted her help waxing. Well, uh, if you think I need it, sure! Jesus tapdancing christ did it hurt, but boy did I look better afterwards. I’ve never tried threading, but my idea of hell is continuous, sustained pain. I’d rather it hurt like a bitch and be over afterwards, like waxing.
I wax on top of my brows (there’s enough hair there that Al Qaida could hideout) to my hairline and my upper lip, and pluck underneath my brows. Been plucking underneath my brows since I was 15 or 16, so after 7 years it’s subsided substantially.
If you have any kind of skin sensitivity, I can see why waxing would be bad. Aside from retinoids, my skin can handle pretty much anything.
Ah, retinoids. My skin doesn’t really react to them that much anymore either (other than Tazorac). I think it’s become like a wall.
I keep waiting for the hair to subside and it still looks hairy to me. Then again, I don’t remember what it looked like five, ten years ago. And it is a bit less on the legs/arms. My mom also says that she’s gotten much less hair as she’s gotten older, too (upper lip hair–my mom doesn’t do her brows and they always look fine–grr, why was I cursed with the monobrow of Satan?). Maybe it’s a combination of age and the waxing.
What the hell is threading?
Same here-- the Indian beauticians who thread my brows make no noise at all with the thread. Maybe it’s the type of thread they use, which is soft cotton.
I agree with you about the yoga breathing. That makes the process tolerable. And it’s over with fairly quickly. The best way to avoid pain is to not let it get too overgrown between treatments. When that does happen, I figure it’s my bad.
As for neat crisp lines, threading is the equal of waxing in that regard, and I think it’s more efficient at hair removal. Also, thread can catch shorter hairs than wax can. It’s a very precise and effective method (but you have to find someone very skilled at it; I’ve been lucky).
I’ve done both and waxing hurt less and produced more precise results. Threading took about 3 times as long, too.
I am very fair-skinned and the redness from waxing subsides in a day, usually.
I get more precise results with threading, and the redness is gone by the time I get back to the office from lunch.
Also, while the waxing is quick and quick pain, for me there is always the post wax cleanup with tweezers. And that makes up all the time and pain delta between waxing and threading.
Sorry to hijack, but do you mean that retinoids haven’t worked for you but Tazorac does/has? My dermo wants to put me on tazorac if the current klaron/bp regimen leads to more blackheads (after failed attempts at all other retinoids - could never get the burning/peeling under control), but I don’t want another peeling mess on my hands if I can avoid it.
No, I just meant that I’ve used both but retinoids don’t irritate the skin. I mean, if I use them for a while I’ll get a bit dry/peely but I don’t really get all that red or anything, especially if I’m just using them for a day or two to knock out a pimple.
I used to use Tazorac and that was really annoying. Even after I acclimated to it (a minute at a time, etc.) I’d still feel itchy and annoyed and have to wash it off. Plus it tended to get me REALLY peely.
My skin is generally pretty good these days but I’ll use Retin-a for a break out every now and then especially around the time of my period. Of Retin-A and Tazorac, definitely prefer Retin-A. Wouldn’t go back to Taz for anything!