I'm A Waxing Virgin! What to tip?

I’ve never had anything waxed before…my eyebrows are naturally in good shape and I shave everything else that needs attention…but I’ve never liked shaving my girly bits so I just don’t do it very often (ingrown hairs, itchy, splotchy results etc.) and I’m thinking I should get a bikini wax before I’m 30.

I’ll be 30 in July. :eek:

Found a reputable local day spa that’ll do it for $40. ($95 for a Brazilian though. No thanks.)

What do I tip the waxer? I tip my hairstylist 20%, if not more, and my manicurist $5 on a $12 mani. Does the same rule apply? (Because I work for tips, I have a rule that if the tab is less than $20, 20% doesn’t cut it. No pun intended.)

And I’ve heard varying ideas on how short the hair should be. Quarter inch? Half an inch? How short is too short, and how long is too long? I don’t want to appear gauche and ignorant when I show up. “Doesn’t that girl KNOW this already?”

Help me, Lady Dopers!

Oh, and please try not to alarm me with horror stories…I have a pretty high pain threshold and it’s not like waxing takes a long time–rip rip rip and you’re done, right? RIGHT???

I have nothing helpful to saying here. I read your thread title and thought you were getting progressively more virgin.

Ah fuck it.

I’ll do it for free, matter of fact I’ll pay * you*

Quarter inch is good.
If your esthetician is good, it will be very quick, and pretty painless. I’ve had good and bad. Now my husband does it. :smiley: And I go for the full monty. It doesn’t hurt any worse, and you’d be surprised at what grows where you don’t see close up with your own eyes.
They’ll ask you if it’s your first time, and give you advice. It feels kind of like going to get your ahem pelvic examination at first. If that helps you, think of it like going to a doctor. These people have seen everything. The last time I had someone else do it, it was this crazy little korean lady named rose. She was hilarious. Very good sense of humor about these things.
Oh, also, don’t go when you’re close to your period one way or the other. It’ll make your skin very sensitive and the hairs harder to remove. For some reason, our hormones make our bodies hang onto our hair with an iron grip during that time, so it’ll hurt and may not be as effective.

What does this mean? I thought it was hair or no-hair?

They’re referring to the length the hair needs to be in order to be successfully waxed. Any shorter and the wax won’t “grab” the hair.

The tip calculation sounds right to me.
I did the bikini wax last year. It really didn’t hurt at all going down the sides, but across the top of the, um, triangle it was a bit painful.

So longer than a quarter inch is bad? Because I was thinking of getting my legs waxed for the first time and I haven’t shaved in awhile because it’s winter.

Quarter of an inch is the minimum.

Okay

Sleeps With Butterflies got it. Longer is better, sort of. As long as we’re not talking like, humanzee long or anything. Then the hair will tend to keep the wax from getting to the skin. But a quarter inch is the minimum.

…and watch this video for some tips.