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'This won't hurt a bit...'
22/02/2008 08:18  - (SA)  

Want to know more?
Answerit can help.

Colleen Figg

I don't know. Do you wax your intimate areas? Or any areas?

I'll tell you, I don't. Once I let my sister demonstrate this waxing business on my legs (many years ago now).

We bought those home jobbies - wax strips which you warmed up and shoved onto your legs and then once they had set, tore off to the accompaniment of yelps and shrieks on the part of the, dare we say it, tearee?

Of course as this was a first experience for me I was assured by my sister's assertion that "this will not hurt". I should immediately have been on full alert the moment I heard those words - variations of them have sounded upon my eardrums for years.

"I promise you this will hurt me more than it will you - that was the doctor, prior to injecting anaesthetic into an open wound on my face, aged ten. (Me, that is, not the doctor.)

He was at least thirty four and a damnable liar with me because I explored new boundaries in the art of levitation the moment the needle went in.

"This won't hurt" - this time the X-Ray person shifting my broken ankle around to get the best view. Her words were drowned out by my unashamed caterwauling nanoseconds later as she grabbed said foot and manipulated it roughly into place, bone grating on bone and capturing the nerve between.

So it's clear to the reader, I should think, that the gap between what others consider to be painful and what yours truly experiences is wide and maybe unbreachable.

But I digress

Back to the waxing. In all my amiable naïveté, I simply believed my sister, all past experiences having flown right out of the window, clearly taking my memory with them!

I looked on peacefully as the wax was warmed and laid on my legs, which were quite hairy at this time. We chatted happily as the wax set.

But once it had set my sister turned into an unrecognisable sadist. She joyfully grabbed the wax and r-r-r-r-r-rippped it off me with nary a word of warning.

While I lifted five inches from the ground yowling and howling, she went for the other leg and did the same. My torment knew no bounds, folks. No bounds...

I seriously think she missed a career as a beautician, for she would have enjoyed plucking, waxing, and generally mauling the people who came to her studio, of that I am very certain.

She went into accounting in the end. I suppose it's not a far cry from waxing, really, when you think of it - stripping people of large wads of cash for the Receiver, with no prior warning, can be said to be form of financial waxing, no?

Suffice it to say I never let her or anyone else near the pins, never mind the more "cough, splutter" sensitive areas with wax again.

A few years later she offered to demonstrate this new electronic device which "painlessly" pulls hairs out of your legs - Epilady or some such, I think.

I ran a bleeding mile!

Send your comments to Colleen.

Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.

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  Good thing you ran a mile...
22/02/2008 08:59
The Epilady is by no means painless.It is as bad, if not worse than waxing.Having said that, if you wax more often, so that the hair is not thick and dense, it becomes a lot less painful over time and is quite bearable with better results than shaving.Last week I had my first "hollywood wax".After many years of leg and bikini waxes, I thought I could handle it. I was near to tears and I am not sure that I will be able to go back for the next one, although I have been assured that it gets better.. - DW
 
  What women go through
22/02/2008 09:06
It always suprises me what women go through inorder to look thier best. The pain of having your hair being pulled from the skin, i don't think i will be able to stand for that. But we love you ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Thokozani
 
  It is sore........
22/02/2008 09:20
I tell you what, I get my brows waxed about every 2 weeks or so and that's enough! I also did the whole waxing thing before I got married and that swore me off waxing for eternity. Don't let anyone fool you that it's not painful, because it is. However, I'd rather be in momentary pain than have bushy eyebrows. For the other parts of my bod, shaving's the way to go!! - SMG
 
  waxing
22/02/2008 09:20
i love waxing. have not had a razor near any of my bodyparts for about 10 years. it reduces the re-growth and makes hair a lot softer and finer. there;s almost no hair left under my arms - and no more 5 o'clock shadow in the armpits either. come on girls, it's not painfull at all. - della
 
  Hilarious
22/02/2008 09:23
Luckily my skin is super thick so it doesn't hurt too much for me. Thanks for the hilarious read, does us all good to laugh sometime :) - Tanya
 
  Suffering for beauty ...
22/02/2008 09:33
My friend is a beautician and she gives very good waxes and plucks and all the rest of it - she's the only one I will go to, mostly because I know her and will NOT let a stranger anywhere near my "sensitive" bits. Needless to say, it is painful, I cry, pull faces and swear like a trooper. But it's fun - for both of us - because we have a good laugh and I look better afterwards. :) - Chez
 
  Wax is a feminist issue...
22/02/2008 09:34
I have a bit of a problem with intimate waxing - keep it neat, fine... But take everything off so you look like a child again? No thanks. I'm not a porn star or indeed a child, I'm a woman, and the current trend for Hollywoods and Brazilians is just an example of more pressure being placed on women to conform to a primped and preened unrealistic Barbie doll norm, not matter what the pain and expense. - Lizzy
 
  Keep up the good work...
22/02/2008 09:38
Nice ladies keep up the good work...the things we men have to do to look our best for the ladies often borders on the imbasilic: gym six days a week, followed by lengthy work hours trying to provide a liveable salary,chocolates, dinner and flowers including jewellery I suppose on Valentines Day, putting up with in-laws (who in most cases) are most unsavoury to put it likely, and pretending to like that dress you're trying on in Truworths. Phew...being a man is a tough job:) - Over-and-out
 
  Looking beautiful
22/02/2008 09:53
...it is painful to be beautiful... - Ruby J
 
  LAZER!!
22/02/2008 10:05
Go for lazer hair removal.. it's a bit painful and expensive.. but you never have to wax or shave again... - Anon
 
  Think beyond the act...
22/02/2008 10:16
I don't appreciate your comparison on accountants... an accountant's job if any is to help you reduce your tax expense, hence they are your ally against the Receiver. As for the waxing.. razor burn and other shaving related bothers on a weekly or daily basis can add up to the same amount of pain as one wax session, but waxing allows for longer conveniece and real smoothness that can not be obtained from shaving or using a cream, etc. Everyone to their own I guess... - Proud Accountant
 
  Really not that bad
22/02/2008 10:28
Waxing is really not that bad. I'm a guy (and a pretty hairy one at that) and I used to get my legs waxed for cycling. Trust me, my hairs are a lot thicker that the average ladies. If it gets too much, pop a myprodol. - Mike
 
  It's not that bad!
22/02/2008 10:29
I've had a couple of bad waxing experiences that put me off waxing too and I swore I would NEVER do that to myself again...that was until I found the right beauty therapist! Find one that knows what they are doing and that uses the right hot wax. Doing it yourself at home is a screaming agony guaranteed. Yes it hurts, but only a little - almost like pulling a plaster off. In the end its definitely worth it! - Liza
 
  Not if you have sensitive skin!
22/02/2008 10:31
I waxed the armpits once (for the dubious honour of being maid of honor at best friend's wedding!). Never again! I was crying after the first strip came off! Swollen, red & irritated for 2 days - I was walking around like Rambo with 2 melons under each arm! Won't even go into bikini waxing - tough shit, I'll wear shorts! Now use epilator for legs & shave the armpits. Can't even use hair removal creams, not even the ones supposedly for sensitive skin - Nel
 
  Nonsense
22/02/2008 10:35
Sheesh, if it isn't complaining about waxing, it is about period pains or childbirth. And allegedly it is all for the benefit of the male of the species. Get over it. No, girls, you want real pain then I suggest standing in line for tickets to the NZ vs SA test only to get to the window and find out they are all sold out. That, my sisters, is real pain. Stop being so soft and namby pamby. Stop moaning and get me my beer, NOW! - niels
 
  Not sore at all
22/02/2008 10:40
What is wrong with you, or is it something wrong with me? It is not sore at all - during most sessions I fall fast asleep. Okay - the spatch-cock position like a whole braai chicken for my Brazilian wax is a little hairy (pun intended)but I remember that I am in the hands of a professional therapist (beauty) and rip, rip, rip its all over. The bliss of not having the daily drudge of shaving is definitely worth a little humiliation. - ML
 
     
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