How to Wax Legs: A Detailed Guide

When you think of removing hair at home, waxing is the first thing that comes to mind. Everyone loves it since waxes can be easily found everywhere, are easy to use, economical, and reduce hair growth. You are also safe from razor burns, cuts, and nicks.

However, this is all possible when you are using the right technique for waxing, properly preparing your skin, and using the right product. So, let’s get into the details of how to wax legs at home for a perfect waxing experience.

Table of Contents:

• Part 1: How to Prepare for Leg Waxing?
• Part 2: How to Wax with Hard Wax?
• Part 3: How to Wax Legs with Wax Strips?
• Part 4: Aftercare for Waxed Legs
• Part 5: Troubleshooting and Tips
• Part 6: FAQs

Part 1: How to Prepare for Leg Waxing?

Trim Your Hair

The longer your hairs are, the more you are at risk of breaking your hair while waxing. An optimal hair length also reduces the pain and discomfort you experience. So, if your hair is longer than one-third to one-fourth of an inch, then trim it using a trimmer or safety scissors.

Shower

Whether you have booked an appointment with a professional or doing your wax session at home, taking a hot shower before waxing can never go wrong. Showering with warm water softens your hair and opens your skin pores.

However, it can dry your skin, so make sure the water is not too hot.

Exfoliate Your Legs

The next step is to exfoliate your legs. Proper exfoliation gets rid of trapped dirt and bacteria inside your pores and also removes dead skin cells. This allows the fresh skin cells to come out, thus making hair removal easier.

The wax sticks well to clean skin and pulls hair from the roots, which minimizes the chances of hair breakage and ingrown hairs.

Exfoliating gloves can be used during a shower. To learn more, read How to Use Exfoliating Gloves.

Moisturize

Hot showers and exfoliation can dry your skin, and waxing on dry skin can increase the chances of bleeding, abrasions, and skin damage when the wax is removed. So, moisturize your skin using a gentle moisturizer to soften it and make wax removal smoother.

Choose the Right Product

Skin preparation is important, but the more essential thing is to choose the right waxing product. There are different waxes, such as hard wax, soft wax, wax strips, sugar wax, hot wax, and cold wax. The type of wax that is good for your legs depends upon your skin type.

Usually, soft wax is preferred for larger areas like legs as it is easy to apply and can work at a lower temperature. However, if you have oily skin, then you can try chocolate wax. Moreover, those with sensitive skin can try sugar wax as it is gentler than other types.

However, to make the most suitable choice, you need to consider your budget, pain threshold, wax ingredients, and allergies. Moreover, buy products from trusted brands with good customer reviews to keep your skin safe and prevent yourself from wasting money.

To buy some of the best waxing kits, click 10 Best At-home Waxing Kits.

Part 2: How to Wax with Hard Wax?

Let’s learn how to wax legs with hard wax at home:

• Firstly, warm up the hard wax at the exact temperature written on the wax bag and use the warmer made specifically for heating the hard wax
• Now when the wax has melted down, dip a spatula in the wax and twirl it in a way that the wax creates a bulb at the edge of the spatula
• Make sure the accumulated wax on the spatula does not drip and if it does not, start applying the wax to your legs
• For this, place the bulb on your legs and start spreading it down evenly in the direction of your hair growth
• Make a lip at the ending point of your wax so that you can hold it when the wax is ready to be removed
• Now, let the wax dry and remove it by holding the rounded edge you made at the ending point of the wax

While removing the wax, remove it in the opposite direction of application and hold the skin taut while doing so.

Part 3: How to Wax Legs with Wax Strips?

Using wax strips is easy and quick. Let’s see how can you use them.

• Take the wax strip and rub it in between your hands to heat the wax a bit before application
• Now remove the protective backing from the strip and apply it to your leg
• After application, press the strip lightly in the direction of your hair growth so that it sticks well with your hair
• Then, hold the skin taut using one hand while pulling off the strip in one go with the other hand. You need to pull the strip in the direction opposite to hair growth
• If you still see any stray hair, you can use the same strip over the same area to pull off those stray hairs

Part 4: Aftercare for Waxed Legs

Moisturize Your Skin

Apply a moisturizer to your legs before wrapping up the waxing session. Waxing depletes moisture and oils from the skin making your legs look dull and dry. It also makes the skin sensitive.

So, do not forget to use moisturizer after waxing

Apply Cold Compression

The wax can irritate your skin. To soothe this irritation, you can apply cool compresses to your legs. The ice packs reduce redness and minimize skin irritation.

Use Aloe Vera

Aloe vera can aid wound healing, fight bacteria, and treat inflammation while hydrating dry skin. Therefore, if you are facing any swelling, redness, or irritation on your skin, just take some aloe vera gel and apply it to your legs.

Avoid Tight Clothes

Tight clothes can increase itching as the fibers from these clothes can irritate your hair follicles. So, avoid wearing tight clothes and let your skin breathe freely until it heals completely. You can wear wide-legged jeans, or plazo pants during this time and still look trendy!

Avoid Strenuous Activities

Another factor that aggravates skin irritation after waxing is the sweat. Strenuous activities like hard exercise or working out in high temperatures can cause excessive sweating leading to itching. So, avoid those for a day or two. 

Part 5: Troubleshooting and Tips

There are times when the wax does not stick well, or hair breaks while pulling, or you have to face ingrown hairs every single time you wax. So, let’s see how can you troubleshoot these problems

Avoid Waxing on Wet Skin

When you apply wax on damp legs, the wax does not stick well to your skin. As a result, when you pull it off, it does not remove all the hairs and even breaks hair above the skin surface. So, pat your skin dry with a cloth or towel before applying the wax.

Exfoliate Regularly

Exfoliating twice a week in between your waxing sessions keeps your skin clean with even skin tone and fresh skin. Moreover, it also prevents the ingrown hair from occurring as your new hair grows.

Treat Ingrown Hair

Ingrown hairs are quite painful and they will not resolve on their own. So, you need to treat them to prevent pain, itching, and redness in the legs. You can do it by exfoliating your skin first, then cleansing the area with warm water. Now, when you see the hair, pull it out using a tweezer.

To learn details about treating ingrown hair, click Best Ways to Remove Deep Ingrown Hair.

If troubleshooting the waxing problems at home becomes difficult, you need to seek a professional’s advice immediately.

Part 6: FAQs

How Much Does Leg Waxing Cost?

You can buy at-home waxing kits for anywhere between $20 and $100, while a full-leg waxing can cost $40-100. A knee-length wax can cost $20-40. However, the cost can vary from area to area and clinic to clinic.

How Painful are Waxing Legs?

It depends upon your pain threshold. It hurts more for those with sensitive skin but you can reduce this sensation by pulling off the waxing quickly

How Long Does Leg Hair Have to Be to Wax?

To wax your leg hair perfectly, ensure it is not shorter than a quarter inch and longer than a half inch. You can trim your hair with a trimmer to attain the derided length.

How Often Should I Wax Legs?

Your legs can stay hair-free for up to 6 weeks after waxing. But, the period differs for every person and usually varies between 3-6 weeks. So, you can wax anytime you feel like it, after 3 weeks.

Conclusion

Waxing makes it easy to remove hair from the legs. All you need to do is warm the hard wax, apply it evenly, and pull it off in the direction opposite to hair growth. As for wax strips, you can directly apply them without warming them first.

But make sure your skin is not dry or has no cuts or wounds before waxing. Using the right technique can give you a month of hair-free legs, allowing you to confidently wear clothes of your choice.