To be TERRIFIED of having a bikini wax?

[fishcalledwonder]

I thought I'd be braver now I've been through childbirth, but am still too wimpy to have a bikini wax and have just cancelled an appointment to have one on Monday. How pathetic am I being? Are they as bad as I think?

Not talking pornstar type wax, just a tidy up.

The midwife laughed? OMG. Unprofessional or what

I would be furious if a midwife laughed at my pubic hair. And this is coming from someone who had two nurses and a doctor peering up my whatsits giggling like pixies whilst with my legs in stirrups looking (in vain) for my mirena thread. So I am not precious.

I don't see the point in yanking out hair at thre roots with wax, and I do all sorts in the name of vanity. But waxing sounds horrible. It is bad enough on your eyebrows, let alone your pubic area.

Plus it costs a lot. Just buy a bottle of immac for a fiver and do it in the comfort of your own home.

"The only other tip I've heard is not to wax during a period, as it can make you have a greater tendancy to bleed afterwards."

Oo there is a novel by Mavis Cheek called "Sleeping Beauties" where someone is being waxed during her period. The drawstring gets caught in the wax and when it is all pulled off - well - the character describes it as like being raped in reverse!

Keeping tidy is one thing but I do think it is seriously strange when people want to have all/most of their pubic hair removed. Someone mentioned porn earlier on and yes I have read that this trend has really filtered in to the main stream from the porn industry.

Le Queen you obviously know your stuff, can i ask, what's the difference between a hollywood and a brazillian? i get a brazillian (all off bar a small strip, even get my bottom done - the shame! i think that's a brazillian?)

I have a Brazilian, and she leaves just a 1cm strip at the very front but takes absolutley everything else, including anus!

5foot5 that happened to me! I had the tampon waxed right out of me. Was hideous, deffo one of my top five most embarrassing moments!

oh my good lord happyhazy, I don't think I would ever recover from that!!

YANBU. It's crazy painful. And I've had 4 big babies.

YANBU. It is definitely worse than childbirth and I say that as a mother or three!

I am loving the emla tip - can't believe I never thought of it before, as I've used it for injections, operations etc, and it really is magic cream!

This may sound weird, but do you just apply the cream to the area, then put your knickers on and go to wherever you're going to get waxed - wouldn't it make rather a mess? I know it takes a while to work.

A basic bikini line is okay, but don't go for a few days either side of your period, as you will be more sensitive. I would even think twice if you have a cold or something minor, for the same reason. Also, don't worry if it bleeds a bit from the waxing. I get this sometimes, but it's fine.
In terms of pain, eyebrows and top lip are far worse! You can tell I've had an eyebrow wax for at least 3 hours afterwards, as I go very pink. Sometimes I wonder if the soothing cream makes it worse. I actually warn any new beauticians in advance, so that they don't worry! And the first time I got my top lip done, it stayed pink for at least a day afterwards!

Don't, whatever you do, start off with a brazillian. Ease in gently with a standard non extended bikini line. Its not so bad really. You will be surprised how much tidier it looks just getting that done. When you're braver give the Brazillian a go. It hurts. But getting hair ripped off your labia and anus will tend to smart a bit!

Oh yes- hot wax all the way.

Don't do it if you are nervous OP. Pointless really, there are other ways to keep it neat down there if you so wish :)

Am very very of those who advocate "trimming spider's legs" (!!) Oh, if only .... despite having fair skin, freckles, and reddish hair, down below it'd seem I'm some throwback to a Neanderthal.

What I'd really like to have is some sort of directory which recommended decent, local, beauticians for waxing - the sort described by some of you who are efficient, quick and put you at your ease. Being a neanderthal someone who requires an awful lot of attention below the waist, I'd really like to find a therapist who doesn't bat an eyelid and who does the job properly ..... so many times I've been waxed but then have to spend another good couple of hours with tweezers getting rid of stuff that's been missed! And while thank God I've never faced direct sniggering/horror at the sight of my gorilla-like legs, I've certainly not always felt comfortable stripping off and confess I find it something of an ordeal. For me it's not the pain - am very much "no pain no gain" - but the embarrassment.

No way would anyone go near me with hot wax down there. Trim???

I have been putting this off for ages too. I use the cream bu always end up wih a rash. I am going on holiday mid June so am going to go for one towards the end of April then a week before I go away. I need a dummy run first to make sure that it is ok rather than risk it just before I go away. I have visions of having bruises all over my bikini line!

Do you get a lot of ingrown hairs with waxing?

sorry for crap spelling - the 'T' key keeps sticking on my laptop!

Christ I didn't even know I had hair around my anus

Can I ask, if the only difference between a Brazilian and a Hollywood is the strip at the front, how is one treatment more intimate than the other?