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Original poster

Ok, If I decide to get my top lip WAXED or THREADED...............

48 replies

WaxOrNot · 17/04/2008 14:41

What does it look like when it grows back?

Does it appear really obviously?
I'd hate stubble. Surely that would be worse than now.

Will it be awful?

I don't know what to do.

OP posts:
WigWamBam · 17/04/2008 14:44

It doesn't come back as stubble. Stubble comes from shaving - the razor makes a blunt cut and it's that growing which makes stubble.

Waxing takes the hair out completely, so what you get is the tip of the hair comes through first - which looks nothing like stubble. It's not as thick, because it hasn't been cut, and it feels softer for the same reason.

Yes, you will see the hair when it grows back but it just looks like a hair - nothing like stubble. You will get pretty much the same effect as when hair grows back after you have used a hair removal cream.

hanaflower · 17/04/2008 14:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
WaxOrNot · 17/04/2008 14:51

Ok.

I'm really nervous about doing it.

I want to do it as I hate it and can feel myself starting to obsess about it. When people are talking to me I'm thinking 'can they see it, are they looking at it?'

But I'm just worried about the first go. Will I have a red face and everyone will know and think 'thank fuck she's finally done that', or 'come to think of it she did have a tashe' Oh shit.

Someone on the other thread said they got loads of spots.

Waaaahhhhh!!!!

OP posts:
missorinoco · 17/04/2008 14:53

looks fine when it grows back. i am a waxer. over time my eyebrows are less bushy in the middle.

only thing is my top lip is a little red for a hour or so, so don't do it immed before an evening out.

is quick (to come off, slower to come back).

Original poster
WaxOrNot · 17/04/2008 14:54

Thanks, that sounds positive. I dont mind about being a bit red. I'll do it one eve when dh is here and I'll just come home and hide!!

How often do you do yours?

I'm also embarrased about dh knowing. How silly.

OP posts:
sparkleymummy · 17/04/2008 15:04

If you're generally quite hairy DON'T do it.

Unless the hair is REALLY thick and obvious just bleach it.

I've used bleach on mine for the past 20 years. My sister has too until recently when she started waxing because someone said she looked furry. Now she looks odd because the rest of her face has very very fine down and then she has a shiny patch devoid of any hair at all where she's had it waxed.

And hers does grow back darker and more obvious (although I have heard that it changes over time and starts to grow back more slowley after a while).

missorinoco · 17/04/2008 15:05

not often enough now ds is around. prev maybe once every 6-8 weeks. but am v pale with a dark 'tache. (how attractive, you are thinking!)

dh knows, v unbothered. suspect he prefers any removal method over listening to me complaining that i look like tom selleck from magmum!

WigWamBam · 17/04/2008 15:06

You might have a bit of redness for a very short while afterwards. But that disappears very quickly.

If you have it done at a reputable salon, and the therapist puts some soothing lotion on afterwards, you are unlikely to get spots - those are often ingrown hairs, and can be caused by the waxing being done badly.

Give it a go. If you hate it, what's the worst that can happen? It won't come back any worse than it is now, so you won't have lost anything.

Prufrock · 17/04/2008 15:12

Definately thread not wax. Far less likely to get spots (I used to get at least 3 or 4 after waxing, never had one after threading) and you don't get the shiny bare sking look with threading either as it leaves the v.v. small downy hairs behind.

It's not comfortable, but it's not horribly painful wither - take a paracetomol 30 minutes befire to minimise it.

Original poster
WaxOrNot · 17/04/2008 18:48

How do you bleach it then??

I'm so confused.
Wax, thread, bleach??????

OP posts:
SlightlyMadSweet · 17/04/2008 18:52

Whats threading????

3littlefrogs · 17/04/2008 18:53

There is a picture in a recent British Medical Journal of a girl who inadvertantly had her eyebrows threaded with thread that was contaminated with human papilloma virus (warts). Put me off, I can tell you..........

Minum · 17/04/2008 18:58

I had mine sugared before my wedding reception - horrible red spots all over upper lip (this was done by very professional woman who had been doing it for years). 10 years later had it threaded - again very reputable salon - lots of red spots, just before going away on romantic weekend with DH

So I'd recommend bleaching.

Milliways · 17/04/2008 19:00

I had a thread on this recently here and became a convert, using Veet home wax strips every few weeks now.

And no, it looks no worse if I leave it for weeks than it did before I ever touched it. Grows back the same fine baby hair.

sparkleymummy · 18/04/2008 09:15

Bleaching is easy. Get a box of Jolen bleach from boots for about a fiver. Mix a sccop of the powder with a scoop of the cream and then stick it on. Wait ten minutes before taking it off et voila!

Original poster
WaxOrNot · 18/04/2008 09:37

Hmm, maybe I'll try that first, then if that doesn't work/looks awful I'll wax.

It's so scary doing something to me face. myself.
It makes it seem like I'm drawing more attention to it when I want to hide it iykwim.

OP posts:
chloesmumtoo · 18/04/2008 09:47

Find yourself a good electrolosis proffessional. I have had electrolosis. Went through plastic surgury as a teenager due to an accident and wanted to sort out where I had some darker longer hairs near the scars on my face. I had treatment and wow it was really effective so I used her to thin out my top lip too. Painful but worth it. I have not been for over a year now and will have some thinning done again soon but it really got rid of the ones I was worried about. I would not dare wax. She used to recommend waxing on the bod but no way on the face. Ring around and find out some info but get a good one. Had a rubbish one first but noticed the differenc when I change to a better beautician

chloesmumtoo · 18/04/2008 09:50

With electrolosis the hairs grow back thiner and thiner rather than becomming worse. Any that show in between sessions she strongly used to say to snip off rather than pluck. plucking makes the hair root stonger and harder or not possibly to get rid of.

Original poster
WaxOrNot · 18/04/2008 10:05

Everybody seems to say different things dont they?
If I go into a salon and ask whats best for me won't they try and line me up for the most expensive option??

OP posts:
Prufrock · 18/04/2008 10:48

Plucking (or other forms of pulling out like waxing/threading) doesn't make the root any stronger at all. The reason taht electrolysis/laser technicians advise against it is that permenant removal methods such as those can only destroy haors that are still attached at the root.

I've been dealing with a moustache for 15 years now waxornot.
I started bleaching, which was fine but faffy. However i did find that if wearing foundation it coagulates on the white hairs and looks terrible.
So I moved on to home waxing, which I was quite pleased with until I had it done at a salon and found that it was quicker and less painful. You do still get redness for an hour or so though and if you have sensitive skin you can get spots. I did do this for about 6 years though.
Then a new salon opened near me and offered tnreading. It is a million times better than waxing, redness fades within 5 minutes - I have my moustache and eyebrows done and by the time my eyes are finished my top lip looks normal. And no spots.

WigWamBam · 18/04/2008 10:59

Electrolysis is bloody painful. I had it done years ago, when I only had a few lip hairs rather than my current full beard and moustache, but it didn't work for me. The hairs grew back within weeks, and it also left me with huge red sores for weeks after I had it done. It was truly vile.

Bleaching is OK if your hair is fine, and if it doesn't grow particularly long. Coarser hair is still very noticeable when it's bleached, as is longer hair.

I think it's just a case of trying them and seeing which you feel works best for you, WON. Waxing or threading won't leave you any worse off than you are now if you don't like them - the hair will just grow back.

Original poster
WaxOrNot · 18/04/2008 11:38

Oh dear, now I've changed my mind and am going to plump for threading. If I do it atall.
I'm not sure if it would be classed as thick or strong hair. It's just there and I don't like it.

OP posts:
WigWamBam · 18/04/2008 14:15

Give it a go. You don't have anything to lose apart from the hairs you don't like! And the beauty of the non-permanent methods of removal is that if you don't like it, you're not stuck with it.

I hate being hairy; not because I don't like it, but because of other people's reactions. Other people seem to think that it's dirty - so it makes me feel dirty. They seem to think that it's amusing - so it makes me feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. I would be quite happy not to embrace my inner Yeti if it weren't for the fact that society seems to have a big problem with hairy women. Plus I work in a school ... I'm not sure I want all the Y2s asking me why I have a beard!

I presume you've tried ordinary depilatory creams? They work well on finer hair, but lots of people are allergic to them.

Original poster
WaxOrNot · 18/04/2008 16:49

No, I've not tried anything.

Is that the first step then??

OP posts:
WigWamBam · 18/04/2008 16:53

I'd prefer creams to waxing, if I wasn't allergic to the creams. No pain, no appointments at salons - whack the cream on, leave it for a few minutes, wash it off again.

I don't think there's necessarily a first step - just what you feel works best for you.