While Brazilian and bikini waxing are growing in popularity, many ladies are hesitant to give it a rip, so to speak. You may have heard horror stories from a girlfriend or read about a freak accident on the internet. But how dangerous is it, really? Are these stories true? Are waxing salons the dark alleys of the beauty world or is Brazilian waxing safe?
(Note: although I am using the term Brazilian wax, this discussion applies to the use of waxing to create any type of pubic hairstyle, not just the fully bare look!)
Risks of Brazilian waxing
The safety of waxing one’s private parts came to my mind recently when reading this article on WebMD. While waxing can definitely be painful (less so with proper preparation), I had never thought of it as dangerous. According to the article:
The most common complications are burns or tears on the skin, allergic reactions, and infections, either of the skin, vagina, or the blood system.
Those all sound pretty bad! However, most of these injuries are rare and minor. Burns and tears can be avoided by going to a reputable salon with experienced aestheticians. They will know the right temperature to heat the wax and have good technique to rip out your hair while keeping your skin intact. Infections are the result of a tear in the skin or contaminated wax. Make sure your aesthetician never double-dips the stick she uses to apply the wax – a good salon will make this a policy to keep the wax sterile.
As for allergic reactions, this is again a very rare complication. And these reactions tend to be more of the “itchy read bumps” variety than “get me an Epipen, stat!” Most waxes are hypoallergenic. This is another good reason to try waxing in a smaller, less sensitive area before you go for the full Brazilian – you want to make sure you don’t have a reaction to the wax before you apply it to such a delicate area!
Relative safety of waxing vs. shaving
While these problems can occur, waxing is not the only hair removal technique that can cause problems. A medical study published in the journal Urology in 2012 studied the types of injuries caused by pubic hair removal over an 8 year period. Of the 198 pube-scaping mishaps that sent women to the emergency room, only 4 involved waxing. This is in comparison to 178 that involved a manual razor! So whatever the potential risks of Brazilian waxing, in the real world shaving is far more dangerous. This is almost certainly partly due to the fact that the razor injuries tend to happen at home, while most waxing is done by professionals in a salon setting.
Is Brazilian waxing safe?
So after looking at all the evidence, waxing appears to be one of the safer methods of styling your pubic hair. There is some pain involved and the awkwardness of having a stranger see you up close and personal. And you will likely be sore for a day or so after. But the odds of being injured are very low. Find a good salon and enjoy your sexy smooth skin!