Threading vs. Waxing

It happens all the time, someone comes in for makeup and they just got waxed the day before.  I can always tell because the makeup has a great deal of trouble adhering to freshly waxed skin.  When you get waxed, the wax not only pulls out the hairs you want to remove, but it also removes the top layer of skin - along with all the little, invisible hairs on your face that protect your skin - leaving your skin smooth as glass with nothing for the makeup to adhere to.  I have also had many clients come in with burnt skin which resulted from being waxed with too hot wax - this is another challenge for a makeup artist.

I recommend threading for several reasons.  The first and best is that it can not burn your skin.  It does not remove any skin or any of the microscopic hairs that makeup clings to.  Threading can be done right before makeup application without interfering in any way, and it lasts as long as waxing does.

Waxing serves a purpose as well - I can't for the life of me imagine threading my bikini-line or my legs - ouch!  But, for facial hair and eyebrows threading beats waxing hands down everytime!  Obviously there are skilled and unskilled people that perform both services. If you have had a bad experience with threading I suggest you try it again with someone else.  An inexperienced threader can pinch your skin and hurt you the same way an inexperienced waxer can burn you or hurt you when they remove the strip. 

When I watch the women I work with do threading it is like watching someone perform a dance - she holds the thread in her mouth and moves her head back and forth while working the thread with her hands to remove precisely the hair she wants to.  It is always fun to watch someone who has never experienced this or see it being done's expression.

So, if you have a special ocassion or wedding coming up I would suggest you try threading.  If you choose to wax, do not get waxed any closer than five days to your special event. This allows enough time for some of the microscopic hairs to grow back, allows time for your skin to heal should you suffer a mishap, and will assure that your makeup application goes on beautifully.  I would not try threading the first time the day of a special event as you never know how your individual skin will react to anything until you try it - but once you do it with a skilled professional and know you have no reactions you can feel confident getting it done immediately prior to makeup application -  if you are a Bride going on a honeymoon this is especially wonderful because your eyebrows will look perfect through your entire honeymoon - where as with waxing you will already have five days worth of regrowth!