Waxing is an efficient method of hair removal and, comparatively to shaving, can save the user a significant amount of time in their personal care routine. However, the fact remains that a waxing session can still require a considerable time investment at the time of hair removal or appointment.
The length of time that a waxing session will take is determined by a number of factors;
- Type of waxing treatment (hard or soft wax, sugaring, etc.)
- The skill of esthetician/applicator
- Area being treated
- Size of the area being treated
These considerations can result in a waxing session taking from between 15 minutes to up to one hour. Or longer, if multiple areas are being waxed at one appointment.
When considering the type of wax used and the skills required, it is usually faster to have an appointment booked with a professional salon, rather than attempt waxing yourself. This is because salons will typically have the wax readily prepared and available for use before the time of your appointment, rather than prepared-to-order. With the skills and training that the estheticians receive, their removal of unwanted hair is also typically much quicker than it would be to perform the removal yourself, should you attempt the treatment at home. That said, if you are well practiced at waxing yourself, you may find that there is no significant time saved in visiting a salon, however, few people reach this level of experience as an at-home user.
Should you be adamant about performing the waxing at home, the type of wax used may influence the length of time it takes to remove all unwanted hair. If you prefer to use hot/warm wax, you will need to heat and prepare the waxing agent, strips, and applicators. If your preferred method is sugaring or sugar-waxing, you may need to prepare the recipe for the agent, in addition to the supporting cleansing and removal products. Cold waxing is usually relatively quick, as the waxing agent does not need to be heated, and typically comes on pre-prepared strips. However, the cleanup after cold waxing is sometimes more laborious than it would be for using hot wax, as the residue is often quite stubborn to remove from the skin. Depending on your medium of choice, the time it takes to complete your waxing can be stretched out.
When removing hair from smooth areas such as back or legs, waxing can be a remarkably swift process, as large volumes of wax can be applied and removed at one time. What can drag out the time taken is if the hair being removed is not long enough, requiring the occasional re-wax to remove shorter hairs, or if the body area has a number of curves to attend to, such as a bikini wax. For these reasons, it is important to allow your hair enough time to regrow effectively in order to then be removed as efficiently as possible.
What is unsurprising is that the size of the area being waxed can also impact the time it takes for removal. Waxing a full leg is clearly going to take significantly longer than waxing an armpit, and waxing a fullback and chest may take longer than a full leg. Eyebrows and upper lips may take less than 15 minutes to wax. The skill of the esthetician will greatly influence anticipated timings, as individuals with extensive practice are often able to provide a high-quality waxing service with very minimal turn-around time.
What it is important to remember is that even though a leg waxing appointment could easily and conceivably take up 30 minutes of your day, the time spent in that solid appointment is far less than what would have been spent on shaving your legs every other day for 4-6 weeks (the time is usually taken between waxing sessions). Additionally, with every subsequent wax hair grows back finer, lighter and typically more refined; making appointments quicker and easier as the hair is more readily removed. This compounds the time savings into an even more attractive comparison against other hair removal options such as shaving, epilating, or using depilatory creams.