I’ve been getting waxed for years and never had a reaction or experience like this before, which is why this one stood out to me so much. I had one wax from her previous, full leg again, but it felt rushed the last time, but other than some missed hairs I had no major problems. Because the bookings are made online, I requested another worker there because she’s done treatments for me before and she’s really good, I walked in and she wasn’t there, and I was assigned the same girl do my wax, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and I get it plans might change in their schedule.
Once the waxing of my front started, she commented that she’d probably get through a whole pack of gloves, because the wax kept sticking to them. I understand she may have meant it casually or as an observation, but in the moment it came across as quite awkward rather than reassuring. She probably changed her gloves about 10 times.
There were also parts of the treatment that didn’t feel especially careful compared to previous waxing experiences I’ve had with others. For example, when she was waxing my calves, she was laying the strip down without really smoothing it or applying pressure beforehand. At points I literally felt the strip being pulled a second after it was laid down. At one point she even said that she feels like she is being a bit brutal - again, I know waxing is ripping the hairs out, but I generally have a high pain threshold but even this session seemed more painful than normal. Her comment wasn’t based on any of my reactions though, since I just internalise the pain lol. Another thing that stood out to me was the aftercare during the appointment. After waxing the front, she didn’t wipe down or cleanse the area afterwards the way other waxers I’ve been to normally would, before flipping me onto my front. Instead, she only wiped down the back at the end and then pointed me towards the products for the front so I could effectively sort that area out myself. Because the front hadn’t been cleaned and there was still residue/product on the skin, combined with the heat and the plastic cover on the bed, my skin and inner thighs ended up sticking painfully to the surface underneath me. When she later asked me to move or separate my legs so she could check the area, it actually hurt because my skin felt glued to the covering.
The biggest issue though was what happened after the appointment. The next morning I woke up with a rash starting on my hands and arms, which then spread across other parts of my body over the following days. My skin became extremely hot, inflamed, prickly, and uncomfortable, especially on my inner thighs and arms.
I understand reactions can happen and I can’t definitively prove the wax caused it, but the timing felt too coincidental to ignore — especially because I’ve been waxing for years without ever experiencing anything remotely like this. I’ve been racking my brains to rule everything out, I haven’t changed any products I use or detergent, I have no known allergies. I didn’t exercise after the leg wax or anything like that. More than anything, I’ve come away feeling disappointed and put off the experience entirely because it’s affected my comfort, sleep, confidence, my job, and daily life for nearly a week afterwards.
Has anyone had or seen this before? If that wax truly caused this, my entire body clearly said nope to experience. I’ve attached some photos, it’s mainly my left arm but it’s same on my right and pretty much all over my body.