I was hoping someone could give me some advice about a certain waxing situation i've recently experienced. I've been in Certified Esthetician for over 3 years now and this has never happened to me!
A new summer client came to me for an upper lip and bikini last week.
Before proceeding, I asked her if she was taking accutane, retin A, any blood thinners, etc. The answer was no.
I very small area of her bikini tore, and I immediately told her. She wasn't concerned and said that happens all the time.
She rebooked with me the other day and showed me a bruise on the inner part of her leg that was a result of me waxing her!!
I was MORTIFIED!! She tells me she thinks it was from the two areas that had really bad ingrown hairs.
I have no idea why this has happened and was wondering if anybody has any idea?? I saw a small bruised area on her upper lip too!
We use the blue azulene Gigi wax at the spa........Any info would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks sooo much!

If she really isn't using any medication that would cause this to happen, I would suggest that you stop waxing her until she gets checked out by her doc. She could have a serious condition that she doesn't know about.

Also, you could be on dodgy ground with your insurance if anything happened and you've noted that she bruised easly and you still continued to book her in. xxx

Oh yes I agree with Kim... this client definitely needs to get checked out by her doctors and I would be refusing to do any more treatments without a Doctors letter of approval.

You are right to be concerned. Best of luck with helping this client

well, apart from the extreme case that the other waxers have mentioned, i think you may have been not holding the skin taught enough! x

This is such a common problem with waxing. Do you use oil? if not, start now. This will take care of the tearing problem. Bruises tend to be the fault of the techncian (although not always). Make sure that you, or/and your client are holding the skin as tight as possible. These 2 things will make a huge difference in the outcome of your waxing, and make your clients much happier.

Bruising can happen for a number of reasons.

Not holding the skin taught (get the client to do her bit too) if she is overweight and/or the skin is loose/wobbly - pay more attention to holding the skin taught.

Hairs too long and curly - give them a trim before.

Perspiration - sometimes the clients get hot and clammy quite quickly making the wax sticky but uneffective. Keep checking - sometimes a little talc can help.

Temperature of the room - can totally effect the wax - too cold - it wont adhere to the strip or make it brittle - too hot - makes the wax sticky and soft.

I know you may do all these already but this is for others who may have had similar problems.

Thanks so much to everyone who has given advice, it's much appreciated!!!
Its a good idea to discontinue waxing her until we get to the bottom of it all.
I always make sure to hold the skin taut, but maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention this time...
I use oil after the waxing is done, but what do you mean other than that?
She said this happens regulary (which obviously isn';t right) so i'll ask her to see a GP before continuing waxing services on her.
Thanks again everyone!! (ps. I just joined and I am loving this site--what a great idea!)

What you can do is apply a very fine film of oil on to the area before waxing this stops the wax sticking to the skin so there is a lesser chance of causing bruising xx

Thanks Karen! I've never done that, but will try it for sure... on myself first of course. I'm assuming you apply powder after that oil? Otherwise, how could the wax stick at all? X

No, do not apply powder. Just the oil. A small amount will do.

Its just the finest film you are applying if you think you have to much just dab with a piece of couch roll.
It is just there to create a barrier between the wax and the skin if there is to much it will stop the wax adhering to the hair.