Nightmare facial hair removal

[hazelb]

Had a client in for eyebrow wax upper lip, cheeks and chin. We had discussed her treatment earlier and she wanted to try threading on upper lip and cheeks.

I'm still fairly new to this, but the last few eyebrows I've done may have taken me a while but I had a good end result so I felt fairly confident.

Eyebrows were ok, but it took me a while to get them right. I
I found the upper lip really tough to thread. I was finding it really hard to spot all the hairs. ( she has and asian type skin with fine but longish dark hairs ) I would think I had done a good clearance job, then just changing the light /direction i was looking and there would be loads more, same for the chin ( I used hot wax for that ) grrrr. If I looked through the mag lamp it was like I had never started!!!


She had been plucking/ shaving some of the hairs on her top lip so the different lengths of hair didn't help! it felt like I couldn't see the hair I was trying to remove!!! aarghh!

horrible, horrible horrible!

It was taking me ages and I just didn't seem to be making any headway and I was turning into a nervous wreck! eventually after an hour, we called a halt as she had another appointment to get to. ( didn't manage to do the cheeks )

She'd going to book back in for about 2 weeks, when some of the upper lip hairs are a bit longer and I'll tackle her cheeks then as well.

Any hints and tips, pointers ideas? Maybe magnifying glasses would help if there is such a thing....
....seriously thinking of taking hair removal off my treatment menu! :sad:

..sorry just had to get that off my chest

 

[TheDuchess]

I find Asian skin and Caucasian skin needs different techniques to thread well. I don't do many Asian skins and find it hard to make the mental gear change.

I use normal cotton thread but some thread is thicker than others, so you could try taking your thread into a store and look for something which has a different thickness to the one you are using. I use fine thread for fine hairs and tougher stronger thicker thread for strong hairs. - I always use cotton rather than synthetic as I'd rather the thread snapped than risk cutting into a clients skin.

Assuming you hold the loop in your right hand...try holding the cotton reel in your left, rather than the end of a piece of thread. It gives you more to wrap your hand around. You need to pull the left hand down hard against the skin and really keep the pressure on. Don't let the hand jump up off the skin, keep it steady. Work very methodically over the skin laying down a thread at 1-2 mm intervals. Pull fast, a slow pull is like removing a strip wax slowly.

I use glasses for threading even though I don't need them for anything else. And I have a daylight flexible led lamp - a bit like a manicure light which I have very close to the skin. I put the client on a couch and crouch down and check my work at intervals, looking over the skin from the side as well as from overhead.

Manage the client's expectations. I always say to my clients that I go for an ombré effect fading the hair removal naturally so as not to leave a stark strip of naked skin which is very obvious. And if your client hasn't been threaded before it will be hard the first few times. You need to explain this. It's like the first couple of intimate waxes. It's really easy to zip off a regular, but the newbie client can have you thinking you've lost your touch!

 

[hazelb]

I find Asian skin and Caucasian skin needs different techniques to thread well. I don't do many Asian skins and find it hard to make the mental gear change.

I use normal cotton thread but some thread is thicker than others, so you could try taking your thread into a store and look for something which has a different thickness to the one you are using. I use fine thread for fine hairs and tougher stronger thicker thread for strong hairs. - I always use cotton rather than synthetic as I'd rather the thread snapped than risk cutting into a clients skin.

Assuming you hold the loop in your right hand...try holding the cotton reel in your left, rather than the end of a piece of thread. It gives you more to wrap your hand around. You need to pull the left hand down hard against the skin and really keep the pressure on. Don't let the hand jump up off the skin, keep it steady. Work very methodically over the skin laying down a thread at 1-2 mm intervals. Pull fast, a slow pull is like removing a strip wax slowly.

I use glasses for threading even though I don't need them for anything else. And I have a daylight flexible led lamp - a bit like a manicure light which I have very close to the skin. I put the client on a couch and crouch down and check my work at intervals, looking over the skin from the side as well as from overhead.

Manage the client's expectations. I always say to my clients that I go for an ombré effect fading the hair removal naturally so as not to leave a stark strip of naked skin which is very obvious. And if your client hasn't been threaded before it will be hard the first few times. You need to explain this. It's like the first couple of intimate waxes. It's really easy to zip off a regular, but the newbie client can have you thinking you've lost your touch!

Oww thanks for that reply it has really helped. Your advice is very good and I'll try not to lose heart. It was tricky as I'm more used to threading eyebrows where it tends to be coarse terminal hear and fine, pale vellus hair. The asian skin threw me a bit as it was all fine long dark hair, so I can see what you mean about needing a different approach.

I've just ordered a head lamp with magnifying lense as I struggle with my vari-focal glasses. I might also look at refreshing some of my facial waxing/threading skills. A bit of CPD never hurts! :biggrin:

 

[sbeauty35]

Oww thanks for that reply it has really helped. Your advice is very good and I'll try not to lose heart. It was tricky as I'm more used to threading eyebrows where it tends to be coarse terminal hear and fine, pale vellus hair. The asian skin threw me a bit as it was all fine long dark hair, so I can see what you mean about needing a different approach.

I've just ordered a head lamp with magnifying lense as I struggle with my vari-focal glasses. I might also look at refreshing some of my facial waxing/threading skills. A bit of CPD never hurts! :biggrin:

Hi, just wanted to knw where you bought your head lamp from as I'm thinking of getting one and how much was it? Tia

Sent from my Nexus 4 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[hazelb]

It was a rash purchase from eBay. Hasn't arrived yet but I'll post a review here when it arrives lol!