Hi Essentia,
The Euroblonde is applied just above body temperature (37°C) so needs to be a little hotter than this in the pot as it cools fairly rapidly on the spatula. At the right temperature, the Euroblonde will have the consistency of golden syrup.
The 'strings' are an unfortunate quirk of the Perron Rigot non-strip waxes, which arise from the inclusion of elastomers - these ingredients keep the wax flexible as it sets and allow for the strong 'shrink wrapping' properties that we love, without them we'd have to apply thick, multiple layers in figure-of-eight patterns like we used to with the old hot waxes. The strings won't stick to your client's skin or clothes, but they can certainly work your nerves - the trick is to twizzle your spatula over the pot a few times before applying to the skin, which stops any drizzly stringy bits from trailing across the room! If you get strings after applying wax to the body, hold your spatula close to the skin and wave it back and forth a couple of times to break the threads.
You will only damage your wax after repeated or extensive 'speed heating' at too high a temperature, which can damage the plasticity of the product. Different amounts of wax in the heater can affect how easy it is for you to control the temperature, but this won't impair the adhesion properties of the product itself. I like to keep my pot topped up over the halfway point, as I find this makes it easier to control, but this is a personal preference.
I use a large (1000cc) Hive heater which is set to come on 90 minutes before I come into work. I keep it set between 2.5 and 3 all day, which keeps it at the perfect temperature (I decant my pellets into the Hive inner bucket, but you will need a slightly higher temp if using a tin as there is a bigger gap between the tin and the walls of the heater). The wax will always melt from the edges first, so I just give it a quick stir when I come in of a morning, or take from the sides of the pot if I have a client first thing.
All hard waxes are more temperature sensitive than soft waxes, so you may indeed need to adjust the dial slightly as you work. The room temperature will also affect your hard wax more than it does soft wax. Remember that the wax is always cooler and thicker the nearer you get to the middle of the pot - use this knowledge to your advantage if you find the wax is getting too hot.
I hope that helps a bit. Check out my
Hard Wax Tutorial for more tips, or you can come and visit the salon anytime you like - I'm also based in Basingstoke and it would be great to meet you.
Andy
