Self Care Essentials: Waxing With The European Wax Center
Before we really get into the meat and potatoes of this post, I wanna preface this by saying that when I made the commitment to myself to show up as a whole person online — because I am a whole person — I wanted to be able to feel comfortable talking about the pieces of my life I'm passionate about that don't include design.
Feminine health and mental wellness are top of that list, and that’s why we’re here today.
Now let’s get into it...
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think waxing?
For me, I used to associate waxing with “pain” “privilege” “Brazilian” “sex” and “cleanliness”.
Yes, these are the first words that would come to mind, for no particular reason other than lack of information. But now, in my big age, I also associate waxing with self care... self preservation... self love. This change of perspective is why I recently decided to reintroduce waxing services into my lifestyle, which led me to the European Wax Center.
Some background —
I’ve only ever waxed my eyebrows, upper lip, and bikini area. While I used to get my brows waxed pretty regularly, my upper lip was every now and again, and my bikini wax was one time a lifetime ago. My default for grooming has always been shaving — not because the results are better but because it’s convenient.
Is convenience important? Absolutely. But I recently had an epiphany — do I want convenience or comfort? Do I want convenience or care?
As I stumbled out of the first quarter of 2021, with my nerves barely intact, I decided I want comfort & care a lot more than I want convenience. Hair removal, for me, has always been for hygiene, but it’s also one of the most consistent acts of self care I’ve allowed myself. I may not always go to the hair salon or nail salon, and I may not get massages & facials, but for me it’s the simple acts of tending to myself that would be the most impactful... like shaving in the shower.
But at what cost?
I am now at the point where I don’t wanna shave anymore. It’s exhausting, especially anything from the waist down — every time would be like I’m auditioning for Cirque de Soleil. Aside from the physical exhaustion, there are just a lot of things I told myself I wanted to outsource this year, literally, all in the name of self care...self preservation...self love... and my grooming was def on that list. Yea, I could keep shaving... but I don't wanna... and in business, you outsource the things you either can't do or don't want to do.
You give yourself the gift of time by letting a professional do what they do so you can do what you do.
After having heard great things about EWC for so long, I decided to see if there was one in my area. From there I'd determine what I want to do. I found that there was more than one location I could go to — yay! — and from there I checked out their Instagram & their website. What I appreciated most about their messaging was that it wasn't just about waxing. I mean, yea, it's in the name, so it's obvious that's their specialty; the messaging, however, also spoke to a lot more than that... it spoke to the need for all the things I'd listed — self care, self preservation, and self love.
“You deserve the best, by the best.”
I browsed their catalog of services and, y'all... I didn't realize I had sooooo many options! I decided to go big or go home! I could start with something small & simple, like my upper lip, but I decided to jump right in with a Brazilian.
Based on that service — the cleanliness, the comfort, etc. — I'd know if I'd come back for all the other things.
I now have standing appointments at my local EWC for lip, chin, underarm, and Brazilian waxes.
Like I said, lip & bikini area waxes weren't new to me, but I'd never had my chin or underarm waxed... I dunno that I even knew that was a thing. For sure, I'd never ever thought about it, but presented with so many options, it was like, "how can I not?!"
Giving myself standing appointments, in the same way that I would with my talk therapist, makes it just as much of a priority — tending to my physical self with the same urgency that I would to my mental self.
At the top of the year, I'd made a commitment to myself to reset my physical & mental fitness. Three months later it hit me that I didn't follow through on that commitment at all... I am actually ashamed to even admit that.
Becoming an EWC client is simply one of many baby steps I hope to take in the right direction, in addition to other lifestyle enhancements.
As a new client, it was pretty dope that my first Brazilian was half priced (alternatively, I could've gotten a free bikini line, underarm, nose, ear, or brow wax). Like I said... I chose "go big or go home" and I am so glad I did. The staff was kind & knowledgeable, the facilities super clean, and their COVID procedures made me feel a whole lot better about being out in the world, especially for something so intimate.
I don't know what took me so long to get back to it but I have felt a total difference — in my skin & in my confidence. Simply getting out to have this thing that's mine & mine alone has done wonders for psyche, but y'all... the difference in my skin afterwards is also pretty impressive, and I say this as someone who's almost exclusively shaved for the past decade!
If you've never gotten a wax, I highly recommend it, and like I said your first wax (depending on what you get) will either be free or 50% off.
I look forward to continuing this new tradition of self care, and adding it to my rotation of better habits... especially since it doesn't look like 2021 will be letting up any time soon!
