HELP tearing of the Labia - WAXING!

While training with a new Esthetician..and practicing Brazilians the Esthetician in training split my skin in the labia area. I've been waxing for over 3years and have NEVER seen anything like this. I'm okay, and it healing okay. I just want to make sure that this never happens again...and to a client. Is there anything we can do to prevent this? I'm not comfortable with her waxing again until I find out why this happened. Is this a risk we take when waxing these thin/sensitive areas of the body? HELP...

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Tags: Waxing, brazilians, hardwax, labia, sensitive, skin, strip, torn, wax

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Stephanie G Laynes on May 9, 2012 at 6:47pm

Yes this can occur to the labia and happens more often than I care to admit this. Holding the skin very tight and having the body in certain angles will help with this. Where you using hard or soft wax? Was it the inner or outer labia?

Stephanie

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by SkinDeep on May 9, 2012 at 9:10pm

Thank you Stephanie. Yes she was using a soft wax. It was inside the crease of my labia. I have used this wax for 3years on clients and recently for the past year on myself. I never had anything like this before. In passing today I just found out this happened to another friend as well. Ugh, what to do...
I know the wax we use is made for brazilians/coarse hair. Do you feel hard wax is better for hair near the labia area (just to be safe)?
Thanks again for your help.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Claire Barnes on May 10, 2012 at 10:06am

I never use Soft wax on the labia for this very reason. Works well for some people ... but i am not an advocate. So sorry this happened to you! The most incidents that show up in the ER from 'beauty procedures' are from waxing this area .... Hope you get better soon. I bet the girl feels bad and it will affect her confidence for a while ... but i also bet it won't happen again as she will be more cautious. Recover quickly..

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Crickett Enos on May 9, 2012 at 11:48pm

Personally, I'm a hard waxer all the way it's just more gentle. Hard or soft wax, if the technique isn't good, tearing can happen regardless.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kirsten Kayser on May 10, 2012 at 11:21am

So scary when something like this happens!I'm so glad you are healing alright.

As Program Coordinator for ASCP, I can tell you that our number one most common claim is waxing. Yes, this happens much more often than any of us wants to imagine :( While there are always those incidents that happen despite being an expert, often times this scary situations happen due to lack of training and or poor technique.

My suggestion to avoid this painful situation and potential law suit, would be to be sure that you have excellent training. Find yourself a professional trainer who specializing in waxing technique. Educate yourself on what to do during a service, should you get yourself into a 'sticky' situation. Be familiar inside and out with the waxs that you are using, whether hard or soft. Be sure that you are keeping up your continuing education as well. Education never stops!

Also, last but certainly not least, be sure that you have excellent professional liability coverage. Sometimes, things just go wrong, and there's nothing worse than feeling alone and scared if something like this happens to you. Education+training+insurance= peace of mind :)