Mock Wax For State Exam

I recently sat for a state practical exam for wax technician and unfortunately failed because the mock hard wax I was using wouldn't set up right. I got a passing score on all other areas of the test, except for the hard wax section. I know how to wax, I've been waxing as an apprentice/under a temp license for a couple months so it's not the technique I'm having trouble with, it's finding a product that will rubberize on a mannequin that can be removed easily and in a timely manner. I used alginate but it never worked right and took entirely too long to set.

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

Thanks in advance.

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Permalink Reply by The Waxer on January 22, 2015 at 11:46am

I've worked with various brands of hard wax for the last 16 years and I will still have trouble with certain brands. They can be gummy or snap off mid strip. I have never used wax on anything other than skin, but my advice to you is to contact the manufactures. They usually have great tips on how to use their product in these circumstances. Good Luck!!

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Permalink Reply by Stacy Webb on January 23, 2015 at 10:28am

That is interesting you have to have mock hard wax. For my state board it was soft wax and we used honey for it. Can you ask if you can use something like play dough (or something close in nature) that really doesn't "set" on the mannequin but you can spread it and pull it?

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Permalink Reply by Casey Davis on January 23, 2015 at 2:03pm

I'm going to try play doh and see if that works but the state board suggested we use alginate, it's not required though. We have to demonstrate soft wax too but I used Vaseline and that worked fine I passed the soft wax section, it's just finding something for the hard wax that works better is what I'm having trouble with.

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Permalink Reply by LaToya Davis on June 19, 2017 at 10:39pm

I know this is late but maybe you could've used elmer's glue with the alginate in it. I recently took my state boards and only had to perform soft wax and tweezing in the hair removal section. I had never heard of mocking hard wax. It sucks you failed all because of that one very small portion of the test. smh.