Guide to your bikini wax choices

What are my choices for a bikini wax? What is the right bikini wax for me? What are the different types of bikini waxing?

These are all common questions we are asked at Lagoon Wimbledon. This blog aims to demystify the topic and empower you with the correct information to enable you to choose the right bikini wax for you.

It can be confusing! A Standard bikini wax, High bikini wax, Brazilian wax or Hollywood – there’s numerous different options to choose from. Then you add different ways to perform waxing and different types of wax to use. To complicate the issue even further, every other salon appears to be using different terminology for bikini waxing on their treatment menu.

Let’s simplify things and tell you about the waxing options available and a little more about what makes Lagoon’s bikini waxing different from most other salons…

At Lagoon, we start every bikini wax by sanitising and cleansing the skin area to be waxed. This removes any product (body lotion) or perspiration and sanitises the skin. Then the waxing therapist applies a soothing pre-wax oil, which creates a barrier between your skin and the wax. This ensures that the wax sticks to your hair and not to your skin which reduces the level of discomfort you will feel and minimises trauma to the skin when the wax is pulled off.

Hot wax is applied to your bikini area using a spatula. For hygiene, waxing spatulas are NOT re-dipped back into the wax and multiple new spatulas are used for each waxing treatment. As the wax begins to set it effectively shrink wraps the hairs and enables the wax to remove shorter hairs compared to other types of wax. In contrast to traditional strip wax, hot wax has a thicker consistency and peeled off the skin by hand, (without the use paper waxing strips). After your wax, we finish off by applying some soothing after-wax gel containing tea-tree to cool the skin, tone and cleanse.

“Hot wax” refers to the type of wax used, not the temperature of the wax when it is applied to your skin! The wax we apply will feel pleasantly warm but never too hot. It is ideal for use on sensitive parts of the body, as it more comfortable for the client. For this reason, hot wax is used as company policy for all Lagoon bikini waxes.

Here are the different types of bikini wax Lagoon Wimbledon offer:

Standard Bikini Wax

Of the intimate bikini waxing treatments offered, a standard bikini wax removes the least amount of hair. It involves the removal of all hair which sits outside a standard pair of knickers. This includes any pubic hair on your thighs and the edges of your thigh creases.

After a standard bikini wax you are left with a large, inverted triangle shape of hair on your pubic bone. Hair on your undercarriage (labia) and around the back (inside buttocks) is untouched and will remain.

You do not need to take your underwear off for a standard bikini wax. Potentially, some oil or waxing product may come into contact with your knickers and therefore please wear an underwear choice with this is mind.

The standard bikini wax option is ideal if you want a quick and basic bikini wax tidy up. Perfect if you just want to make sure that nothing pokes out of a pair of standard knickers. However, if you wear high cut knickers or skimpier choice of underwear, read on for bikini wax choices which are a better fit for your requirements.

High Bikini Wax

A high bikini wax is the next step up from a standard bikini wax. With the high bikini option more hair is removed from the sides, including a bit from each side of your undercarriage. You will be left with an inverted triangle shape of pubic hair on top.

The service does not include removal of any hair from the actual labia or from behind (inside buttocks). Brazilian or Hollywood waxing are the appropriate bikini waxing choices to have hair removed from these areas.

For those wearing a high cut pair of knickers, rather than standard ‘big pants’.  A high bikini wax follows a line similar to high cut knickers, so no hair would sprout out the sides and the triangle of hair is covered by your knickers.

It’s ideal if you do like your knickers skimpier than your average pair of granny pants or if you are going on holiday and wearing a standard swimwear on the beach.

We find many ladies choose the high bikini option as an entry point into bikini waxing. Allowing them to ‘test the water’ and become comfortable with bikini waxing before they opt for a Brazilian wax or Hollywood wax. It’s a good option if its your first time for waxing.

As with the standard bikini option, we recommend wearing an older pair of knickers in case they come into contact with any oil or wax.

For more daring bikini wax choices read on for your guide to Brazilian and Hollywood waxing.

Brazilian Wax

Brazilian waxing is very popular these days. It is where all the hair is removed from the pubic area except a ‘landing strip’ at the front. During a Brazilian wax all hair will be removed from your labia, perineum and anus (inside buttock). In layperson terms, from the front, undercarriage and behind!

For hygiene reasons many women prefer the removal of hair from underneath and behind, which you get with a Brazilian or Hollywood wax. Once you have tried a Brazilian wax it is rare for ladies to revert back to having a standard bikini or high bikini wax!

An aesthetically pleasing area of pubic hair is left at the front (on the top of your pubic bone). With clients either choosing a small rectangle shape, known as a “landing strip” or a small, inverted triangle of hair. Both options are equally popular with female clients and provide a feminine finish to your bikini wax.

During a Brazilian wax, you need you to remove your underwear. This allows the waxing therapist to do a quick and efficient job, without being impeded by your underwear.

Brazilian waxing is one of the most popular waxing treatments requested in UK beauty salons. It is, therefore, disappointing that many beauty salons up and down the country do not know what a proper Brazilian wax is and do not have sufficiently trained waxing specialists to perform this kind of bikini waxing.

Our recommendation is that when you find a quality waxing salon, with well-trained and qualified waxing therapists, stick with them. Waxing is not a beauty treatment where you follow the trend or try a new salon due to a special offer promotion. Your bikini wax is too important. Find a good salon and stay with them.

Lagoon Wimbledon is a specialist waxing salon and has performed over 18,000 Brazilian and Hollywood bikini waxes in the last decade. As with all of Lagoon’s bikini wax services, the salon uses quality hot wax for Brazilian waxing as this is more comfortable for sensitive areas of the body.

Hollywood Wax

A Hollywood wax is the removal of all pubic hair. Hollywood waxing is for ladies who absolutely don’t want any hair at the front, in-between or at the back inside buttock area.

The service is very similar to a Brazilian wax in that all pubic hair is removed from the labia, perineum and anus (so from underneath and behind). Many women prefer this for hygiene reasons. The key difference is a Brazilian wax leaves a small strip of hair on top and a Hollywood wax removes absolutely everything from the pubic bone as well. Like a Brazilian wax, you will need to remove your underwear for a Hollywood to allow the therapist to undertake the waxing.

Hollywood wax is the most popular bikini waxing choice for ladies. As Heather Jung, C0-Founder of Lagoon Wimbledon explains, “At Lagoon we statistically see a trend of approximately twice as many women opting for a Hollywood wax compared to a Brazilian. Hollywood waxing is definitely the number one bikini wax choice”.

It’s Your Choice

Now you know what your options are. The question is now, which bikini wax will you go for? As one of our valued clients once succinctly commented, “the right bikini wax is the one that makes you feel feminine and like a woman”. There is no right of wrong answer to this, just your own personal choice.