Waxing, when successful, removes hair from the root and can last up to six weeks. So why isn’t skin always hair-free for a full six weeks and you can see re-growth much sooner? It depends on many factors on what the results will personally be for you.
Factor # 1: Hair Growth Cycle
Basically, there are three stages of hair: growing, resting and transitional. At any given time approximately 80 – 90% of hair follicles are in the growth phase and the rest are either in the transitional phase (2- 3%) or in the resting phase (10 – 15%).
What this means: There is probably some hair underneath the skin growing that hasn’t reached the surface yet, or it is above, but isn’t long enough to be grasped. So of course waxing isn’t going to be able to grasp these hairs and remove them. In the next few days or weeks to come you will see these hairs noticeably appear, depending on their thickness and color. Even if they are the same length, dark, thick hair will start to show much sooner than say light, fine hair.
This does depend on how often you get waxed. If you get waxed every two to four weeks for a couple of times then all hair will have had the chance to be removed from the root. You will then notice that the skin is staying hair free longer and you’ll be able to go longer between appointments.
Factor # 2: Personal Hair Growth Cycle
Different areas of the face and body don’t spend the same amount of time in these three phases. Men and women have also been found to spend different amounts of time in the growth hair phase, even in the same body area. Age, season, hormone levels and genetics also play a part of these personal cycles.
What this means: Your leg waxing won’t necessarily last you the same amount of time as your friend’s or grow back in sync with the bikini wax you got on the same day. Even if the areas you got waxed essentially have the same hair growth cycles, you’ll notice or feel thick or dark hair (like in the bikini line) much more than fine, light facial hair re-growth.
Factor #3: Breakage
The aim of waxing is to remove the entire follicle from the root. In a perfect world with ideal circumstances and fail proof technicians, this each and every hair would be successfully removed– every time. However, this is not the case. Often when the hair is being waxed, instead of being removed from the root, it breaks off above or even below the skin’s surface. There are a lot of factors that come into play into why it breaks off- the length of hair, the type of wax used, the quality of wax used and skill of the technician. Although professionals can break the hair, it’s much more likely if you do your own at home session.
What this means: Hair that is broken has not been removed from the follicle. You’ll see hair much sooner than you thought you would. If it broke above the skin, then results will last comparable to shaving. If it broke below you have a couple of days. And because breakage creates a sharp edge, often ingrown hair follows.
Factor #4: How Often
Someone that gets waxed (or uses any method that removes hair from the root) regularly will often cause the follicle to become damaged over time and cause a reduction where it comes back finer or just stops growing altogether. Again, if there is any reduction in hair and how soon it will happen after being repeatedly waxed will vary from depends on the person, their age, genetics and the area.
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