How much does bikini waxing during pregnancy hurt REALLY?

I’ve googled a lot of things during this pregnancy, in fact there are few things I’d rather do less than show you my search history, but one of the more trivial things I’ve given undue mental attention to has been the question of bikini waxing. I’d always been aware that my salon offered pregnancy waxing on the treatment menu so I knew I “could” carry on waxing, my fears were more about whether it would hurt like a *expletive redacted*. Or ya know, hurt more than a *expletive redacted* than usual.

Now OBVIOUSLY I know there are more important things to worry about during pregnancy, like why Starbucks haven’t created a Gaviscon frappuccino yet, but as someone who usually gets “everything off” regularly I wasn’t really sure what to do once there were a couple of kids growing inside me. Anyone familiar with waxing will know that where you are in your menstrual cycle can really affect pain levels; you can have been waxing for years and suddenly find a trip to the salon unbearable because of a poorly scheduled appointment. So my main concern was that I simply wouldn’t be able to get through the pain. And why give myself something extra to moan about? When everything is hurting anyway, adding your undercarriage to proceedings seemed like a slightly sadistic thing to do.

But then that holiday of mine came along and I realised I really really needed to come up with a solution. I googled liked crazy (welcome to my default reaction to all pregnancy problems, despite being told by everyone ever Not To Google) and the general consensus on forums was that yes, it would hurt like hell, thanks for asking. But one thing I noticed was that a lot of people contributing to these forums were first time waxers and OF COURSE going for your first ever intimate wax whilst pregnant is going to be a bit crap. I wanted to hear from pregnant women who have been waxing for years, not people who genuinely thought a good alternative to waxing was getting their partner to shave them as part of a “sexy game”.

So in the end, having seen my reflection in my new swimsuits and found it nothing short of hilarious, I bit the bullet and just booked in with my usual waxer a couple of days before the holiday. I booked a specific pregnancy slot (no extra charge where I get waxed) so that my therapist would have additional time with me and I made it clear when I got there that I WAS VERY FRIGHTENED.

Now luckily I have one of the nicest waxers in the world (Olga at Strip Chelsea, go see her!) and she was able to make sure I was completely comfortable throughout. I’d gladly have Olga at the birth actually, she made me so relaxed. We also agreed that we’d start “outside in”, so that if it did get too painful I could have stopped and still had a nice shape. In the end though, I went full Hollywood and whilst it *did* hurt a bit more than usual, it really wasn’t that bad at all. And it was so so worth it to then be on hols and not think about it. God knows what sort of mayhem I’d have unleashed with a Bic.

If you’ve seen my pregnancy beauty faves video, you’ll have seen I mentioned how I couldn’t use Tend Skin after waxing. This was probably the hardest part of the whole pregnancy waxing experience! Tend Skin is one of my absolute hero products (as blogged about here) and having read it shouldn’t be used in pregnancy, I was a bit flummoxed as to what to do to calm post-wax irritation and prevent ingrowns with regrowth. Luckily though, I’d bought a bottle of Lycon’s anti bump foaming gel wash ages ago and this was enough to keep any lumps and bumps at bay. It’s packed full of goodies like arnica, calendula and lemon tea tree and I would DEFINITELY recommend you have something like this on hand post-wax. For me, post-waxing aftercare is as important as a good wax itself, so if you have a fave post-wax product I’d check it’s pregnancy safe before you get to appointment day. I was surprised Tend Skin wasn’t recommended (it’s the aspirin, apparently) so I was glad I checked. Granted it’s probably an overly cautious warning on behalf of the manufacturers, but I wasn’t happy to risk using it – especially knowing how much I like to slather it on.

All in all, I’d say if you’re a regular waxer and you want to get waxed while pregnant then don’t worry about it being massively painful. I had a particularly good therapist who I really trust and I do think this makes a big difference, but if you were getting waxed regularly pre-pregnancy then you no doubt rate your therapist too. Obviously you only want to go to a salon that you’re confident is clean and safe, but that would be true for anyone getting waxed and isn’t pregnancy specific. I’d always recommend going to a salon that specialises in waxing – as opposed to a nail bar/hairdressers etc – but there are good therapists all over the place and if you can get a referral from a friend then I’d trust that more than anything else. Also look out for places that specifically offer pregnancy waxing as these salons will appreciate that we are particularly achey, tired and – latterly – big! You should be able to get a more supportive bed/pillow sitch if you book in for one of these slots.

Would I recommend getting your first ever Hollywood wax whilst preg? No. I think I’d feel too mean to suggest that would be a comfortable experience for a first-timer. But women do of course do it! So if you want to then just go ahead, grit your teeth and try not to be too annoyed by people who say “if you think that hurts, wait til you actually have the baby!”. *Eye rolls forever*.

I’m not sure I’ll get waxed again during this pregnancy and I really only went ahead because of going on hols, but I *think* I probably will. I know there’s a big debate about the ridiculousness of getting waxed pre-birth, but I can see the arguments on both sides. If you’re not used to shaving, the idea of being confronted with a razor pre-delivery is probably more off-putting than hot wax!

Whatever you decide, do what’s right for you. Yes there are bigger things to worry about in pregnancy than straggling hairs, but sometimes it’s a welcome break to worry about the nonsensical.

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