More often than not, waxing is a squirmish experience for most of us, especially when it comes to a bikini wax. After all, don’t we feel naked and examined minutely by the piercing, intimidating eyes of the esthetician? But ladies, hang on. If you’re only worried about shedding your robes and exposing your skin to a stranger, think twice, for it seems that there is a bigger evil to steer clear from – double dipping wax.
Double dipping is the practice of dipping a spatula in a wax pot, applying the scooped wax on the skin, and re-dipping the same spatula in the same wax pot multiple times. Think of it like dipping a tortilla chip in salsa sauce, taking a bite, and re-dipping the same chip (that now has your saliva on it) in the sauce. Gross, isn’t it? No wonder that leading countries in the world like the US, the UK, and Canada have raised red flags on double dipping.
In this blog, we’ll explain why this practice is dangerous for you and why you should say NO to this evil at the salon once and for all.
It is a breeding ground for bacteria and germs
- Salons who advocate for double dipping argue that the high temperature in the wax pot kills bacteria and prevents their multiplication. Wrong.
- To keep bacteria and germs at bay, wax needs to be heated to a minimum of 170 degrees Fahrenheit, which is close to 76 degrees Celsius. Heating wax to such a high temperature will only result in skin inflammation, rashes, damaged tissues, and folliculitis, the condition wherein bacteria gets into the hair follicles and creates pustules on the skin.
- Thus, for minimizing such risks, the temperature inside the wax pot is kept slightly higher than the body temperature, i.e., around 55 to 60 degrees, making it an ideal, nasty home to germs and bacteria.
You run the risk of catching infections and diseases
- Just picture this: you are treated with the same spatula that has extracted hair and accumulated sweat from a woman’s underarms. To make matters yuckier, consider that the spatula isn’t even sterilized.
- When waxing the underarms, the exposed follicles tend to secrete more bodily fluids. Re-dipping the spatula deposits the remnants of perspiration into the wax pot. Add to it the danger of contracting STDs, bacterial infections like staph, and other problems that can be passed on to you.
- Some salons are trained to believe that it is safe to double dip, unless there is blood on the spatula or going for a bikini wax. However, the truth is that double dipping compromises on the integrity of your skin and takes a toll on your health simultaneously.