Can I get a face wax after a facial?

It’s tempting to combine a couple of beauty treatments at the salon to save time. And some treatments pair beautifully, such as an eyebrow wax followed by an eyebrow tint — it simply makes sense to get your brows coloured after they’ve been shaped. However, other treatments,¬†such as face waxing after a facial, should never be teamed up.

During a facial your skin’s sensitivity is generally increased so you may experience some redness, inflammation and irritation afterwards. This will depend on the type and strength of facial you’ve opted for — will you be having a chemical peel, microdermabrasion, facial scrub, pore extraction, blackhead removal treatment or a simple aromatherapy massage? And have you had one before and experienced any side effects, like scarring, breakouts and dryness?

Some skin peels (and home skincare products) contain chemical ingredients called AHA and BHA that cause the skin to become dry and irritated. Waxing over skin that hasn’t had the time to recover from the effects of these ingredients, in either cosmetic products or facials, is a no no. Remember that waxing causes mild trauma to the skin, which quickly subsides under normal circumstances, but if the skin has not healed properly after a facial then waxing could cause unnecessary pain and damage to the skin.

We’d advise waiting a few days after your facial to get a face wax to guarantee that your skin is back to normal before your therapist begins.