MarLa Sink Druzgal

I finally de-Ewok’d on Friday. Or, more accurately, de-Sasquatch’d, since after announcing that my trainer called me that in early October, I began hearing the nickname from friends and family as well.

But before we get to that, I want to apologize to Ohio resident Tammy Rogers. Tammy was wonderful and sent in two photos for the Stick Your Head in Something Contest, as well as a wonderful picture of a Bigfoot Crossing sign. She’s a new reader to my blog and gave me great feedback on my posts.

And I then forgot to include her photos in the contest! Tammy will be receiving a special gift from me as thanks for entering and for the great bigfoot crossing photo in today’s blog. She was very gracious in accepting my apology for the mistake and I’m so grateful that I have such friendly and forgiving readers!

I hope they’ll all forgive this photo of my pre-waxing leg as well. I photographed only the leg before and after, because I think there are enough photos of bearded women on the internet that we really didn’t need one more, and I’m certainly not going to photograph my hoo-ha. This blog only shows eye porn, not the real thing. 😉

Some people have asked me why I wax my legs, especially why I continue to do so in winter. I don’t always answer, because I think you either get it or you don’t; you’re not actually looking to be persuaded. But then I thought, why not answer?

Why Waxing?

I guess maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just satisfy the curiosity of my readers on this whole waxing thing. To catch you up, I am a relatively hairy gal, made more so with hormones and age. Waxing is my removal method of choice. It began with making my eyebrows a little tidier and removing some hairs near my upper lip, as well as occasional bikini waxes for the beach. Then one day I finally got sick of shaving my legs only to have rough stubble by the time I wanted to be romantic with the hubs at night.

I was also tired of the horticultural equivalent of an acre of rainforest between my thighs.

These frustrations were around the time my body was changing and my DNA becoming part-Ewok, complete with whiskers and dark fuzz on my cheeks. I’ve seen this look on older relatives and swore I would never not do something if I inherited the Endor gene.

I inherited the Endor gene.

I made an appointment to have a Brazilian (that’s a fully waxed hoo-ha, if you aren’ t familiar), a full leg and foot wax (I could easily be a foot stand-in for Bilbo Baggins), arms, hands and a full face wax. I knew after my first full body waxing that I would keep waxing as long as we could afford it. The legs are my favorite. I love that feeling of smooth skin and finer hair. I love showers taking less than 5 minutes on non-hair-washing days. I love looking in the mirror and seeing a neatly-groomed pair of eyebrows and someone other than Kevin Smith staring back at me.

As for the Brazilian, it’s another thing you either “get” or you don’t. It’s not about the look as much as it is about the feel. But I do like playing with the look as well. I also like to make up my own styles and names. There are several types of modified Brazilian, as well as something I call the alien landing strip. It’s fun. It’s liberating. It’s was my choice to do it the first time and my choice to continue it ever since.

Isn’t it painful and irritating?

My skin is sensitive, so I have to take an antacid beginning a couple days before waxing to reduce redness, and since I’m already sensitive to caffeine, I also stop drinking caffeine usually up to a week before. This reduces pain sensitivity and breakouts for me. I don’t take pain meds for waxing. I have a strange sense of pride that comes with pain, but for me it was only really painful the first time, when the hair was coarse and thick from shaving, and I hadn’t had it done before.

I consider myself a waxing pro now, and my hair has become more fine and sparse where I regularly wax.

I like not having to shave for a month (you can go 5-6 weeks but my preference is monthly). My husband and I both like that even as the hair grows in, there is no stubble or roughness. Unless it gets to a 2-month stage (like this waxing) it doesn’t become noticeable to see, and is still soft to touch.

I don’t wax everything. I generally leave my arms alone (which is difficult because they’re also relatively hairy, but there is something about hair-free arms that is strangely creepy looking.) I don’t wax my armpits. Although it’s supposedly the most painful area to be waxed, I know I could handle that part. What prevents me from doing it is the belief that this is one of the most important areas on the body for removal of toxins, and that hair plays a role in that process. (Hey, it’s my body, my opinions. Do what you want with yours.)

I hope your weekend was as enjoyable as mine. I hope you voted for your favorite photo in my head-in-something contest to help one lucky reader win a jar of apple butter.

And now…on to election week.

Love, Marla