Monday, August 16, 2010

Wax on, wax off, wax on again

Do you know where your wax has been? A client gets waxed at Riccarton House of Beauty. [Photo by John Kirk-Anderson/The Press]

I was shocked to read in The Press today that some New Zealand wax parlours reuse their hot wax! The recycled wax is boiled to kill any bacteria, and if there is blood in the wax (ugh!), heating is enough to kill any viruses as well. However, human papillomavirus, the virus that causes warts, can survive the sterilisation process and could be passed on.

One Christchurch salon that admitted to the dubious practice, claimed the wax was perfectly safe, and assured us that filtering of the wax ensured that there would be "absolutely no hairs in it." They said that by replacing the wax weekly, instead of after each client, meant that they were more environmentally-friendly. Angela Graham, of the National School of Aesthetics said she was "disgusted" and that reusing wax was not "client-friendly."

It would definitely be worth booking early in the week the next time you fork out $70 for a Brazilian!

2 comments:

  1. ewwwwwwww thats real gross! Makes me feel better that I can't use many types of wax as am allergic to the main ingredient!

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