Waxing hurts: Anyone who’s seen The 40-Year-Old-Virgin knows that. But some body parts are notably more painful to have waxed than others, so to help better understand what kind of pain you might be in for, I asked Melanie Mari, owner and licensed esthetician at Bare Skin Studio, to help me rank every body part by how painful they are to have waxed.
Keep in mind, however, that one man’s five on the pain scale may very well be another man’s I-am-going-to-die-immediately, so this ranking might differ from your personal experience. With that, let’s rank some pain…
1. Pubic Area and Chest (tied): “These are interchangeable depending on who you ask,” Mari explains, adding that the density and coarseness of the hairs in said areas is really what dictates the amount of pain you might feel when the esthetician tears them out. “The worst, worst parts of this are the sides of the shaft. I don’t tell people that they suck until after we’ve done them—that way, I can say, ‘Congratulations, you’ve made it through the worst parts of the waxing. Everything after this is a walk in the park.’”
2. Taint: Mari says that the taint is the second most painful area to have waxed, which makes sense, since this area is chock-full of pain-sensing nerves.
3. Butt (and Butt Crack): While the butt cheeks rank third on our list, Mari makes a point to note that, “The butt crack isn’t that bad.” Well, sign me up, then!
4. Underarms: The underarms are home to many different nerves and lymph nodes, which means you can expect quite a bit of pain while having this area waxed.
5. Testicles: I was shocked when Mari said that having your balls waxed is less painful than all of the above areas, but her reasoning is sound: “It depends on coarseness and density of the hair, but generally, the hair on balls isn’t that dense—it’s just long.” Good to know!
6. Back: While you can expect some pain while having your back waxed, Mari says that it should be fairly reasonable.
7. Legs: Having your legs waxed might sting, but you won’t even flinch if you can handle having your pubes waxed.
8. Arms: Having your arms waxed should be an absolute breeze, according to Mari.
Great! I’ll take, er, one arm-waxing, please.