Before heading to Miami I stopped by European Wax Center for a bikini wax. I had heard about them through a friend (they have countless locations around the country), and when I checked their prices I was surprised to see how affordable they were (especially if you’re a first timer). Better yet, the chain is super, super clean and the services are performed in spacious private rooms. I was caught off guard a bit however because they don’t use wax stripes, they use self-hardening wax that then gets peeled (or yanked…), off. Hard wax sounded like it was going to be more painful so I had a mini freakout inside, but it turns out that unlike strips it’s designed to cling to the hair, not skin so it was considerably less painful. My waxer was also super quick and efficient. If you sugar or wax with stripes I’d highly recommend checking out one of European Wax Center’s locations. Their wax is proprietary, was developed in France, and was 10 years in making to make sure it’s as painless and effective as possible.

I’m not saying it won’t hurt, but coming from someone who has been waxing with stripes for over a decade, it hurt a lot less (and I didn’t remember to take my usual Advil before!).