A few years ago, I came across a young relative's copy of Seventeen. The lead article had a story about what to do when you get your period at school. While most of us have overcome the embarrassment of getting our periods and buying feminine products in the stores, there are still a few topics that remain more or less embarrassing to discuss that involve what should be a woman’s normal cycle.
For example, what does a woman do when she is scheduled to go on a trip to Hawaii or some other tropical destination and is in need of a bikini wax while she is on her period? This hasn’t happened to me yet, but it did happen to a friend of a friend recently who was getting ready for a trip to Mexico when Aunt Flo came early.
She was embarrassed. Who wouldn’t be? But because she is an extremely brave individual, she was able to contact the salon where she prefers to get her waxing done to determine just how squeamish the waxers are about menstruation during a bikini wax.
Her particular waxer was pretty upfront about the process. In the aesthetician’s line of work, you get to see pretty much everything. Up close and personal.
So, the woman’s waxer recommended that she wear a tampon and get creative with the dangling string. I’m not kidding. It sounds gross, but it was the truth.
The woman was able to go to the salon on one of her light days and get an extended bikini wax; the waxer wasn’t all that interested in giving her a full Brazilian, so she didn’t “go there.”
After hearing this story, I checked around on the Internet and on the phone to see if this was a common occurrence or if the woman just had an extra-ordinarily accommodating waxer. And, believe it or not, most salons that I found online and by phone said that they would accommodate women who absolutely need a wax for whatever reason, even when they are on their menstrual periods.
Which is good news to women who prefer waxing to shaving. It’s not always easy to schedule vacation time around a menstrual cycle, especially when taking into account other preparations that may go into the vacation schedule in advance. Like packing and booking tickets.
So, don’t worry if you find yourself bleeding right before a tropical vacation. You may be able to get yourself waxed after all if you just check around.