I’ve been getting a monthly Brazilian wax for about 3 years now. I started almost a year after I had my first daughter, after a recommendation from my aunt and cousin that I would love it. The pain… is intense but they weren’t wrong. There have been a few times that I’ve gone without it for a month or two here and there but for the most part, I’ve been consistent. It’s an expensive habit but at this point, it’s one of the only things that I do that requires me to leave the house without my kids, to do something totally and completely for my own satisfaction.
I’ve become a really low maintenance person (because girl, I’m just trying to survive). I don’t get my hair and nails done regularly, so waxing is the only thing I do!
In the past, I’ve synced up my wax appointments with a friend or, more regularly, my sister-in-law. We would get pedicures and go out shopping or to lunch after. It is a special day of the month that I look forward to. But, with it only being a couple of hours of 1 day out of 30, it puts a lot of pressure on that day and for the past 3 months, my little me time has been under attack!
Misadventure 1
First of all, since the summer I’ve been going alone because with our kids starting back school and extracurricular activities, it got way too complicated lining up schedules with my wax buddy (sad face).
Then, with the holidays and me traveling for work in December, I have had to reschedule my wax appointment at least twice a month since October, before being able to make it. In December I think I rescheduled it 3 times! This is not only annoying because I have to keep juggling my mom & wife duties around my me duties, while also working with my husband’s odd work schedule so that I can make the appointments. And the longer you go without being waxed… the more hair you grow back… and the more hair you have… well, I think you know where this is going.
Misadventure 2
One time I even had to cancel it and go an extra week without my wax because I got a flat tire on my way there! I’ve never had a flat tire. EVER. I had to wait for a ride to get home then go back and get the car later. IT WAS A HOT MESS.
Misadventure 3
Then finally, once I was able to make it for my December appointment, (despite their scheduling system being down and me just showing up and getting lucky that they were able to take me), my waxer announces that she is quitting and moving to South Dakota to be with her boyfriend. GIRL! Lol, It is so hard to find a waxer who you are comfortable with AND who knows what to do and with minimal direction. Some girls just get it, ya know? IT took me a long time to find someone who I liked and literally after her second time waxing me, she’s gone. Back to the beginning!
See what I mean? Under. Attack.
This may seem like a lot of first world problems (it is) but seriously my misadventures in waxing lately are just a microcosm of my bigger issue with the ‘self-care movement’. Every health and wellness site or internet guru has posted about the importance of self-care and their recommendations for a self-care routine for all. Trust me, I truly understand how much we all need it, but no one talks about how the whole thing can be a scam for moms. Even with my waxing appointments (the successful ones), I can’t remember a time when I truly tuned out and didn’t have to worry about hand expressing milk while I was away, checking in on the kids, returning home to cook dinner on time or making sure all of my daughters pre-K work was done before I left so we wouldn’t be backed up on a Sunday night. My internal to-do list and train of thought while out ‘self-caring’ are longer than that sentence I just typed!
BUT! Persist I shall. I’m not going to stop getting my waxes. Even if the devil wants to throw things like flat tires and 40-minute traffic jams at me, I will keep trying to carve out those tiny moments where I get to feel like the young woman I am deep (deep) down inside, and not the beat-up old mom that I am 24/7.
