Hair Removal Tips and Tricks from Hibba NYC

This week, I had the chance to sit down with Hibba Kipal, a fantastic hair removal specialist with an organic salon, Hibba NYC, in SoHo. She learned the art of threading as a young girl in India, and now she offers sugaring and waxing as well. With bathing suit and short season upon us, it can become a pain to keep up with hair removal. If you are thinking of trying salon hair removal but you are nervous about the process, read on for Hibba’s tips!

Hibba recommends that if you’ve only ever shaved before that you start with waxing your first few visits. This will allow the hair to grow back softer, making the transition to sugaring a little easier. She also advises that you ask your beautician to do a patch test of the sugar before you have an entire area done to be sure that your skin isn’t irritated by it.

Nervous about your first wax? Here’s what Hibba suggests:

– Exfoliate the area the day of your appointment. This will loosen the hair a bit and open the pores so that it is easier to remove.
– Pop an Advil two hours before your appointment to reduce swelling afterward.
– Sip a glass of wine an hour before (”a glass, not the whole bottle!”)
– Stick to either shaving or waxing/sugaring, don’t alternate. It will make the removal easier if you just use one method.

For facial hair, Hibba recommends threading because it is a minimum contact method that also gets rid of the finer hairs that waxing sometimes misses. She says to not pluck your eyebrows at least 3 weeks before you have them done so the beautician has more to work with. Lucky for Hibba, my brows hadn’t been coiffed in months, so she had plenty to work with (and she shaped them fantastically too! Thank goodness!)

Hibba also shared a home beauty recipe with me for you to try at home!

Skin Cooling Gel
Use this after sun exposure or, as Hibba does, on the face after threading. Just mix one part aloe vera with three parts rosewater!