• In conversation with Waxed Colombo’s Yolande Gunawijeya

From waxing to shaving, we’ve heard it all. But have you ever wondered what’s true and what’s just a myth? The Sunday Morning Brunch caught up with Yolande Gunawijeya, the woman behind the well-known Waxed Colombo, for more information to clear up the confusion. She’s here to rip off the band-aid on all hair removal myths and give us the real deal. 

Yolande is the owner of Waxed Colombo, a body waxing studio that has been in operation for years. At Waxed Colombo, therapists don’t just specialise in waxing, they are full-blown beauty experts. From manicures and gel colours to acrylics and hair treatments, Waxed Colombo has you covered from head to toe and everything in between! 

Yolande also owns The Bottom-Line Events, one of Sri Lanka’s longest-running event companies. She has always had a variety of interests, including fashion, design, beauty, and skincare, which led her to run her own businesses. She has over 15 years of experience in the event industry and over five years of salon experience. “I enjoy what I do because it represents who I am today,” Yolande told The Sunday Morning Brunch.

What inspired you to launch Waxed Colombo?

My motivation in founding Waxed Colombo was to establish a place where the middle-class could relish in premium quality services and products at reasonable prices. I wanted a place where people could come and feel confident that they would receive excellent service without having to spend a fortune. Even in these difficult times, we are attempting to maintain our initial goal.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and bust some waxing myths with some honest questions that will help many make a decision about waxing.

As Founder and CEO of Waxed, what are your views on choosing to shave instead of waxing?

My honest opinion is that I do not recommend shaving. When it comes to hair removal methods, waxing and shaving have polar opposite outcomes. Waxing eradicates hair entirely from its roots, resulting in a duration of three to four weeks before regrowth. In contrast, shaving only removes hair from the surface, causing it to grow back in a mere three days to a week. Shaving can also irritate the skin because most people do it at home and have to go over the same spots multiple times. I would definitely recommend waxing instead of shaving.

Many assume waxing pulls the skin and leaves it wrinkled. What’s your take on this?

If performed improperly, waxing can lead to wrinkles. However, to avoid pulling or stretching of the skin when waxing sensitive areas, the waxing therapists should keep the skin taut and tight while they wax. It’s one of the first things we teach our therapists at Waxed, because not only does keeping the skin tight during waxing prevent wrinkles but also ensures that the service is as painless as possible.

Is it true that soft wax hurts more than hard wax? How does one pick the right type of wax?

It honestly depends on which parts of the skin you’re waxing. For instance, when waxing underarm hair, we mainly use hard wax as it’s better for that specific area of skin. However, when waxing hands and legs we tend to use soft wax. We always recommend coming in for a patch test a few days in advance to select which wax is better for your skin and the best part is that it’s completely free for all of our clients. We have a range of waxes for clients to choose from, starting with aloe wax that’s better for sensitive skin to our basic fruit wax. 

‘Your hair needs to be really long in order to be waxed.’ What’s your take on this?

The hair does not need to be extremely long, but it should be at least a quarter of an inch long or the size of a grain of rice. This helps to ensure that all hair is removed from the root. 

Is it okay to tweeze ingrown hairs post waxing? 

Definitely not. Specifically, not right after waxing! All that will do is irritate your skin and hair follicles. Instead, what I recommend is moisturising your body every night to prevent ingrown hairs and coming in for a body scrub at least four to six days after waxing to help get rid of ingrown hairs. It’s all about maintenance, at the end of the day. If you follow these simple steps, you’ll hardly ever have any ingrown hairs.

Are there any side effects to waxing?

Post waxing, skin can get irritated if you don’t take care of it properly. However, this can be easily remedied with a few aftercare tips that we almost always recommend to our clients after every waxing session at Waxed. These are:

• Wear loose clothing for at least a day or two after waxing to let your skin breathe.
• Don’t be abrasive with your skin for a couple of days.
• Try to keep your skin cool by washing with only cold water.

‘Waxing causes premature ageing.’ What do you think about this statement?

That is very much a myth. I think this correlates with waxing causing wrinkles. As long as your waxing therapist is keeping your skin tight, nothing will become an issue.

What do you think is an important aspect of waxing that people underestimate?

Waxing is not the same as it was 10 years ago; it’s not only about hair removal anymore. Most waxes we use nowadays have ingredients and properties that are beneficial for one’s skin. For example, our aloe wax that is specifically made for sensitive skin – it has ingredients such as aloe vera that soothes the skin – or our golden wax that leaves skin beautiful and glowing like a shine from within. This aspect of waxing is totally underestimated today, which is quite sad.