What Post Wax Oil Do Professional Waxers Use?
By Tawnya Fornerod, founder of Just The Strip and a licensed esthetician of almost 25 years who owns multiple waxing studios.
Professional waxers use two different oils around every wax: a light sunflower Pre and Post Wax Oil, smoothed on before the wax and used to lift any residue after it, and Nourishing Oil, which is always the final step, both on the treatment table after the ingrown hair serum and at home every day. For sensitive skin, the post wax oil pros reach for in the room is Simply Unscented Pre and Post Wax Oil, our fragrance free option made of pure sunflower oil, and the take home oil we recommend is Plain Jane Nourishing Oil, which has no added fragrance with a touch of tea tree and copaiba and is nut free. Clients can use a few drops of Nourishing Oil right after the wax, once the serum has dried, and once a day between appointments.
In our studios, the oil conversation happens at the treatment table almost every day, usually when a guest with sensitive skin asks what we just used and what to use at home. I love that question, because the answer is simple once you see that each oil has its own beautiful job. Here is how I explain it to the pros we work with.
What post wax oil do professional waxers use in the treatment room?
In the treatment room, the oil that works alongside the wax itself is Pre and Post Wax Oil, a professional back bar oil made with one light ingredient at its heart, sunflower oil. Before the service, a thin layer over clean, dry skin creates a light barrier so hard wax and strip wax grip the hair rather than the skin, and after the service a little massaged over the area lifts sticky residue and leaves the skin soft and hydrated. It is sold to licensed professionals in a 16 oz glass bottle with a pump for each room or a gallon to refill from, and it is made by us in small batches in Southern Oregon.
If you are deciding between oil and powder, or would like the step by step on how much oil to use under strip wax, our post on pre wax oil or powder and how to remove wax residue walks through it in detail, so here I want to focus on choosing the right post wax oil for sensitive skin.
Which post wax oil is best for sensitive skin?
For sensitive skin in the treatment room, Simply Unscented is the Pre and Post Wax Oil we recommend, because it is pure sunflower oil and nothing else, our fragrance free option for guests with sensitive skin and for anyone who prefers no scent at all. Dreamsicle, our vanilla and citrus favorite, and Sandalwood Vanilla are lovely for guests who enjoy a soft scent in the room.
For clients with very sensitive skin, a patch test before the first service is a thoughtful step, and Pre and Post Wax Oil is never used on broken or irritated skin.
What post wax oil should clients use at home?
At home, clients use Nourishing Oils, our 1 oz (30 ml) retail oils made for daily aftercare, while Pre and Post Wax Oil stays in the treatment room. Every scent shares the same base of grape seed and jojoba oils with tea tree leaf oil and copaiba resin oil, and three to five drops massaged into clean skin, once the ingrown hair serum has dried, hydrate the skin right after waxing, sugaring or shaving. Two or three drops are plenty on the face.
Used every day between appointments, Nourishing Oil softens the hair, the skin and the follicle, so with regular use the hair slides out of the follicle much more easily at the next wax. It is one of the two products our customers reorder most, for men and women alike.
Why is Plain Jane our post wax oil for sensitive skin?
Plain Jane Nourishing Oil is the one we recommend for sensitive skin, the face and anyone with a nut allergy. It is made with just four ingredients, grape seed oil, jojoba oil, tea tree leaf oil and copaiba resin oil, and it has no added fragrance with a touch of tea tree and copaiba, which gives it a soft, natural scent of its own. Plain Jane is also our nut free Nourishing Oil.
For guests who love a scent, Slow Your Roll is made with lavender essential oil, Silky Smooth is sandalwood, Dreamsicle is our orange vanilla favorite and Lemon Dream is a bright vanilla lemon. These four scented oils include sweet almond oil, so Plain Jane is the one to reach for whenever a tree nut allergy is part of the conversation.
How do pros pair the oil in the room with the oil clients take home?
The easiest routine to teach is the one your guest has already felt on the treatment table: Pre and Post Wax Oil before the wax, a little more to lift any residue if needed, then Truth Serum or Smooth Operator, and Nourishing Oil always as the final step. Many studios keep a pump of Pre and Post Wax Oil at the wax pot and the 8 oz Back Bar size of Nourishing Oil beside the treatment table, a glass pump bottle in Plain Jane, Dreamsicle, Silky Smooth and Slow Your Roll, so the oil your guest feels at the end of the service is the same one waiting on your retail shelf.
The home routine stays wonderfully simple: cleanse with Simply Pure Body Wash, apply Smooth Operator or Truth Serum and let it dry, then finish with Nourishing Oil right after the service and once a day between appointments. Remind every client to stay out of the sun for 24 hours after a wax and to wait 24 to 48 hours before using a Sugar Body Scrub or any other physical exfoliant. Our guide to post wax care in the first 48 hours covers the rest, and our post on how to choose the right oil for your waxing business and clients is a handy reference for which sizes to stock. You will find the whole routine in our Waxing Aftercare Products collection.
How can studios stock post wax oil and Nourishing Oils wholesale?
Licensed waxers, sugarists, estheticians and salon owners can buy Pre and Post Wax Oil and the 8 oz Back Bar directly, with no application and no login, and we confirm professional status on every order before it ships. For the retail shelf, Nourishing Oils PRO 3 packs are half of retail, which earns about a 100% return on every bottle that sells. You will find everything in For the Pros Only, and our post on how estheticians buy waxing aftercare wholesale explains every way to buy, with our protocols and price list close at hand in the PRO Resource Center.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best post wax oil for sensitive skin?
In the treatment room, Simply Unscented Pre and Post Wax Oil is our fragrance free option, pure sunflower oil and nothing else. At home, Plain Jane Nourishing Oil is the one we recommend for sensitive skin, with no added fragrance with a touch of tea tree and copaiba, and it is nut free.
Does Plain Jane Nourishing Oil have a scent?
Plain Jane has no added fragrance with a touch of tea tree and copaiba, and those two oils give it a soft, natural scent of its own. For a fragrance free oil in the treatment room, pros choose Simply Unscented Pre and Post Wax Oil.
When can my client start using Nourishing Oil after a wax?
Your client can start right after the wax, with three to five drops on clean skin once the ingrown hair serum has dried, and then once a day between appointments.
Which Nourishing Oil is nut free?
Plain Jane is our nut free Nourishing Oil. Slow Your Roll, Silky Smooth, Dreamsicle and Lemon Dream contain sweet almond oil, so Plain Jane is the one to choose with a tree nut allergy.
Can studios buy Nourishing Oils and Pre and Post Wax Oil wholesale?
Yes, licensed professionals can buy Pre and Post Wax Oil, the 8 oz Back Bar and Nourishing Oils PRO 3 packs at half of retail in For the Pros Only, with no application and no login, and we confirm professional status before every order ships.
A gentle routine for every guest
There is something so lovely about a service that feels as caring at the end as it did at the start, and the right oils make that feeling last long after your guest leaves the treatment table. Shop Nourishing Oils for yourself, and if you are a pro, stock Pre and Post Wax Oil and Plain Jane for your room and your shelf from For the Pros Only. Our family owned company makes every one of these oils in small batches in the hills of Southern Oregon, and we are bringing more of our manufacturing home to the United States with every step we take. If you have any question at all, or would like to ask about pro samples, reach out to us at hello@justthestrip.com.
