Terrifiying, yet oddly thrilling

I got my underarms waxed today.
I also re-learned that we don’t call them “armpits”. It’s underarms.

I caught the 14 limited after work which would drop me off at 16th or 24th (both are an even distance from my apartment) and I got off at 16th. I decided to go get my brows waxed since it’s been a while and they were starting to look really bushy. After you hit about 35 your eyebrows start doing weird stuff if you leave them alone.

Five bucks for a wax at the SF College of Beauty.
Also $5 for a manicure but I don’t want to get those there anymore, to many bad memories of getting cut.

The wait was short. Five minutes, tops. It was sunny in the window waiting area and I enjoyed the warm.

Back to the Facial Room. I always feel so special when they take me to the Facial Room.
Little did I know at the moment how special I would feel in less than half an hour.

This time around there were two of them. One a new student, young Asian girl and one was the instructor, older Asian woman. Probably not much older than me.

Younger worked while Older instructed and the whole thing went pretty well, except the wax kept getting hotter and hotter until near the end I said, "hey, the wax is pretty hot".
Older said that the machine was broke down and they needed a new one.
OK, we were almost done anyway and I really can take a lot of pain to the face.

Right about then the door popped open and a woman said are you ok to take an underarm? Older said, sure, no problem and I said, “ooh, you do armpits? I want my armpits done”
“You mean your underarms?”
Me coyly, “yesssss”.
“Ok, after this next man, you can go, just pay the cashier and wait”.
“Mmmkay”

It was an Indian man. Like from India. He looked like a businessperson, maybe owned his own store or hotel. I have no idea why he was getting his arm-- underarms done but he was. At the SF College of Beauty.

Different strokes.

Then, he was done. They readied the room and called me back, WOO HOO!

Older says, “take of your shirt”.
Terrifying and oddly thrilling.
I stripped down to my bra and turned to the younger, since older was out of the room. “Should I take off my bra, too?” This was when I realized she did not have one word of English.
I pointed to my chestal region and pantomime like take the bra off, she says “No, no, keep, keep”.
I kept.
Older came back.
“Lay on the table.
Both arms over head”. Oh yeah, they are gonna double team me!
Whee!

Flashback.
I waxed my own armpits, I mean underarms, once. By myself. Alone.
I did it with fully-grown hair and all in one fell swoop.

There were a few tears.

Back to the story.
Younger is stationed at Leftie and Older is on Rightie.
They begin discussing the state of my pits in a language that I do not know.
Younger points at Leftie and says, “What’s that?”
I peer over and see a bit of burgundy fuzz that came from the shirt I wore today. It is after work and I am a bit sweaty. It could have looked like a scab to an outward observer. I pick it off and hold it up for her and say, “FUZZ” and flick it into the ether.
Maybe it was on the floor. Either way, she grabbed a pair of scissors.
Scissors.

EEP!!

“What are you gonna do with them things?” My backwoods country fuck side sometimes comes out when I’m scared.
“Too long, we cut”
Oh.
She started going at my pits with the scissors like a landscaper after a hedge.

There was no more than three weeks growth in there; it was not more than a quarter inch long, I swear.
I just lay there waiting for her to nip me and eventually she did.
Ouch.
I said “Ow. Dammit, I knew that was going to happen”. Older looked at me in a comforting way. She had a strange yellow spot on her forehead. I tried not to stare at it.
Then they started waxing me.
Double team.
With large Popsicle sticks they dip in the hot wax and then blow on it before putting on my sensitive pit skin.
Terrifying, yet oddly thrilling, these unsanitary procedures you have.

Just do not cut me anymore, I will be good.

The wiping on of the wax was the worst part. Much stretching of very sensitive skin.
The thing that surprised me was they did not do it all in one rip. They did six or seven small areas. Older explained to me that they had to do it in the direction the hair grows and the hair grows in all different directions (in that area), therefore, they had to do many small patch rather than one large one.

Another strange thing was the fact that the two of them were working me both at the same time. I tried to be ready for each rip, but one would distract me and the other would rip, so I would go “AI!!” with every rip.
All three of us found this hi-larious and were very soon reduced to giggles over the whole thing.

Overall, it was a good experience and I would recommend it.