How long should hair on legs be to wax?

Q: Can your leg hair be too long for waxing?

In general, hair has to be about ¼ long for wax to be able to grab onto it. If its not long enough, then you (or your technician) may not be able to remove it, especially if its thick.

Whether you're a seasoned waxer or a complete newbie, removing body hair with wax can be tricky. When it comes to waxing best practices, hair length is key. So, here is the dilemma: If your hair is too short, there is a risk the wax may not be able to grasp onto the hair enough to remove it. If your hair is too long, it's easier to miss a spot, and the hair removal process can sometimes be more painful. To unveil some of the mystery surrounding waxing and hair length, we reached out to two waxing experts. Keep scrolling for their keen advice on exactly how long your hair should be before waxing.

Table of Contents Show

What to Do Between Waxes
Why Does Hair Length Matter?
Other Factors to Consider Before Waxing
Caring for Your Skin After a Wax
The Bottom Line
Can your leg hair be too long for waxing?
Can you wax short leg hair?
How long does your pubic hair need to be to wax?
How long do waxed legs stay hairless?

Meet the Expert

Deidra Green is a licensed esthetician and the field training manager at European Wax Center.
Gina Petak is a licensed esthetician and the learning program manager at European Wax Center.

Lara Callahan / Refinery29 for Getty Images

For hair to successfully be removed by waxing, the rule of thumb is that the growth needs to be about 1/4-inch, no matter where it is on the body. Not sure what that looks like? It's about the size of a sprinkle. This length ensures there is enough hair for the wax to easily grab onto. Experts also recommend letting your hair grow for at least five days in between waxing sessions.

What to Do Between Waxes

The time between waxes can be stressful, especially when your hair gets a little longer than you're comfortable with. Do you pluck? Do you shave? Long story short, you definitely should not shave, pluck, or get rid of hair in this awkward in-between stage. This can not only prolong your time in between waxes, but may also irritate your skin. The best thing to do is exfoliate regularly — this helps keep your hair follicles clear of dead skin and debris, so it's easier to wax when the time comes around.

Petak recommends exfoliating and moisturizing skin between waxing visits to ensure hair follicles stay clear and the skin barrier remains healthy.

Why Does Hair Length Matter?

If your hair is too short, the wax may not be able to grab onto the hair enough to cleanly remove it from the root. When this happens, hairs break, making achieving a smooth finish close to impossible. Longer hair is less problematic when you visit a professional waxing center as the waxing specialists are expertly trained to work with guests who have not waxed or shaved in a while. According to our experts, the only downside to waxing longer hair is that it can sometimes be more painful.

Other Factors to Consider Before Waxing

Caroline Tompkins / Refinery29 for Getty Images

Aside from hair length, there are a few other important factors to keep in mind before waxing. According to our experts, exfoliating your skin between waxing sessions is a key skincare step. Also, if you’re opting to book a waxing appointment, seek out someone who is licensed in waxing and expertly trained. It's also a good idea to make sure the waxing center you plan to visit upholds rigorous sanitation measures. Not sure what these standards are? Our experts outline what to look out for:

The wax specialist must use a set of new gloves for every guest.
All tools must be soaked in antibacterial disinfectant or disposed of after each guest.
Waxing beds must be sanitized with antibacterial wipes after each guest.
Fresh tissue paper must be placed on top of each waxing bed for every guest.
Waxing sticks must never be double-dipped.
The large waxing stir stick must be disposed of after each guest.

Caring for Your Skin After a Wax

To try to make sure your skin stays healthy after a wax, you'll want to avoid sweating, sunlight and/or heat, and wear loose clothing to let your skin "breathe" the 24 hours after your wax. After that, you're free to resume normal activities. To try to prevent ingrown hairs, you can start exfoliating a few days after your wax, or use a product specifically for ingrown hair, like the Fur Stubble Cream ($42).

The Bottom Line

If your hair is too short, reschedule your waxing appointment. If your hair is too long, you can either lightly trim the area yourself—if waxing from home—or a waxing specialist will take care of this for you during your appointment.

It's also important to note that aftercare is essential when it comes to waxing. "It's not only about what happens [during the waxing session], it's also about how you take care of your skin after," Petak explains. Caring for your skin between waxes will make the hair removal process easier. Make sure to exfoliate between visits and ask a waxing specialist to recommend products to try to treat and prevent ingrown hairs.

Your hair has to be at least 1/4-inch long, or around the size of a grain of rice, before you wax. This helps ensure that hair is completely removed from the root.

If this is your first time waxing, try to grow out hair from your most previous hair removal for around 2 weeks.

This, of course, depends on how fast and thick your hair grows. You might have to wait a longer time if your hair grows slower.

To measure your hair length, try grasping the hairs and pulling them up. If you’re unable to grasp the hairs without also pinching your skin, they might not be long enough yet.

Don’t grab the hairs too abruptly or you might accidentally pull them out entirely.

You might find that your hair grows faster or thicker in different areas of your body. For example, your underarm hair or pubic hair might grow thicker than in areas like your arms and legs.

For areas of thicker hair, you might have to grow it out longer than 1/4 inch, so that the wax can adhere to the heavier hairs and pull them out. This can also help prevent breakage.

The wax needs to adhere to the hair in order for it to successfully pull it all out from the root.

If the wax doesn’t adhere correctly, it might break hair in half, not pull out hair at all, or cause external irritation to the skin.

Even more, ensuring that your hair is the correct length will help with future waxes. When you make sure that all hairs are removed on the same cycle, this ensures that they’ll grow back at the same time, too.

If your hair is less than 1/4-inch long, the wax won’t be able to adhere to the surface of the hair and pull it out completely.

Your technician will probably ask you to reschedule your appointment so that your hair can grow out a little longer.

If you happen to wax your hair when it isn’t long enough, there’s a chance that areas of hair will get left behind. Some hair might break, which can cause ingrown hairs or irritation.

Definitely. If your hair is longer than 1/2-inch long, it might be too long to wax.

Before your appointment, you can lightly trim the hair with a pair of clean hair cutting shears.

If you don’t have shears, you might want to leave it up to your technician to trim before your appointment. They should be able to gauge how much hair to cut off.

This entirely depends on how fast your hair grows. You might find that it grows faster in some places instead of others.

On average, you can expect hair to take about 4 weeks to regrow back to 1/4-inch long.

Some people say that with more consistent waxing sessions their hair grows back slower and thinner. If this happens to you, you might be able to wait longer — around 5 or 6 weeks — until your next session.

To encourage smooth hair growth and to prevent ingrown hairs between sessions, try applying ingrown hair oils and lightweight moisturizers that won’t clog pores.

Yes! Try scheduling your session for a week when you’re not on your period. The skin around your hair might be more sensitive at this time of the month.

The day of, you might want to refrain from drinking alcohol or anything with caffeine.

An hour before your appointment or before you wax at home, you can take an over-the-counter pain medication to help lessen the pain.

Before waxing, grow your hair out to at least 1/4-inch long — 1/2-inch long at the most. If it’s too short, you might want to reschedule your appointment. If it’s too long, lightly trim the area or ask a technician to help you out.

If you’re unsure about the length of your hair, or if you have other questions, ask your technician prior to your appointment.

If waxing doesn’t sound right for you, there are plenty of other hair removal methods that might work better, such as sugaring, shaving, epilation, or threading.

Laser hair removal may also be an option if you’re looking for something with long-term results.

Jen Anderson is a wellness contributor at Healthline. She writes and edits for various lifestyle and beauty publications, with bylines at Refinery29, Byrdie, MyDomaine, and bareMinerals. When not typing away, you can find Jen practicing yoga, diffusing essential oils, watching Food Network, or guzzling a cup of coffee. You can follow her NYC adventures on Twitter and Instagram.

Can your leg hair be too long for waxing?

In general, hair has to be about ¼" long for wax to be able to grab onto it. If it's not long enough, then you (or your technician) may not be able to remove it, especially if it's thick.

Can you wax short leg hair?

Hair needs to be about 1/4-inch long for the wax to effectively grab onto it. If it's shorter, it may or may not be successfully removed.

How long does your pubic hair need to be to wax?

How long is long enough for my hair to get a bikini wax? You'll get the best wax if you let the hair grow to about ¼ inch so the wax can fully adhere.

How long do waxed legs stay hairless?

When successful, waxing removes hair from the root and tends to last up to six weeks for a silky smooth finish. However, skin isn't always hair-free for a full six weeks. In fact, many people actually see regrowth much sooner.