Here are beauty tips from contributors to Trade Secrets:

• Put on a little make up even if you don’t have a lot of time.
• Use baby wipes to wipe down your body after if there’s not enough time to shower.
• Use deodorant spray on your hair to remove smell of the client.
• Try not to irritate your skin (it could cause tiny cuts) before sex.
• Tanning- don’t overdue it. Most guys don’t like dark orange skin.
• Lube works well for hair gel.
• If you can’t shave your legs wear high boots. You don’t have to take them off because they’re sexy.
• Tanning and keeping skin moisturized will conceal cellulite, bruises, and stretch marks.
• Don’t use baby wipes on your ass if zits appear. Instead rinse off after each show / session and before bed with a mild soap and water. Applying zinc cream at night can also help.
• Try not to flat iron your hair more than once a day – doing so will lead to breakage. Use a good quality serum in your hair prior to flat ironing.
• Using lip-gloss under lipstick (instead of over) keeps your hair from sticking to your lips.
• Use waterproof eye makeup if you tend to sweat a lot on stage to keep you from getting ‘racoon eyes.’
• Wear a baseball cap – makes you seem younger and doesn’t matter if your hair gets messed up during a date.
• Lipstick can be used as eye-shadow and blush.
• Save coffee grounds after you have made your coffee and store in the fridge. It makes a good exfoliate and can reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Brazilian Wax

A Brazilian Wax is removing all the hair from the top of your vagina to the top of your bum crack. Here are some things to know before getting a brazilian.

When making your appointment, ask these two questions:

1. Do you wax everything from front to back? (Many people use the term “brazilian” to mean waxing it all off. But sometimes the hair around your anus will be left there. Make sure you both agree on the meaning of the word. Also known as “Hollywood,” “full brazilian,” and “full bikini wax.”)
2. Do you use a new wood spatula every time you dip into the wax pot? (If they don’t, you’re taking a health risk going there. Waxing sometimes causes bleeding. Double-dipping potentially exposes clients to each others’ blood and feces.)

Things to Remember:

• Don’t go the week before or the week of your period because it hurts more during that part of your cycle.
• Wax every 4 to 6 weeks. Waxing too often can result in uneven hair growths, ingrown hairs and irritated skin.
• Exfoliate daily for a few days prior to your appointment.
• Take two ibuprofen thirty minutes before to help ease discomfort (pain).
• Make sure the esthetician wears gloves.

Razor Burn

To prevent razor burn, use an exfolient or loofah or both together before shaving. Do not press hard on the razor while you shave. Let it glide smoothly over your skin. Using the same razor over again increases the chances of knicks and razor burn because it gets duller.

Use hair conditioner instead of shaving cream to make your skin soft and get a nice, clean shave. Apply deodorant on the shave directly after – reduces perspiration and thus razor burn.

For razor burn (rash / zits after shaving) on the bum, use baby diaper rash creams while you sleep. Other remedies include cornstarch in the underwear, and applying translucent zit creams frequently to dry out the acne.

More hair removal tips from other industry workers:

• Use acne body wash on legs and bikini because it helps with ingrown hairs and razor burn.
• For bad razor burn, use bikini zone.
• Don’t shave right before sex.
• Get waxed instead of shaving.
• Gillette disposable razors for men. Do not use them on sensitive areas more than twice.
• Use a shaving lotion or cream. Not a gel or foam. Slather with a very heavy layer of non-scented lotion (don’t get any under your hood or inner lips).
• Shave at night.
• For less shaving bumps, shave with Polysporin, Neosporin, or Bikini Zone. The no-name versions of these products work fine.
• Tattooing over cellulite and scars will hide them.

Baby Wipes

Some of us love them and some of us hate them. Some of us get yeast infections from them. But for those who are not so sensitive, baby wipes work great for wiping your parts before and after a performance or service.

The obvious alternative if you have access to warm water, is a washcloth. You may want to let the other workers know what you’re using that cloth for (in case one of them breaks the rule about not borrowing without asking).