We asked the BuzzFeed community to tell us their wildest, most cringeworthy waxing horror stories. Here are the responses that had us like, "NOOOOOO!!!"
1. "It ripped all of my skin off! It was literally raw, in a perfect rectangle."
"I tried to use those pre-made wax strips, followed the directions to the letter, and then with a deep breath, ripped the strip off. Here’s the problem: it ripped all of my skin off! It was literally raw, in a perfect rectangle. Worst part: all the hair was still there! First and last time I tried to use wax."
2. "She had passed out on the bathroom floor from the pain!"
"My college roommate and I thought we'd save some money by using at-home wax strips. She went into the bathroom to wax her bikini line and soon after I heard, 'Oh no this was a bad place to start...oh no, this is bad.' Then I heard a thump. She had passed out on the bathroom floor from the pain! The worst part was that when she woke up, the wax strip was only half off! Never again."
3. "I farted in her face."
"It was my first time getting waxed. When she told me to get on all fours so that she could wax the back, I farted in her face."
4. "She ended up pulling off my entire eyebrow!"
"A week before my senior prom I went to get my eyebrows waxed. The lady ended up putting too much wax on my one eyebrow, so when she applied the strip on top, the wax spread and she ended up pulling off my entire eyebrow! I cried for three days. Luckily I had blunt bangs at that time and could hide most of it, but even 10 years later I still get nervous every time I get my brows waxed!"
5. "She used the pages of a notebook from the front desk!!!"
"Last year I had an upcoming beach trip, so decided to get waxed. The spa I usually go to was already closed, so my friend recommended another place. The place looked awful and old, but I gave it a try. Instead of using professional waxing strips to remove the wax she'd applied, she used the pages of a notebook from the front desk!!! It was horrible because the paper just teared and couldn’t take the wax off. So she applied even more wax and just kept going. When I left, my skin was so irritated and I still had bits of wax and paper on me. I've no plans on going back there ever again."
6. "She effectively glued me shut, from the front to the back."
"When I was in school for esthetics, we did Brazilians on each other. The girl that did mine was new to the technique, so she applied too much wax. Then when she went to get a wax strip, some of the wax dripped down. So she effectively glued me shut, from the front to the back. It took the teacher an hour to 'unseal' me."
7. "So for about a month, I had clumped wax stuck to my pubes."
"When I was 16, my mom suggested we try some new pre-waxed strips she'd just bought. I'd been getting dressed so I was already in my underwear, and before I could respond, my mom slapped the strip on my inner thigh, catching my underwear in the process.
Then when she ripped the strip off, only three hairs came out but the sticky wax stayed behind. I eventually cut off the underwear, but the wax would NOT come out. So for about a month, I had clumped wax stuck to my pubes. Nothing is more horrifying than having your pubes ripped out by the roots with each move you make."
8. "I looked like I had some disease."
"I had horrible acne in high school so one day my dermatologist put me on Differin. A few weeks later I went to get my eyebrows and upper lip waxed. When I got home, I noticed I had extreme burns under my brows and on my lip. I looked like I had some disease and the next day in class, my teacher decided to talk about STDs and the whole class looked at me. FML."
9. "He screamed so loud and I laughed so hard..."
"I needed to practice my waxing technique, so my husband—being a good sport—let me wax his junk. He screamed so loud and I laughed so hard that I spilled the wax on the carpet. The wax was still there when we moved a few years later."
—0621
10. "She still ended up waxing off half my eyebrow."
"Two days before I graduated from college I went to get my nails and eyebrows waxed. The lady doing my eyebrows accidentally dropped a huge glob of wax on my eyebrow and tried wiping away as much of the excess wax as possible. Despite her efforts she still ended up waxing off half my eyebrow. I had to draw in my eyebrows for graduation, but it was quite evident that I was missing part of it. What a great time to shake the university president's hand."
11. "It looked like someone colored me with a sharpie."
"I had an upcoming scheduled C-section and didn't want to be trimmed with any cheap hospital blades, so I went to get a Brazilian using sugar because I heard it was less painful than regular waxing. IT WAS NOT. After the appointment, I was completely covered in black bruises in that area. It looked like someone colored me with a sharpie. Try explaining that to your OBGYN."
12. "I developed a severe case of bacne."
"In my junior year of high school, my friend and I decided to wax my back the day of the homecoming dance because I had a dress with a low back. Everything went fine, but the next day I developed a severe case of bacne that lasted for a month. I’m pretty sure it was an allergic reaction. Needless to say, that was the first and last time I used wax at home."
13. "My entire armpit was instantly purple and bruised."
"We were learning about waxing in cosmetology school and I wanted my armpits waxed, so my classmates and I slapped on a layer of wax and yanked it off. My entire armpit was instantly purple and bruised, like a huge hickey. It took three weeks to heal."
14. "I was still slathered in wax, bleeding, and no less furry."
"I'd gone to the same esthetician for years for my Brazilian wax and never had an issue. Fast forward to my friend graduating from cosmetology school and needing clients to jumpstart her business. Her wax warmer shorted out, and the wax cooled a little too much in the pot before she applied it to my nether regions. She couldn’t get the wax to pull off my hair, despite her trying NUMEROUS times. We were both in tears. An hour later I was still slathered in wax, bleeding, and no less furry. I waddled home in exasperation and spent two more hours in a scorching bath, picking away at wax. Ouch."
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.