RICA vs Aloevera vs Honey Wax: Which to Choose

Short answer: choose RICA for sensitive and intimate areas, Aloevera for first-timers or reactive skin, and Honey for coarse or thick hair.

Side by side: how each behaves on the day

The three waxes behave differently on the day. The table sets out grip, temperature, skin sensitivity and what each one suits.

Wax	Best for	On the skin
RICA	Fine or reactive skin, intimate areas, face	Low-temperature, no strip, least pulling. The premium option and the one to ask for if you react
Aloe vera	First-timers, larger areas	Soothing as it sets, forgiving of a nervous first appointment
Honey	Dense or coarse hair, legs and back	Strongest grip, so it clears coarse hair in fewer passes and is felt more

The wax is chosen per area, not per person. A single appointment often uses honey on the legs and RICA on the bikini line, and there is no extra charge for using two.

The three waxes

RICA (premium)

Italian liposoluble wax that lifts hair from the root and is gentle on skin — ideal for sensitive and intimate areas like a Brazilian.

Aloevera (gentle)

A soothing formula that calms the skin during treatment. The safe pick if it’s your first wax or your skin flushes easily.

Honey (natural)

Traditional, natural, with a strong grip on coarse or thick hair — a favourite for men’s body waxing.

Still unsure? Tell us your skin and hair type when you book and we’ll recommend the right one.

What actually differs

What’s actually different in the wax itself

The difference between the three is what the wax is made of. The table compares base ingredient, texture and how each one is removed.

Wax	Type	Applied at	Best areas	Removed with
RICA	Liposoluble hard wax	Lower temperature	Face, underarms, bikini, Brazilian	No strip, lifts off itself
Aloevera	Soothing hard wax	Lower temperature	Reactive skin, first timers	No strip
Honey	Natural soft wax	Warmer	Back, chest, legs, coarse hair	Cloth strip

The practical split is hard wax versus soft wax. Hard wax grips the hair and not the skin, which is why it suits sensitive areas. Soft wax grips both, which is what makes it effective on large areas of coarse hair and slightly harsher on delicate ones.

The marketing for wax tends to be vague. Here’s what actually distinguishes the three, beyond the labels.

• RICA — liposoluble (oil-soluble). The wax melts at a lower temperature and adheres to hair rather than skin. That lower temp is the main reason sensitive-area clients tolerate it better. It strips cleanly with a muslin strip; doesn’t leave a sticky residue.
• Aloevera — a soothing additive base. The wax formula itself includes aloe extracts, which calm the skin during application. Useful if you’ve flushed red after waxing in the past, or if you’ve been using retinol or acids.
• Honey — natural resin base. Strong grip on coarse or thick hair. Higher melting temperature than RICA, so the warmth on the skin is more noticeable. Best grip = fewer passes = less overall trauma on dense hair.

Which wax for which area

Each area of the body suits a different wax. The table pairs the area with the wax we use there, and why.

Area	Usually	Why
Face, brows, lip	RICA	Lowest working temperature, and thin facial skin is the least forgiving
Underarms	RICA	Small, sensitive, hair grows in several directions
Bikini, Brazilian, Hollywood	RICA	Grips hair rather than skin, so the same patch can be re-worked
Legs and arms	Honey	Large areas, less reactive skin, far fewer passes
Back and chest	Honey	Strongest grip, and coarse hair slides out of lighter waxes
Any area, first time or reactive skin	Aloevera	Soothing agents in the formula itself

Two different waxes in one appointment is normal rather than a change of plan — hard wax on the sensitive areas, strip wax on the large ones.

Wax choice is also what decides how the skin reacts: what a wax burn is covers the difference between an ordinary reaction and a burn, and waxing prices in Bangkok explains why the premium waxes change the figure.

The same person often wants different waxes on different areas in one visit. Here’s the practical rule of thumb we use.

• Face (eyebrow, upper lip, full face) — RICA. Lower temperature, less redness in a visible area.
• Underarms — RICA or Aloevera. Thin skin, sweat-prone, both are gentle enough.
• Brazilian / Hollywood / Bikini — RICA. The intimacy of the area, and the fact that you want to walk out comfortably, makes RICA the standard.
• Legs and arms — Honey for coarse hair, Aloevera for first-timers. You will have a preference by your second visit.
• Men’s back and chest — Honey. The wax needs to grip dense, coarse hair and Honey does that best.
• Men’s intimate areas — RICA or Aloevera. Same logic as women’s Brazilian.

In practice

If your skin reacts easily

Say so at booking rather than at the door, because it changes which wax comes out of the bag rather than whether the appointment happens. Aloevera is the usual answer, and a patch test on a small area first is always available if you would rather.

Worth mentioning specifically: retinoids, acne medication, recent sun, a chemical peel in the last fortnight, or a reaction to wax anywhere before. Any of those can mean threading instead of waxing on the face, or waiting a week, and it is a better conversation to have on WhatsApp than in your room.

Mixing waxes in one appointment

Common and encouraged. Tell us on WhatsApp what areas you want waxed and we’ll bring both Honey (for the body) and RICA (for the sensitive bits). No extra charge for the second wax — just a small bit of extra time on arrival.

What the wax choice doesn’t change

Aftercare is the same regardless of wax. See our aftercare guide — the principles are identical: cool, clean, no friction for 24 hours.