For example, try to avoid scheduling your wax in the two to three days before or after your period. Skin is more sensitive during this time. It also helps to take an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen about an hour before waxing [source: Cosmopolitan ]. Making sure your leg hair is the right length before you begin is important, too. If your hair isn't at least a quarter inch (about 6 millimeters) long, the wax will not be able to grip it. On the other hand, hair that's much longer than a quarter of an inch can be more painful to remove [source: TeensHealth ]. It can be difficult to wait around for hair to grow long enough so you can wax it, but the payoff is that you will have about three weeks of smoothness before it grows back.