Choose from Three Options

• $19 for OPI gel polish application with a paraffin dip for the hands ($37 value)
• $20 for OPI gel polish application on the toes with a paraffin dip for the hands ($42 value)
• $39 for OPI gel polish application for hands and feet with a paraffin dip for the hands ($72 value)

Paraffin: Wonderful Wax

Part of what puts the ““spa”” in the spa experience is a paraffin dip. Learn what it does for your skin with Groupon’s explanation.

A white solid when cold and a transparent liquid when warm, paraffin is distilled from a much darker, cruder substance: petroleum. Most beauty products made from petroleum—such as Vaseline, lip balm, and baby oil—are emollients. Emollients work by creating a protective layer over the skin that keeps moisture from escaping, while also softening the outer layer of the skin. So when a nail technician dips your hands in a tub of paraffin wax, she’s helping lock in the natural moisture your body already possesses—moisture that might otherwise evaporate in dry or harsh weather.

Skin also benefits from paraffin’s heat. The liquid wax delves into nooks and crannies in the skin, then contracts as it cools. This forms an airtight seal that helps keep the heat in and make tired hands feel as though they’re tucked inside the pouch of a nurturing kangaroo. In fact, it’s this therapeutic heat that leads experts in physical therapy and medicine to use it on their patients in order to ease maladies ranging from rheumatoid arthritis to scleroderma. For cosmetic purposes, this heat may also help lotions and other skincare formulas penetrate deeper into the skin.