Not that this is much of a topic of debate, but deciding whether or not to wax can have its benefits and its pitfalls either way. I have heard that Americans tend to wax while Australians prefer not to. However, living in Hawai’i, I prefer the latter.
Waxing the alaia makes it a bit more comfortable by removing some degree of rubbing on the wood, resulting in a slightly less painful nipple / stomach rash. When your board is freshly oiled, the wax also helps it stay on the board without slipping like it should.
However, and this is the big disappointment for me, if you wax your board and then decide to re-sand / reshape it along the way, you will need a full pack of sandpaper just to remove the wax from your board. Even if you don’t have much, a sheet of sandpaper only needs a few small patches of wax to ruin the entire sheet.
On the other hand, not waxing the board can be a bit slippery the first time or two after oiling. Plus, you’ll be fully exposed to wood rubbing which can cause some pretty serious rashes. Since this is my preferred method, here are my solutions to the above dilemmas. First, hold on and glide here and there for a session or two. After a couple of sessions, the excess oil is gone and the wood has enough grip to hold without adding wax. Two, wear a shirt. You may still have a little rash, but it will be much less severe.
You can decide for yourself, but hopefully this will point out some of the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
