hey, yea its normal, you want the ski to get warmed up when your waxing em because, that way you know the wax has worked its way into the pores of the base which is what you want to happen. You don't want to get it so hot its too hot to touch the ski but, just enough to warm up the top sheet is good. I know this because, the I asked the guy at my local mountain about it and he told me that alright peace