Review (5/5): Never shaving again
First, Some Background:
I'm a chick and I can't shave my legs without being covered in tiny ingrown hairs, also known as razor burn. No amount of exfoliating, soaking in warm water, lotions, steaming, or fresh blades of any number have been able to fix this. I've tried everything and I'm giving up on razors.
I've had my legs waxed, but frankly, it's too damn inconvenient. I've tried nair in the past and that stuff is awful. So I researched a bit on amazon and came up with this. It's "for" dudes' junk but I read a few people had their girlfriends use it, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
My Skin Type:
My skin is dead sensitive. I break out if you look at me harshly. I generally shy away from chemicals, including anything with scents, for this reason. I am pale with many moles and freckles. The hair on my legs is much thinner and paler than other hair on my body, so I hoped it would come off fairly easily.
Only the skin on my legs seems to have problems with shaving. My arm pits and my arms (which I shave regularly) never have ingrown hairs, and I've continued to shave those as normal.
Preparation:
The aforementioned ingrown hairs were an issue, so I didn't shave for a month. That's right, in the middle of summer. Somewhat disappointingly, no one noticed, not even once, and I had not stopped wearing shorts and skirts. However, I noticed, and I like smooth legs, so I was still going to do it.
I took a bath hoping that might soften up the hairs, but didn't use any soap as directed.
The Cream:
The smell was non-existant. I tried getting right up next to it and sniffing and I could barely smell anything. Usually depilatories smell awful, very strong and chemically, but this had almost nothing. The consistency is like toothpaste, thick and stays where you put it but easy to spread. It's bright white and easy to pick out when you miss a spot.
Test Spot:
In the steamy bathroom, I tried a small area on my ankle that I outlined in eyeliner. I wasn't sure how much to use, so I put it on fairly thick using the applicator. I felt nothing, so I pulled out a book, set a timer for 12 minutes, and waited.
Test Result:
They give you a cotton glove that you're supposed to wear in the shower to gently rub the hair off. At the end of 12 minutes, I ran my ankle under lukewarm water and rubbed in circular motions, and voila, no hair. Success. Time to try the whole leg.
Full Trial Run:
I did one leg at a time, trying a much thinner application on the second leg, and both at 12 minutes. The whole time, I never felt anything. Ran my leg under warm water and smoothed the glove around in circles. The hair came right off. No pain or discomfort and my skin felt very soft. Not a single hair remained behind, no strays at all. I had to rub for a while to get some of the parts of the hairs off, because the long hairs tended to break before the whole thing would come off, but I rubbed very gently for about two minutes and it was all done.
They also give you some lotion to apply afterwards, so I used that. The lotion it came with was very nice, sort of thin, not my usual stuff, but I (for no good reason) thought there might be something special in it for post-chemical use, so I used it.
That was 3 days ago and I have had no ill effects. As for ingrown hairs, I have not noticed a single new one. I had absolutely no irritation or bumpiness which is fantastic and unheard of for me when shaving. My skin has been levels of smooth I can never remember feeling!
The chemicals work by breaking down the hair, so when you rub it off, you're essentially doing no better than shaving and not getting at the root of the hair. Like I said, it was 3 days ago and I have a light stubble now, so I'll probably do it again tomorrow, but I expect the repetition to be about what I'd do shaving to keep my legs smooth. Unlike shaving, you're guaranteed to get right next to the skin every time and don't have to worry about dull blades.
In Conclusion:
Never shaving again.
EDIT:
A quick update (it's May 2014 now) - still using this stuff, but I have a few tips:
1) Do not spread on with your hands. Use a flat stick, like the popsicle sticks or a plastic butter knife or something. Your hands do not spread evenly. A flat stick will do a much better job of evenly covering the entire surface, and will do it in a thinner layer (thick is not necessary).
2) Use the cotton glove under running lukewarm water to remove the hair. What's that, that's whats the instructions say? Well yeah, and they know what they're talking about. These commenters who wipe off with toilet paper or whatever.... what are you doing? Stop it. The gloves that come with are exfoliating gloves and they will remove the hair easily and evenly while also lightly exfoliating your skin to remove dead cells and lessen the chances of ingrown hairs.