We love new products, trends and tips but ever wondered about wearing them in real life? Each week we’ll take on a test drive, from the newest nail colour, to playing with perfume or seeing how long that hairstyle actually takes and share what we find (sweet, not-so-sweet and everything in between).
Wax On, Wax Off
test lab: at-home wax kits canada
(Nov.20.09)
The inspiration: Lace tights are replacing our favourite 60 denier ones everywhere. For some of us, this requires extra grooming. Fortunately, while the economy is forcing us to replace Enza (hair remover extraordinaire at our favourite salon) with DIY products, lots of great options have recently come to the drugstore.
The test:
This week's tester: Our office regular waxer, Nadine Silverthorne, agreed to weigh the pros and cons of these four kits.
Background: I'm of Armenian decent, meaning I have considered myself hairy for as long as I can remember (including pre-puberty), so I know my way around a wax kit or 12. I'm also an eco-conscious mom, so I'm looking for options that don't involve too much garbage or packaging.
It should be noted that there is no way I would attempt a bikini wax at home, but my underarms, legs and upper lip are exposed to torture monthly. A good wax should not break the hair, but tear it out from the roots and the results should last 3-6 weeks.
The results:
Nair strips: I tried these in my bedroom, with my four-year-old son watching (yeah, I'm saving for his therapy bills). He enjoyed rubbing the pre-waxed strips to warm them before separating and sticking on my legs. And while the sparkly, berry scent made me feel 15, I kind of enjoyed the experience.
Verdict: Easy to apply and as pleasant as hair removal can get when you're doing it yourself. One-time use strips are not the most eco-friendly of options, and wax itself felt very synthetic, but I would consider using this again.
Sally Hansen honey wax: Very natural feeling and smelling, I loved that I didn't really need to warm this product up. Just spread the wax and use the strips provided to remove unwanted hair.
Verdict: Would definitely use again. It worked really well on underarms and was easy to remove any extra off skin and countertops. And while the plasticky strips provided took some getting used to, I really appreciated that they were corn-based and therefore biodegradable.
Nair no-strip: I wanted to like this product more than I did. While it looks pretty and worked really well on upper lip and underarms, it wasn't so great at legs for some reason. (Perhaps I needed to pre-exfoliate more.) Also, while I liked that you didn't need strips (kind of like sugaring), the wax hardens into some sort of plastic resin that you toss into the garbage.
Verdict: We waxers like some eco-factor (as if you couldn't tell) and this product felt very artificial.
Veet strips: These had a very natural feel, with the product pre-pasted on what resembled parchment/wax paper, but I couldn't tell if that was just marketing/packaging/smoke and mirrors. The product worked well, though not as well as the far more artificial sparkly Nair strips. It took a few tries to get more stubborn hair off.
Verdict: A soothing scent and texture; plus easy to remove with wipes provided, I think this would be a great product for someone who's not of the dark, hairy persuasion.
What are some of your favourite at-home hair removal products?
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