More wedding week advice needed! After the stepdaughter’s wedding in Asheville, we’re heading to Hilton Head and Beaufort for the week. I have been letting my body hair grow in preparation for a mass removal a week from today. We take off a week from Thursday. What is the best hair removal product out there that is equally good at removing pit, leg and bikini area hair? Nair, Neet, foamy, creamy, lotion-y? If I use it Wed., will the hair stay away through the 8th or 9th of August?
Thanks!
Whatever you choose, do a test patch a day or two before (or now!) the rest, because you don’t want to discover you have a terrible reaction to Nair or waxing when you’ve just waxed about half of your body surface right before your daughter’s wedding.
You appear to be very confused about the different methods of hair removal.
Chemical depilatories don’t last any longer than shaving.
They only remove the hair that is above the surface of the skin. Some women feel that the hair that grows in after using a depilatory is a little less prickly than stubble from shaving, but that’s about it.
There is no need to let your hair get long in advance. You do that for waxing.
Using a chemical depilatory can be very tricky. You’re basically dissolving the hair. Getting something strong enough and leaving it on long enough to “burn” away the hair without burning the skin can be a delicate balance. Some women have it easier than others in this regard, because their hair goes away long before their skin gets bothered. Others find that they can’t use them at all.
I’ve been using depilatories almost exclusively for over a year. Shaving tends to give me folliculitis, and waxing irritiates me even more. I’ve tried most of the common ones out there. I’m not going to recommend one, because results vary so much.
What I will recommend is that you don’t try a new method of hair removal so soon before an important event and vacation. You don’t want to attend a wedding with chemical burns in sensitive places, and you don’t want to go to the beach with an angry rash. Experiment with different methods afterwards.
I’ll second (third?) what’s been said here. Try it now before you commit to a full leg or underarm. I tried Veet recently without testing an area and ended up with an itchy burning rash on my leg. It didn’t last long, only a few hours, but it was miserable! And the hair grew back just as if I’d shaved with a razor.
I have fairly sensitive skin and I’ve used the Sally Hansen bikini-area product (purple tube) without any problems. But result definitely vary and the hair does grow back just like shaving. If you can’t afford to wax the whole shebang I would recommend a bikini wax. for just the visible edges, you don’t have to get all nekkid (in fact you should wear the bathing suit you want to wax to), you can get it done at nearly any salon, and it will last several weeks.
While we’re at the hair, can someone recommend a good store bought facial hair remover (for women) that is not a razor and a snide comment? Please? 
Actually, I’m not confused at all. I have been using Nair and Neet off and on since I was about 14 and have found that dipilatories do, indeed, last longer than shaving (for me.) I have also noticed that (on my own particular hair) it does work better if my hair is longer than usual. I don’t know why, I’m just telling you how it is for me. I’m merely trying to find out what works for others. I always leave the product on for a little longer than recommended and have never ever suffered from redness or a rash.
Thanks.
Well, how’s anyone supposed to know that from your OP? Your OP makes it sound like shaving’s the only thing you’ve ever tried.
I’d just use the product you know works for you, since you know it works for you.
I used Sally Hansen lotion hair remover for the face with success for some years. Nowadays I wax, as, due to PCOS, my facial hair has gotten worse and I developed a sensitivity to the Sally Hansen stuff–it still removes my hair, yes, but now it leaves a red rash in its wake that takes days to recover from. If you can stand wax on your face (some people are too sensitive there), I would recommend that. If you’re doing it yourself, Sally Hansen makes a great (but incredibly sticky–be very careful not to spill) gentle wax for facial hair that comes in a little jar. The kind I used was purple, for some reason, and though it looks like you’re spreading grape Laffy Taffy on you, it works very well.
I used to use Surgi-Sweet but haven’t been able to find it for years. I find that most other depilatories and waxes besides Sally Hansen’s are too harsh for me, and give me some kind of a rash–the rash I got from that horrible Epil-Stop stuff took weeks to go away, and I couldn’t hide it with make-up.
For legs, pits, and bits, I just shave. Waxing there is a hassle, and the last thing I need is a rash there!
I don’t use facial hair removal from the store, I pretty much just wax…but if you’re willing to go to a salon and you don’t want to wax it due to irritation, may I suggest threading? It feels weird (I don’t like the sensations) but you aren’t ripping stuff off you, so it won’t get as red or hurt. Just the hair gets removed, nothing else.
Don’t bother with the Swedish Torture devices (epilady, etc). They violently rip out about every third hair, so not only will you still have a moustache, your eyes will be all puffy from crying in pain. :mad:
I’m trying the Sally Hanson facial wax strips tonight. I’ll let you know how they do on peach fuzz and girl whiskers.
That’s true. I’ve been such a creature of habit, though, that I thought maybe there had been improvements on smell, texture, effectiveness, etc. Just checking.
I use Veet on the bikini area and it does not irritate me. It does grow back fast, though, so I’d get a wax if I wanted it to last through the next 2 weeks. I shave my legs every other day, even if I don’t see or feel much hair. I use conditioner and haven’t cut myself in years. I waxed my facial hair last year and just keep on top of it with tweezers, again evry other day, same with the eyebrows.
Not worth the trouble. No pain, but no hair removal, either. 
Screw it, paying a pro waxer is worth the $$ and the aromatherapy chakra alignment sales pitch BS. My new mantra shall be “no, thank you.”
Too much for plucking? At least with the tweezers there’s not much risk of getting a big nasty oozy rash on your face.
Okay then.
I swear by Magic Shaving Powder. You have to mix it with water yourself, but it works great and is cheap cheap cheap. It’s usually found in the black hair care section.
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
I second the Magic!
I have been using it for several years to stay, ahem “neat & smooth” down there and there’s nothing like it. No razor burn or nicks and it dissolves hair much better than any womens depilatory I’ve tried. Smooth as a baby’s bottom I tell ya.
I would never use it on legs, too much trouble for such a large area. Also there are several formulas and some of them stink to high heaven. I stick with the aloe vera formula, no unpleasant odor with that one. It doesn’t last any longer than shaving though, however the re-growth is softer and less prickly/itchy than with shave re-growth.
If I go a couple weeks without using it my husband starts to inquire when I’m going to do another “magic show”. If that stuff ever goes off the market he’ll be one bummed out man 
Yep, though I usually use the “regular,” with the blue-and-white label.
I’ll have to try the aloe formula that Stilwell Angel mentioned. I’ve never seen it in a store, so I’ll have to order it. Drugstore.com doesn’t stock it, unfortunately.