Nair Hair Removal Lotion: A Detailed Review

Author:

Kristen hails from Modesto, CA. She is self-employed, raises chickens in her backyard, and bakes her own bread.

Nair Hair Removal Lotion: My Detailed Review
Kristen Haynie

Let me just start out by saying that I'm getting really tired of shaving. Now that summer is approaching and my shorts have officially come out of hiding, I can no longer get away with shaving whenever I happen to feel like it. No, now it has to be done every day. If I miss even one day, stubble begins to show and my legs feel rough and scratchy. Too embarrassing to deal with.

Given my frustration with the amount of time is sucked out of my life by shaving daily, I started researching other options. Laser hair removal was the first. However, I quickly deemed it too expensive and rushed to the nearest Target store to survey my options.

The one I ended up going with was Nair Hair Remover Lotion (With Aloe and Lanolin).

Why I Picked This Product

I chose the Nair brand because it was the most well-known of the options available. It seemed the safest one to start out with. There were quite a few Nair products available, and I chose this particular one because it was the cheapest option. I realize that I can't expect to get the best results with the cheapest product, but I wanted to see how this one fared before I shelled out $10 bucks for a product I'm not so sure about.

This one also had aloe, which seemed like a good choice for my notoriously sensitive skin. Another feature that grabbed my attention was the claim that this product was made with "odor-neutralizing technology" and had a "fresh scent." I had heard numerous times that depilatory creams smell awful, so this was the icing on the cake that sold me.

The Initial Test

Did I mention that I have really sensitive skin? To make it perfectly clear, something as simple as soap can make me break out in a rash. So I have to be quite careful with what I put on my skin. I was already well aware of existing product reviews that warned of rash. Even the back of the bottle itself listed a disclaimer regarding allergic reactions. Knowing this, I assumed that my use of this product wouldn't turn out well. But I wanted to try anyway.

So, as directed by the instructions on the bottle, I did a spot test. I put some of the lotion on a small spot of skin, just above the ankle. I left it on for seven minutes, then wiped it off with a dry washcloth.

To my surprise, there was no irritation! However, it was quite clear that the hair in that spot was still there. I decided to go ahead with a full trial to see if it would work.

The First Trial...

As directed by the text on the bottle, I applied the lotion in a thick layer all over the calf of my leg (the knee and below). I made sure it was all pretty even, but I didn't rub it in. I noticed right away that this stuff didn't really have much of an odor. I've heard a lot of complaints before that Nair products have disgusting scents that linger, and I was quite pleased that this one did not. So far, so good.

When I went to wash the lotion off my hands after I applied it, I noticed that there was a lingering residue that wouldn't go away. It was annoying. I finally got it off with an exfoliating wash. Regular soap and water didn't work.

I decided to leave the lotion on my legs for ten minutes, which is the maximum amount of time suggested. Since the seven minutes on the test run didn't remove the hair, I figured that ten would be necessary.

... And A Second Try, Just to be Safe.

Yes, I tried the lotion again. Four days later, I repeated the process. This time, I left it on for 15 minutes instead of 10. Although there was not quite so much irritation this time around (why, I have no idea), it still didn't remove any hair. After that, I gave up. I'm not going to keep trying a product that shows absolutely no sign of working.

To Sum it All Up:

The good:

No nasty scent.
Easy to apply, just slather it on and wait.

The bad:

Gross, soap-resistant residue.
Irritating. Causes a rash and a burning sensation on skin.
Doesn't actually remove hair.

In the end, it's not worth it at all. I'm quite disappointed that I'll have to go back to shaving for the time being. But I'm not giving up on hair removal creams. I will continue to try other products until I (hopefully) find one that works well for me. I have high hopes that this review will prove useful to someone else who is (or will be) in the same boat that I am (or was) in.

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This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.