To be clear, I used the baby oil version of Nair’s hair removal cream. Plus I’ve updated it for Lyla- thanks :)
After reading the reviews that talk about ’burning’, I decided to go ahead and test abit of the Nair cream anyway. That’s the most important step - TEST the cream on a small spot as the bottle warns that some people might experience an allergic reaction and recommends testing.
My own experience:
After testing a small spot on my leg for the 7 minutes as instructed, washing it (and the hair) off, and waiting the 24 hours that Nair recommends, there was no pain, no rash and no hair. Perhaps I’m just lucky not to have sensitive skin, but I truly think that following the instructions would have kept most of the people above out of trouble- or at least restricted the trouble to a smaller area.
About the cream itself:
The smell is not the most pleasant I’ve ever experienced, but it’s not penetrating and they mask it well (though this is from a small test). The smell is a much weaker version of a perm smell, mostly masked by baby oil scent. The colour is baby pink in case anyone’s interested.
There was no pain, irritation or rash (but I was very careful to rinse the area thoroughly with copious amounts of water after reading those reviews!). I felt some tingles, but that could have been psychological because I was prepared to feel a burn- but no burn happened.
The hair was removed from my leg completely in the patch that I tested. My leg hair is not very coarse however, which probably helped. My skin is unmarked and feels just like the rest of my other skin- but hairless!
The ingredients listed on the box are: Water, Mineral oil, cetearyl alcohol, calcium thioglycolate, calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, ceteareth-20, fragrance and iron oxides.
For more detail about the chemicals, try going to the Household Products Database listing for Nair (https://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=3002015). From the chemicals listed, I wouldn’t use Nair regularly, though it’s good as a quick fix every now and then.
Warnings on the box: Keep the cream away from sensitive areas such as eyes, ears, lips, nipples and vaginal areas- as well as your clothes. Don’t rub in the cream or exceed the time of application (15 minutes maximum).
Personal recommendations: It’s best to do this in the bathroom (bring a clock with you) then have a warm soapless shower afterwards. This will ensure you’re washing your skin free of all traces of Nair.
Instructions (for testing):
1) Smooth cream thickly over a small patch of hairy skin. DON’T RUB IT IN.
2) Wait 7 minutes (use a timer! Don’t just guess) and remove abit of the cream to see if the hair is easily wiped away along with the cream. If not, reapply and wait longer (I didn’t have to do this step). DO NOT EXCEED 15 MINUTES.
3) Rinse thoroughly with warm water using a washcloth. DON’T RUB IT and don’t use soap. Pat the area dry.
4) Now the important bit- wait for 24 hours and check the skin area for any rash/redness/irritation before you decide to go the whole way and apply Nair to your entire leg/underarm/whatever area. Some allergic reactions will take time to develop. If all is ok in 24 hours time, go ahead.
~ Summary~
A nice worthy product that works, but YOU MUST TEST! Don’t be hasty and you won’t suffer for it. If you are at all concerned about the chemicals involved in this product, check them out at the link I listed in the ingredients section. I had no problems/reactions personally, but I probably won’t use Nair regularly. My review went down a point after checking out the ingredients. It does the job and the chemicals are needed to do the job, but it’s a tad worrying that I’m applying this to my skin.