What They Say: "The fast easy way to remove hair from legs, arms, body and bikini area&with long lasting smoothness. Just press on, stroke, pull off - hair is lifted away with the bulb of the root, so regrowth appears slower, softer, finer. Smooth results last up to 8 beautiful weeks. Works with your body heat. Washes easily with warm water. Moisturizes and leaves skin touchably soft and smooth. Contains 20 ready to use, double sided strips (40 strips total)."

• First ever water-rinsable gel wax strips.
• Works with your own body heat to lift hair away with the root.
• Pre-cut sizes - for every waxing need!
• Soft cloth strips conform to your every curve for comfortable, effective hair removal.
• Works on short hair.
• Smooth results last up to 8 weeks!
• Helps reduce the appearance of hair regrowth.
• Salon Tested - Dermatologist Tested.
• Kit Includes: 40 Ready to Use Strips (20 Double-Sided Strips) and Complete Instructions in English and Spanish.

Melissa Says: These strips were very similar to the others I recently reviewed by Nair, except that the wax did not seem to remove hair quite as well. On the other hand, they didn't seem to hurt as much. However, I don't know how much good that will do you if you have to go over areas more than once and then get sore and irritated skin anyway. They recommend not using on hair less than 1/4" long, and let me assure you that if you aren't patient enough to let your hair grow that long on your legs, this won't be working for you.

Retail Price: $7.99 (at drugstores and superstores)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: "...part of a brand new line of hair remover products from CAREFREE® - helps women bring the salon waxing experience into their own bathroom. The CAREFREE® Wax Kit includes a patented Soothing Pre-Wax Lotion that helps temporarily reduce the pain associated with waxing and prepares hair for easy removal. Waxing provides long-lasting smoothness for up to four weeks.

• No heating required to use wax strips
• Less expensive than waxing at a salon
• Lasts longer than shaving by removing hair from the root
• Skin is left feeling smooth and moisturized, with no nicks or cuts
• Includes 16 double-sided Wax Strips (8 facial, 8 bikini), 3 Moisture Renewal Towelettes and Soothing Pre-Wax Lotion

CAREFREE® Hair Remover Face & Bikini Total Wax Strip Kit contains natural soy, vitamin E and aloe and uses a simple three-step process:

• STEP 1: The Soothing Pre-Wax Lotion goes on as a lotion but quickly dries to a powdery finish to help remove oil build-up so the wax can properly adhere to the hair. The pre-wax lotion also contains lidocaine to help temporarily reduce the pain associated with waxing.
• STEP 2: By simply rubbing the Wax Strips between your hands, the strips are ready to be applied to the face or bikini area.
• STEP 3: The Moisture Renewal Towelettes containing mineral oil complete the process by removing any wax residue and leaves skin feeling soft."

Melissa Says: I did it. And I'm not going to lie, I was scared. But my overall experience was not too bad...I guess.

Let me start by saying I didn't use any of the strips on my face, because I've never had to wax my brows, but instead utilized some of the smaller-sized strips for smaller areas at the bikini line. (One thing to keep in mind is that I didn't think the smaller strips had as much wax on them, so use those on lighter areas.) A few seconds of rubbing them between your hands and easily pulling the one pair of strips apart at a time, and they were ready to go.

Now we all know that applying them is the easy part. It's the ripping them off that can get sketchy, so I definitely closed my eyes for a second and hoped for quick success before the first pull. Aha, it worked! This of course gave me confidence. Mostly, I had little issue until there were areas I needed to re-do, and that of course was more painful. (On areas I had to redo, I didn't see much benefit from the pre-wax lotion.) I wish it had been a little more reliable in that regard, because going over a spot a second time was what really created irritation. Being a home kit with no-heat wax, I didn't really expect to have a flawless experience. For me the irritation was tolerable (though not pretty) and it went away by the next morning. I did not have any abrasions, just little welty bumps. I worry that this might mean irritation on the face when using the small ones there as well, so if you've tried that I'd love for you to share your experience with the readers.

I should also note that the strips weren't really usable more than twice for me and sometimes only once, even though they claim you can reuse them several times in different areas. Still, I think that if you're just doing maintenance you can probably get several uses out of one box.

I thought the pre-wax lotion worked pretty well until I needed to go over an area again and tried to reapply it; then I didn't think it seemed to do much to help the process. I did have a few instances when a little wax remained on my skin in small spots, and of course when that happened it was kind of frustrating because it was difficult to get a strip to adhere properly next time. Personally, I didn't see much point in the towelettes afterward, either.

Honestly, none of us expect waxing to be a painless procedure. My experience wasn't necessarily pleasant (ha!), but I wasn't left traumatized and I did have about 90% success for hair removal. I did need to do minimal touchups near the bikini line with a razor, but this was also very mess-free and quick.

I'd say, use this for quick clean-ups here and there (at least when using on the bikini line) and look for something else (or go to an esthetician!) for other times.

Retail Price: $8.99 (at drugstores and superstores)

DeLush Rating:

I'm not opposed to the idea of skydiving, but I've always said that someone would have to push me out of the plane. I hold a similar sentiment for waxing; I'm not opposed to it, but I need someone (preferably a professional) to make it happen.

One of our readers asked if we had tried any of the home waxing kits and if they really worked. I had never tried one before, and while generally I am up for anything, I procrastinated on this one for quite a while.

The first one that I tried was the Sally Hansen Spa Wax Removal Kit (Walgreens, $9.99). And I must say, it is truly a testament of my devotion to our lovely readers that any more waxing products were tested after this one. The first time I tried it, I couldn't get any hair to come off at all. Apparently, you have to make the layer of wax very, very thin to see any results.

The next problem I faced was getting up enough nerve to actually pull the cloth strip quickly enough to pull out the hairs. It is in your best interest to summon up the courage. It hurts so much worse when you do it halfheartedly. Plus, it doesn't work and then you have to go through the pain again. Pull it back quickly and close to the skin. I think it helps with the pain if you tense up your muscles and clench your jaw, but maybe that's just me.

I never got the results I was looking for with the Sally Hansen waxing kit (I also have not managed to thoroughly remove the stickiness from my bathroom -- Sally Hansen's kit also wins the "messiest formula" award.) After the mess that I made and my poor results, I tried to find the easiest solution possible.Veet's Ready to Use Gel Wax Strips (Walgreens, $7.99) were clearly the next step. I experienced much better results with this product. Basically, they give you 10 strips, which is just enough to do the bottom of your legs. You just warm up the strips between your hands, push them onto the skin (vigorously) for 5 seconds in the direction of the hair growth, let it sit momentarily, and then let it rip! I was astonished that I actually pulled the hair out, and at no point did I want to start crying. You can reuse the strip once or twice, and that's essential if you really want to wax all of your legs. I highly recommend that you heed their advice of not using this particular product for other areas of your body. My legs went so well, I thought I would give it a shot. I didn't actually manage to remove any hair, plus I felt like I was auditioning for Jackass. This is a terrific product for legs, but just leave it at that.

I was curious if there was a product out there that I could use for my bikini area and hopefully my legs as well, and picked up Surgi Wax Brazilian Microwave Hair Removal Kit (Drugstore.com, $4.99) in Citrus. The warm, delicious smelling wax felt great as I applied it. I think they add the nice scents to distract you from the deep and intense pain you're about to experience. Unlike the other products I tried, this one is extremely effective. Once you've applied it, you've got no choice to rip it out. There were tears.

I found this product to be pretty messy, but not nearly so much as the Sally Hansen wax. I had a difficult time putting the wax in only the areas that I wanted to remove. You will probably want to heat the wax a few more seconds than recommended so that it is more liquidy and easier to manipulate. You don't want it drippy, but you don't want it globby either.

One more thing to note: I did actually try the Surgi-Wax on my legs but didn't find it terribly effective. It does leave them nice and soft.

After all my procrastination, using all of these waxing products was an interesting challenge, and was oddly addictive. I will definitely be using the Veet Waxing Strips regularly for my legs because they're just so convenient and it's awfully nice not to have to shave for a few weeks. I will have to see if I improve my waxing skills before I attempt any regular efforts with my bikini area.