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.