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)

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