Let me be clear about one thing before we get started with this review. I don’t think women should feel obliged to be smooth all over and as hair free as a … well… a hair free person is. The world we live in operates in such a way as to make us feel we need to be a certain way, and in order to get us to that certain state of “normal”, we have to spend our pennies on the things that the world (or the money making machine) wants us to. This lines the pockets of businessmen who thing that happiness can be bought and who continue to think up new things that they can convince us we need in order to achieve a similar state of “happiness”. Ladies, let me be clear, happiness is not a smooth leg or underarm. It is not to be found in the guise of wax on, wax off strips, and I know that deep inside every woman that walks the planet is that simple knowledge. The simple truth that we try not to hear. We are so very often the puppets of the money making machine, and we buy because we let the voice of the money making machine, with it’s clever adverts and marketing propaganda ring louder in our ears than our own clear, simple truth. And what is that truth? Simple. We are beautiful, every one of us - with or without the body hair. Say it loud and believe it because you know inside that it’s true!!!
Veet. Artist formally known as Immac.
Well if someone
stopped me in the street and said I had to name a depilatory (is that how you say that word??!) product, the only one that would come to mind is this one. But I would probably call it Immac, as that’s what it’s always been called since the year dot. Why they decided to call it Veet I’ll never know, but I’m sure someone got paid big bucks to think it all through!
The Product
The idea of this product is that you have ready to use wax strips to remove unwanted body hair from your legs, underarms and bikini line. Inside your box of tricks you have 20 wax strips, which look like just ten when you open the box and count, but are actually in doubles – so two wax strips, stuck together, and you peel them apart to reveal yellow, delicately scented goo. In the box is also 4 perfect finish wipes to help get rid of excess wax, and these are individually packaged. Oh, and you get instructions. Handy to have and fairly easy to follow.
The Waxing Experience
So I get out the instructions. I read the first page, which is unusual, as most of the time I make these things up as I go along. There is a HUGE section on Precautions, which is a little disconcerting. It suggests that I should do a trial on a small patch of the area I wish to wax, to see if I have any adverse reactions to the wax or the waxing process. I of course don’t so this, and go straight ahead with a full leg wax. I figure my skin is pretty robust and will be fine.
The instructions say that my skin should be clean, dry, not irritated and free of creams and oils. Just got out of the shower, so no problem there. Clean and dry. Hair growth should be between 2-5mm long. Well, looking down at the legs in question, I feel a number of Yeti jokes bubbling near the surface, so get right on with the matter in hand. Its fairly easy to apply the wax strips – taking it and warming it between your hands and then peeling the two strips apart is okay – so far so good. Applying a strip to my leg in the direction of hair growth – yup, no problem. Smells nice – like a posh spa, where the air is filled with essential oils: in this case papaya oils. Quite a divine and relaxing smell… Ripping off the strip in one swift, fast, decisive motion…okay, well it hurts. A lot. No question about that. The question is…did it remove the hair? Well the simple and truthful answer is no. It did not. Well, it removed some of the hair, but even after two or three applications on the same spot, there was still hair to be seen, and a stroke of said leg revealed a stubbly mess. How disappointing! I used a whole box, waxed both legs, and though there were lots of hairs stuck into the wax strips when I ripped them off, there were still as many on my blessed legs as on the strips. Maybe I’m just an exceptionally hairy person…?
The Price you pay for Smooth Legs…Is it Worth it?
Again, what an easy answer. No. I would never buy these again, as I don’t think they do the job even slightly. Whilst I didn’t have any skin reaction or bruising, despite the box stating that I might experience this (being pregnant), I felt sorely robbed of my £5.99 and it’s probably the first time I’ve ever wanted to write to a company and ask for my money back. In fact, I might still do this, as I feel quite strongly about it. Maybe it’s just the pregnancy hormones kicking some ass, but the box says “eternally smooth, effective even on short hair”, and my leg hair wasn’t even that short – I’d been cultivating it for ages! So no, it wasn’t worth it, and no, I didn’t like having scratchy, stubbly legs.
Waxing the Professional Way
I have to say that my experience of professional waxing has been far better, and so I really feel like I have a basis to compare the two, and an idea of how bad this Veet product really is. I recently had my legs, bikini and underarms waxed at a Regis salon in Newcastle, and not only was it no where near as painful, but the result was fantastic and it was achieved in a fraction of the time. I think if you’re going to wax, get someone else to do it for you. It will cost you more, but you’ll get a better result that will last longer and ultimately cost you less in the long run.
Conclusion
Body hair is natural. It has reasons for being there and to be fair, unless you’re into electrolysis, you can pretty much guarantee it’s going to keep on coming back to visit you! There’s a lot of pressure on women (and men!) these days to conform to a certain “norm”. To wear certain clothes, to paint their faces, to be perfectly tanned, smooth and hair free. It’s a bit of a crime really, but we do, as women, allow ourselves to be pressured. And the pressure comes from all angles – from the folks who run the businesses that they want to see in profit; from the marketing people who are paid to make us believe our lives won’t be quite right unless we have this, or buy that; from men who want their women to look a certain way, and from other women, who want us to be the same as them so that they can feel a measure of acceptance. Perhaps that’s really what it’s all about. Acceptance. Somewhere in our psyche we think that acceptance is something that other people give us, when really, only we can grace our lives with it. And being at peace with who you are is nothing to do with what shade of lipstick you’re wearing today, or whether your shoes go with your outfit, or whether your legs are free from fuzz. Because none of those things matter really, if we’re talking acceptance of ourselves. Do they?
I say, grow your hair long girls! Braid your underarm hair if you feel like it! Don’t conform to the rest of the world’s illusion of normal. Create your own normal, be at peace with your soul and your body and your mind. Be free. Be you. If you want to be smooth, be smooth (after all, it does feel rather nice), but whatever you do, don’t use this to get there!
Thank you for reading, Kate x
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Freedom of women, was very well written, drawing. To the well-being of women.
KateHurst 20.06.2009 22:07
Great review - I'm not exactly "hairy", I've just got pale skin, dark hair and am prone to them growing inwards, so I think you've got an excellent point here. (I'm looking into getting lasered but that's mainly because I'm sick of the ingrowers!)
I'm with you on home waxing kits - I don't believe they work for a minute. If I have to get it done, I pay someone to do it for me!
burtybookworm 08.09.2008 17:34
excellent review, funny informative, witty....
and I feel your pain! K x
NEW! Improved formula. Very effective and easier than ever. Effective on short hair -. ... more
Up to 4 weeks of smoothness. Long lasting results - enjoy smooth skin for up to 4 weeks. Did you know that with regular use Veet® wax is clinically proven to make...
Postage & Packaging: £1.43 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Nice smell, areas where hair WAS removed felt silky soft, wipes do remove excess wax Disadvantages: Too many areas where hair WASN'T removed, price, speed, pain
Advantages: Removes hair beautifully on big areas (legs) with small and quickly dissapering after-effects Disadvantages: Useless for bikini line and other tricky areas. Also, the wipes are not good
Advantages: errr, well it doesn't really hurt. and being cold, they don't leave scolded fingers Disadvantages: they leave some hair behind, and the rest returns quickly
Jun 24th, 2007
(Jun 25th, 2007)
very helpful by (100%):
