I don't have a lot of experience with wax strips, but I bought a brand called Nads my first go and they work fantastically. The wax is on some special paper that you rub between your palms to heat up, it doesn't get as hot as wax at a professional salon, but it's pretty toasty. Edit: it isn't just the heat from your palms that does it, they get warm from the friction. I felt like this part sounded unclear. The facial ones were a bit of a wash; my hair won't grow long enough to work for that in any period of time (I gave it a week and a half, and then just gave up.) Legs+tummy worked beautifully though, and it was almost completely painless. Less pain than a bee sting, and only for 3 seconds tops.