I decided to rid myself of some body hair. I Started by shaving my chest, and got some nasty razor burn. This is consistent with previous experiences shaving body hair. When I shave my face, I shave wet, against the grain, with no lotion or cream. I never have problems on my face and neck. However, when I shave my body hair, no matter what lotion or cream I use, and how slow I take it, I have two choices: Leave stubble or get bumps. (I'm told this is because for a close shave you have to shave against the grain, which can cause stubble to pop back under the skin and cause bumps.)
Anyway, frustrated and not wanting to have bumps all over myself from trying to learn should I decide to swim this summer, I went out and bought some Nair. I bought two products to try, the traditional "Nair for Men" cream and the spray on stuff.
Let me get this out of the way: The spray sounds great on paper. It says it takes less time, spray is easier to apply, and it seems like you wouldn't go through it as fast. My experience with the spray was that it is a colossal waste of money. I tried it in multiple places, and I don't think I saw it remove a single hair.
The spray says it takes less time (4 minutes as opposed to 15 for the cream) and feels much harsher while on the skin. Unfortunately, while the spray was very uncomfortable and at times painful, it failed to remove any hair. Instead, it just left my skin hairy and looking sunburned. This effect went away after a few minutes under lukewarm water, so at least it didn't actually do any lasting damage, but that's a small comfort for having spent 8 bucks on the stuff. Perhaps if I left it on longer, it might actually get to the hair, but I'm afraid of what it might do to my skin.
My experience with the cream was much more positive. I first used it on my chest, which was sporting about a week's growth. I read the instructions, which say to apply it thickly across the skin. I'd liken it to spreading peanut butter. Don't rub it in, just smooth it across. I used a good bit, making sure it was on thick as the instructions specifically demanded. I'll talk on that in a minute.
I sat down, shirtless with the Nair on my chest, and messed around on my computer for the 15 minutes required. The smell isn't good, but it didn't really bother me. I don't have a super sensitive nose, though. After 15 minutes I went to the bathroom, stepped into the shower, and wiped the stuff off under lukewarm water. Even being gentle with the washcloth, the hair came right off.
I'm not sure if the length of the hair plays into how well Nair works, but on my chest I got less satisfactory results than every other place I used it, which all sported full growth. The effect was good, as good as a decent shave, but rubbing against the grain I could feel some minor stubble even right there in the shower. I've seen some people say that this get's better with repeated use, but I don't know as I haven't done a second application yet.
Since then, I've done my arms, underarms, stomach, shoulders, and privates. All of these places I got excellent results, totally smooth skin rubbing in both directions. Like I said, in these places I sported full growth, and the hair came off with very little effort.
The cream caused me little to no discomfort. Even after 15 minutes and even in sensitive areas like the privates and underarms, I experienced little more than a mild tingly heat, if that. The one exception is that when I did my chest, I was impatient and didn't bother to avoid my nipples. I didn't experience any pain during the process, but afterwords my nipples became somewhat raw. It doesn't rate very high on my personal pain threshold, but it's definitely unpleasant. If the sensation of a sunburn on your nips sounds like something you'd like to avoid, be careful to keep the cream off of them.
Many of these places I've never shaved before, so I don't have a great comparison to offer as to how long each respective method lasts. I'd wager a guess that if Nair does last longer, it's not much longer. Expect the first day or two to be relatively smooth in heavy growth areas, with the stubble getting long enough to be agitating around day 3. Slower growing areas may last longer. I'll update with more information on the lasting effect once more time goes by. Still, I feel comfortable saying you shouldn't expect results on par with epilation or waxing.
As I said earlier, I used quite a bit on each area I did. The bottle said to apply it thickly, so I did. Next time, I think I will try to use less, because at the rate I used the stuff, I used almost the entire bottle and didn't even do my legs or back. At 8 bucks a bottle, that's quite a bit more expensive than shaving if you do your whole body and want to keep smooth.
Overall, I feel like the cream gave me extremely satisfactory results, but I'm not sure I can afford to keep up with it if I can't be more conservative with it's application. If you have full growth and want to get rid of it without the hassle of shaving thick hair or having to trim first, this stuff seems perfect. It might be more economical to upkeep with shaving afterwords though.
The immediate results are wonderful. Perfect smoothness with no bumps. I can't stop rubbing my forearms, they feel so good.
The one other downside besides the cost is that this stuff is messy. Imagine squirting it in one hand, smearing it on you, then grabbing the bottle with that hand so you can squirt some in the other to cover the other side. The more area you need to cover, the messier it's going to get.
Warnings/Disclaimers:
-Everyone is different, this is my experience, yours may differ.
-Because of that, you ought to spot test the product on a small area and if you have no adverse reaction after 24 hours, go ahead and use it.
-Do not rub this stuff into your skin. It's a protein dissolving agent, you want to be able to rinse it right off after the allotted time.
-Be careful applying it to sensitive skin. Again, spot test a small area, don't assume just because it didn't bother your chest or back it won't bother more sensitive places. I was fine, but everyone is different.
-Be aware of joints and crevices. You don't want to rub this stuff in, so if you put it in a place where the skin rubs together when you move, don't move that bit and keep the skin apart as much as possible.
-Be aware of the fact that your hands are covered in hair removal cream, and don't touch your head or anywhere else you don't want hair removed. If you do, get to cleaning it off immediately.
-I didn't try it on my face. The bottle doesn't recommend it, and I didn't feel bold. If you do feel so bold, be careful and spot test. Keep it away from your eyes.
-This stuff is melting off your hair, so it can't be good for your skin. When you are done, you may want to apply some restorative lotion.
warning. dont EVER nair your face. I did that at the ripe old age of 17 when dysphoria was high and facial hair growth was getting me depressed, and it created scabbing and chemical burn that lasted about 3 weeks. Not reccomended, ever. Take it from my experience. lol.
Quote from: Alice In Genderland on August 21, 2013, 01:54:35 AM
I found a product made especially for the face. Its actually marketed towards black men. In case it wasn't obvious, I'm not black and I use it on my face, I have very sensitive skin and it gives no irritation and leaves the skin nice and smooth, no razor bumps or ingrown hairs. Send me a PM if you want the link on Amazon if its not available in a Walmart near you.
Edit: Also works wonders on body hair as well
I fear el nair. however, having only to have to shave once a week now, compaired to pre HRT which was a shave every other day and have nasty red bumps everywhere; I haven't even thought of nair- but the face is different then legs, how long does it go without having growth on the face again? is it better then a shave? my skin is extra sensitive, and more so now that it has thinned out quite a bit.....so id be curious to utilize it if say it kept hair away for a few more then 2 days and all. :) So if you can let me know the regrowth rate for it, thatd be awesome. Im not on finasteride though, im on spiro, and of course if you are on finasteride I would assume you would have better results cuz it targets dht and all where spiro does not. either way, im very interested in a regrowth report before I sped my precious money on it.....there are sooo many more aspects to products I purchase now, its like my previous video game funding has shifted into transition funds like meds, make up hair products, clothing, etc etc lol- not that I care about not playing viodeo games anymore, I tried to a bit ago and all I got from that experience was press start.....and I said nope this is boring me now lol! would much rather practice make up techniques or interact with those in my life now, which is amazing becase it truly made me into me instead of the old withdrawn anti social escape from reality dysphoric monster I was prior to hrt. :) but ya, lemme know if you don't mind th regrowth rate and what AA ur on, if its satisfactory imo and you are on spiro, ill be all for a trial period to see. :)
Quote from: PrincessDayna on August 21, 2013, 02:17:57 PM
I fear el nair. however, having only to have to shave once a week now, compaired to pre HRT which was a shave every other day and have nasty red bumps everywhere; I haven't even thought of nair- but the face is different then legs, how long does it go without having growth on the face again? is it better then a shave? my skin is extra sensitive, and more so now that it has thinned out quite a bit.....so id be curious to utilize it if say it kept hair away for a few more then 2 days and all. :) So if you can let me know the regrowth rate for it, thatd be awesome. Im not on finasteride though, im on spiro, and of course if you are on finasteride I would assume you would have better results cuz it targets dht and all where spiro does not. either way, im very interested in a regrowth report before I sped my precious money on it.....there are sooo many more aspects to products I purchase now, its like my previous video game funding has shifted into transition funds like meds, make up hair products, clothing, etc etc lol- not that I care about not playing viodeo games anymore, I tried to a bit ago and all I got from that experience was press start.....and I said nope this is boring me now lol! would much rather practice make up techniques or interact with those in my life now, which is amazing becase it truly made me into me instead of the old withdrawn anti social escape from reality dysphoric monster I was prior to hrt. :) but ya, lemme know if you don't mind th regrowth rate and what AA ur on, if its satisfactory imo and you are on spiro, ill be all for a trial period to see. :)
Ok so as for spending precious money on it, I assume you are spending money on razors. I generally only get a couple shaves out of each razor for my face, and I'll actually go through more than one if I'm shaving my whole body. This stuff is not expensive, its like $4-8 for a 6oz bottle depending on where you get it and compared to some of the better razors its really no difference. If you can get away with the cheap bic razors you'd probably save money that way but they just don't seem to work well for me.
As for regrowth rate, I haven't really paid attention to the actual time difference but it does seem to be better than shaving. They claim it lasts 3 days. Since the cost is so low, it really can't hurt to try it for yourself.
I am not on any HRT.
They have 3 different strengths for the face and also have one for the scalp, I've only tried regular strength and as I said I have pretty sensitive skin, you could always try the extra sensitive version if you're worried but it obviously won't work as well but maybe for you since you have thinner hair now.
Like anything else, YMMV and several people on Amazon have complained that it didn't take their hair off at all and/or it burned their skin. I have very coarse, thick, curly facial hair and sensitive skin and it works great for me. It is designed for black men as I said and maybe my facial hair is similar to theirs I don't know but I'm not the only white person to find positive results.
If you do decide to try it and it doesn't work on your face, I will say me and several other people including at least one of the unsatisfied amazon customers have found it works extremely well on pubic hair with less irritation. (Does this mean black men's facial hair is similar to white men's pubic hair? no offence intended)
PM me if you'd like more info.
I had very similar results with nair on my chest (left stubble), but it worked wonderfully on my legs.