Nair = Drano: Reasons NOT to Use Hair Removing Creams

This recession is putting a hurt on everybody’s wallets. Women in particular are looking for ways to cut back on beauty expenses, opting to do for themselves things that would normally be a pampering service to take the stress away. But some self-care action items are almost a medical necessity. I for one cannot shave my bikini line  — the potential for ingrown hairs is far too great. Waxing has been my only method of hair removal for some time, but at a minimum of $30 per service in New York, more than once I have downgraded this treatment in order to save. Popular drug store hair depilatory creams like Nair did the trick as money-saving hair removal solutions. If you can’t afford to go to the salon you have to be real, right?

Would you still agree if I told you that the same ingredient used to dissolve hair on your skin is used to unplug hair-clogged bathroom sinks? According to the Drano web site, its main caustic ingredient (meaning the chemical doing the destroying) is sodium hydroxide.  A quick google of “Nair Sodium Hydroxide” reveals a plethora of sites detailing that this is also used in the product, and likely the cause of the burning, stinging, smelly nature of the cream. It is so similar to Drano in composition, there is even an eHow article detailing “How to Use Nair to Clear a Clogged Drain.” Yikes!

Yes, Nair helps your legs stay fly on a dime. But the harsh nature of sodium hydroxide makes using it worth reconsidering. Similar product such as Veet contain calcium hydroxide instead (among other ingredients), which is believed to be less harsh than the compounds in Nair — but both sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide can take the skin off your body if you leave them on for too long. The personal experiences and stories related by friends of an afternoon of grooming turning into a horror story complete with blood are too many to ignore.

You must rethink how you remove your hair. I for one will not be using Nair again or anything resembling it, armed with this new information. The question is: What’s next in the fight to stay smooth?

Other possibilities include extremely careful shaving (not for me anyway), cutting back on waxing, and investing in a expensive-but-effective hair removal machine. It would “pay for itself” over time.

How about you? How do you do your hair removal? Have you had to change the way you stay groomed because of the recession?