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Nair, as well as other depilatory creams, are a promising way to get your legs, armpits, bikini line, and butt looking nice and smooth.

However, these creams don’t come without their challenges.

In this post, we’ll talk about using Nair (as well as other creams like Veet or Nads) for hair removal, and how you can safely use these creams to maximize hair removal results.

Let’s Talk About Goals

So the ideal goal with Nair-ing your body is a complete (and very thorough reduction) in hair, in a way that’s relatively cheap and low-effort.

In a lot of ways, this goal can become a reality using depilatory creams like Nair, Veet, or Nads, but using these creams comes with hurdles.

What to Expect

Let’s get realistic for a moment about what you can expect when working with these sorts of creams.

Firstly, it’s advisable to have moderately trimmed hair before lathering your thighs or butt with this stuff. You don’t want to be putting this on thighs you haven’t trimmed or shaved for months at a time.

Usually this process goes as follows: squirt some of this cream onto your hand, rub it onto your skin (over top of the hair, without rubbing it in), wait some unknown amount of time, and rinse it off.

The results can vary depending on what kind of hair you have, where you’re using the cream, how long your hair was, how well you applied it, and so on.

Generally, however, on my thighs I can say it looks like I had a very thorough shave close to the skin–maybe against the grain if you will.

While this is true, remember that your hair will still grow back as if you had shaved. Or at least, that’s been my experience.

Choosing the Right Cream

Depending on where you’re going to be applying this cream, and what kind of hair you have, different creams accomplish different things.

Broadly, I’ve seen this Nair formula shilled out the most. I’ve found the added oils are really great, especially because I’m somebody with sensitive skin and it’s great for the irritation that can occur in the end.

Just to put this into context, however, I’d say the hair on my thighs is darker and thicker, but not quite as coarse or rough as the hair on my pubes or butt.

I know others can certainly say the same, and in having tried that same Nair formula on my pubes or butt, I’ve found it to be mostly ineffective.

Enter: Nads. I had heard Nads get mentioned as an alternative to Nair and Veet for those with thicker, coarser hair on their bikini areas. More specifically, this Nad’s for men Down Under cream.

My experience with Nads was the same as my experience with Nair and Veet. It worked on the areas with thinner hair, but not on my pubes or butt; all but disqualifying them for me.

Perhaps if I were to have left it on for longer or used more of it maybe it would have worked better. Some people do this, though I’m a wimp, and like my skin solid instead of liquid, so I didn’t try it.

With that said, however, I know many people have had a lot of success with these creams for hair removal on their bikini area, and really swear by it these days.

It would take me 9-minutes out of the allowed 10-minute maximum for my hair to dissolve with Nair.

Prepare to Nair

Just like with any other form of hair removal, it’s important to properly prep your skin beforehand.

Make sure your hair is the optimal length for using these creams. This isn’t a must, but it can really help with minimizing how much of the cream you’re using, and also seeing significantly better results.

As always, exfoliate your skin if you can before and after using any of these creams.

It’s recommended to use these creams before getting into the shower, though on some of the bottles they’ll tell you to apply it and then go shower freely.

I wholeheartedly disagree with this advice, and would instead advise you to apply it before getting into the shower, wash your hands after the application, use a timer, and then get into the shower when you’re washing it off.

Also, don’t use Nair on your skin if you have open wounds or otherwise-inflamed blemishes.

Where to Nair

Depending on what cream you chose, apply the cream onto the skin, covering the hair, but don’t rub it in, Some people do rub it in, even though it explicitly tells you not to on all of the bottles.

Ensure you’re covering up all of the hair with the cream, but don’t feel like you only need to look at your skin and only see cream.

If you’re Nair-ing your thighs, make sure you look in a mirror and properly cover the backs of your thighs. The first time I did this, I didn’t use a mirror, and had like completely hairless thighs in front, and really hairy thighs in back.

Not a good look.

If you’re going to be Nair-ing your butt, do not get the cream on your anus.

Do not do that.

Some people will apply a thin-to-thick layer of Vaseline (or another petroleum jelly) to their anus and then apply Nair.

Additionally, even if you’re using a cream like Nads, I wouldn’t suggest using it close to your genitals.

Always follow the advice on cream application that’s on the bottles.

Though, for what it’s worth–and let my life experience save you some pain here: you’ll be able to feel very quickly where you shouldn’t have Nair.

Exfoliate

As is always the advice, exfoliate before doing any sort of hair removal. This is a really great way to clean up your skin, and get it softer and more prepared for shaving, Nair-ing, and so on.

We wrote a whole article here on exfoliating and getting started, but to sum it up:

• Using mechanical exfoliants like body scrubs can help to clear your skin and make it smoother or softer
• Using a loofah or pouf in the shower can exfoliate your skin before and after hair removal
• Using moisturizing body washes can help to keep your skin hydrated and reduce irritation
• Using a dry brush works exactly like a shaving brush would to provide additional exfoliation to your skin
• Exfoliating regularly will lead to softer hair, reducing the overall likelihood of ingrown hairs, especially in areas with thick, coarse hair

One important thing to remember–specifically in regard to depilatory creams–is to make sure the irritation on your skin after the application clears up before you use chemicals or exfoliants on your skin.

Proper Hair Length

As we’ve already talked about, trimming up your hair before using these creams may help the cream to be more effective.

It will be easier to fully cover the hair on your skin if you trim it beforehand.

Not to mention this also means you’ll be able to apply less cream to the skin, reducing the potential for irritation, and saving you more money in the end.

A lot of these newer trimmers can get closer to the skin, and even replace razors in some cases. I’ve found this body trimmer to work wonders for me, as have others.

How Long to Leave It On

A lot of the bottles recommend not going over a 10-minute threshold, though definitely consult your own bottle before listening to me.

There’s a look that you’ll see on the areas you applied the cream to that you grow to recognize over time.

When the cream is ready to be removed, it usually looks a lot thinner than when it went on. In my case, it almost looks as though the cream has dissolved some, and maybe has little bits of salt or sugar on it.

I surmise this is because the cream soaks into your skin, gets absorbed in-part by the hair, and the little bits of debris you see on the cream after some time has passed are pieces of the hair that was removed.

For me, and the thin hair on my legs, this usually takes 9 out of the 10-minutes that I’m allowed.

Experiment and see what works best for you, but if it starts to burn a lot, definitely rinse it off.

GET THIS OFF OF ME!!!

Speaking of which, I would advise you to have a spare washcloth you don’t really care about to wipe the cream off of you once you get into the shower.

It should probably go without saying, but don’t take a bath and wipe the cream off into your bath.

I’ve also heard horror-stories of people not properly getting the nair off of their skin (or hands) when rinsing it off, and then getting it into their hair… and you can see where I’m going with this.

Firm strokes with a wet washcloth in conjunction with the water of the shower is usually enough to get it all off.

It does stick to you a bit, so know just passively rinsing your body off isn’t going to be enough to get all of the cream off of you.

Cover Your Nose

If you’ve put any time into researching Nair or other depilatory creams, one of the biggest downsides you’ll hear talked about is the smell.

And believe me, those people are not wrong.

Some don’t report smelling anything after rinsing the Nair off of their body, but for those that do encounter this, it’s pretty bad.

It’s exactly the smell of burning hair, and it’s awful, so make sure you’re not breathing a ton of that in while you rinse it off of you.

I’ve never smelled anything bad until I rinsed it off, but the first time I did rinse it off, I had my nose held completely shut by the end of it.

Post-Nair Tips

Right after you get all the Nair off of your skin, enjoy it a bit. If you don’t have a ton of irritation, you’ll likely look more hairless than if you had just shaved.

The irritation, however, is a very real side-effect of having used Nair, and it’s important to treat irritated skin with care following a depilatory hair removal session.

Additionally, make sure you got all of the Nair off of you, and that it all got washed down the drain. I once got some of it accidentally on the wall of my shower, and there’s a small mark there to this day.

If you used a spare washcloth for removing the Nair, make sure the cream (and melted hair–yuck), is all off of the washcloth after you rinse it off. It really likes to stick on there too.

Reducing Irritation

If you find your skin is red after having used Nair, you’re not alone. A lot of people report seeing this sort of redness on the skin–especially those with sensitive skin–but there’s a boundary here between seeing minor skin irritation and a worrisome side-effect.

Not that you should ever expect to see something truly wrong happen to your skin after having used these sorts of creams, but if you find your skin to be difficult to touch, peeling, or anything of that nature, be sure to check out the back of the bottle, or consult your physician or dermatologist.

If you do happen to see minor irritation, don’t immediately apply exfoliants to your skin afterwards.

Instead, try first reducing the irritation on your skin by:

• Leaving your skin alone for a little while
• Using fragrance-free moisturizers or moisturizing body washes
• Wearing loose-fitting clothes and avoiding constricting your skin
• Avoiding sitting or lying on the irritated areas for long periods
• Applying a cold compress to the irritated area
• Applying cooling agents, such as menthol or calamine
• Drinking enough water
• Eating food, including leafy greens, that are rich in vitamins A, C, and E
• Getting adequate amounts of sleep

Get the Most Out of Every Bottle

If you keep your skin relatively hair-free to begin with, you’ll end up using less Nair every time you have to apply it.

Additionally, don’t feel as though you have to apply the thickest layer possible every time. Sometimes you’ll see some of the hair poke out. Nothing is ever perfect.

Don’t feel like you have to go super fast with the application, and instead focus on thorough, clean strokes to apply the cream to your skin.

This will help you to save money and keep from running out of whatever creams you use.

It Didn’t Work the First Time

If you find the first time you applied the Nair, it didn’t quite get all of the hair, sometimes you can go for another round.

Some of these products advise you wait a day. I would say to wait a day, even if you look a little wonky.

It’s probably not a fantastic idea to repeatedly apply these hair-melting agents to your skin over and over again throughout the day.

There are some people though who agree it’s completely fine to double up just once. I’ve done this, and haven’t seen any added irritation on my skin. Your mileage my vary, so be sure to watch out for the potential side-effects of over-Nair’ing.