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Waxing may seem like an intimidating (read: painful!) way to remove body hair, but the best at-home waxing kits make the process easy, mess-free, and as approachable as your favorite razor. Plus, there are unique benefits to waxing, anyway: It can reduce your risk of ingrown hairs and razor burn and lasts longer than shaving. So if you’re on the fence, changing up your routine could be worth it if you’re prone to post-shave irritation.
These days, many waxes are infused with ingredients like aloe, jojoba oil, shea butter, vitamin E, and other trusty moisturizers, which make them less likely to tick off your skin, says Vanessa Coppola, MS, FNP-BC a board-certified nurse practitioner and founder of Bare Aesthetics in Closter, New Jersey. And most kits have user-friendly features like precise wax strips, hard wax warmers that prevent burns, and pre- and post-wax skin care products, so you can feel even more comfortable giving them a try.
Our Top Picks
- Best Overall: Flamingo Body Wax Kit (2-Pack), $20
- Best Hard Wax: Bliss Poetic Waxing At Home Wax Kit, $35
- Best for Beginners: Tress Wellness Waxing Kit, $50
- Best for Sensitive Skin: Parissa Natural Legs & Body Wax Strips, $19
- Best for Face: Athena Club Wax Strip Kit for Face, $9
One thing to note: If you’re a total waxing newbie and have highly sensitive skin, rosacea, or eczema, consider seeing a pro before trying it at home, Lilin Alba, a licensed esthetician and founder of Alba Aesthetics in New York City, says. “A trained provider can assess whether waxing is appropriate in the first place,” she explains. Ready to give waxing a rip? These expert- and editor-approved kits make ridding yourself of unwanted hair a breeze.
Frequently Asked QuestionsLargeChevron
- What type of wax is best to use at home?
- What are common waxing mistakes to avoid?
- Meet the experts
- How we test and review products
- Our staff and testers
Best Overall: Flamingo Body Wax Kit
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Flamingo
Body Wax Kit
Amazon (2-Pack)
Walmart
Allure shopping director Shanna Shipin using the Flamingo Body Wax Kit
Shanna Shipin
Why we love it: An Allure Best of Beauty Award-winner three years running, Flamingo’s Body Wax Kit clears body hair in a matter of seconds and only hurts about as much as pulling a bandage off your skin (seriously). The soft-gel wax contains nourishing castor oil and comes ready to use on two sizes of strips, which are great for tackling hair on your legs, arms, and underarms. The kit also comes with six post-wax cloths to wipe away any residue (they’re also infused with vitamin E to help your skin recover if it’s red or stinging). And once the hair is gone, it stays gone: Our testers only needed to break out the kit every few weeks. They come in handy for upkeep between salon visits, working on the stubbliest of strands as short as two millimeters.
Tester feedback from shopping director Shanna Shipin
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“I have superdark hair on my upper lip that frankly requires a lot of attention—and, unfortunately, I can't use any old wax strip or wax cream since my eczema-prone skin loves to come off…with my hair…if the product is too harsh. Thankfully, these Flamingo wax strips never let me down. The game-changing thing about these is that you don't need to warm them up! I cannot stress the sheer convenience of this when you're in a pinch and the stress of rubbing your hands together would just make everything worse. There have been plenty of times that I didn't (evidently) warm the strips up enough, and wasted wax and time. Instead, you get a perfect 10 when using Flamingo—whether it's the made-for-the-face strips or the body wax strips, which are easy to cut down to size to use wherever you need to. These strips lift the hair without lifting the skin, pull from the root, and I love that it comes with oil wipes for clean up without breaking me out.” —Shanna Shipin, shopping director
More to know
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- Number of strips: 28
- Wax type: glyceryl rosinate
Best for Face: Athena Club Wax Strip Kit for Face
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Athena Club
Wax Strip Kit for Face
Amazon
Allure contributing commerce editor Deanna Pai applying the Athena Club Wax Strip Kit for Face
Deanna Pai
Why we love it: The skin on your face is more delicate and sensitive than the skin on your body, so it’s important to use a wax that reflects that. With its ultra-nourishing formula, Athena Club’s Wax Strip Kit for Face ticks that essential box—star ingredients include trusty moisturizers like coconut oil, shea butter, and sunflower seed oil. Its strips are also sized correctly for small areas like your upper lip or cheek (or, according to the brand, your bikini area). “If you just want quick facial touch-ups with no equipment to deal with, the Athena Club Face Wax Strips are a smart grab-and-go option,” Coppola says. She also likes the serum that comes in the kit. It restores moisture to the skin with hyaluronic acid and reduces irritation with aloe leaf juice.
Tester feedback from contributing commerce editor Deanna Pai
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“I don’t love getting my upper lip professionally waxed—it’s too intense, in my opinion, and my skin gets red and irritated—so I rely on these strips instead. They’re amazing. They do the trick in under a minute, pulling out even the fine hairs by the corner of my mouth. I also love the serum, which has a cooling rollerball that feels nice and soothing afterwards.” —Deanna Pai, contributing commerce editor
More to know
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- Number of strips: 20
- Wax type: glyceryl rosinate, carnauba wax
Best Hard Wax: Bliss Poetic Waxing At Home Wax Kit
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Bliss
Poetic Waxing At Home Wax Kit
Amazon
Why we love it: After a quick turn in the microwave (in its adorable spa-style cup), Bliss’s editor-recommended Poetic Waxing At Home Wax is ready to use. It comes with spatulas (in two different sizes) for easy application—just spread an even layer at least ⅛-inch thick onto your skin—and it hardens quickly, coating and gripping each hair for clean removal. Its unscented formula also contains chamomile oil to calm skin, making it a good bet for sensitive skin. For extra soothing, follow up with the included nourishing oil, which is made with more chamomile oil and skin-softening apricot kernel oil (FYI: It also contains fragrance). A couple heating tips from Bliss: Warm the wax in 30-second intervals until it’s the consistency of thick honey, and before applying it, test a little on your inner wrist to make sure it’s not too hot.
More to know
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- Size: 5.3 ounces
- Wax type: rosin, beeswax, lanolin, paraffin
Best for Beginners: Tress Wellness Waxing Kit
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Tress Wellness
Waxing Kit
Amazon
Walmart
Why we love it: Wax strips are easy to use and potentially less messy, but hard wax is generally gentler, making it a better entry point for newbies, according to Alba. (The more you know.) Coppola recommends Tress Wellness’s Wax Kit because “it hits everything I look for in an at-home kit.” The hard wax beads are made with jojoba oil to hydrate skin and come in two formulas: lavender for all-around waxing and tea tree oil for coarser hair. They melt quickly and evenly in the included wax warmer, which has a clear digital readout of the temperature. “At home, temperature precision is the whole game. It's the difference between a clean pull and a burn,” Coppola says. This kit also comes with wipes for pre- and post-wax skin care, as well as the brand’s “Wax Like a Pro” manual that walks you through the steps.
More to know
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- Size: 5 bags of hard wax beads, totaling 1.1 pounds
- Wax type: rosin, beeswax, glyceryl rosinate
Best for Sensitive Skin: Parissa Natural Legs & Body Wax Strips
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Parissa
Natural Legs & Body Wax Strips
Amazon
Why we love it: Fragrance-free, dye-free, and formulated to be gentle, Parissa’s Natural Legs & Body Wax Strips won’t leave sensitive skin irritated and inflamed. The cream-based wax feels smooth and doesn’t catch or pull. After waxing, the Ultra Soothe Oil hydrates with jojoba oil and vitamin E, then cools the skin with peppermint oil. Parissa’s wax strips “effectively remove unwanted hair without the hassle,” Supriya Rastogi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology in New York City, says. Doing a whole-body wax? The brand also makes strips for the bikini and underarm areas using the same non-irritating formula.
More to know
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- Number of strips: 48
- Wax type: glyceryl rosinate, beeswax
Frequently asked questions
What type of wax is best to use at home?
It depends on what feels more approachable to you. Wax strips don’t need to be heated, saving you time and the risk of accidental burns, which is why Dr. Rastogi prefers them for at-home use.
Meanwhile, Alba and Coppola make a case for hard wax, which you need to heat up and spread onto your skin yourself. “Hard wax wraps around the hair rather than gripping the skin, so you get far less pulling on the surface and much less irritation, especially in delicate areas,” Coppola says. Just remember to test the temperature of the wax on your wrist before applying it to a larger area. If you have any hesitance around trying hard wax at home, visit a licensed hair removal professional instead.
Finally, regardless of your preferred type of wax, check the kit’s ingredient list before you use it, especially if you have reactive skin. Most waxes use rosin, beeswax, or a combination thereof for their base, but some also contain fragrances, dyes, or essential oils that may cause irritation.
What are common waxing mistakes to avoid?
The week before you wax, stop using products with retinols or retinoids on the targeted area. “These ingredients can make the skin more susceptible to skin lifting, irritation, and even burns during hair removal,” Dr. Rastogi says. A day or two beforehand, gently exfoliate the area. The day of, keep your skin dry and clear of lotions, oils, or deodorants to ensure the wax sticks and lifts off properly, Alba says.
For wax strips, your hair needs to be at least two millimeters long in order to effectively wax it. For hard wax, it should be a quarter of an inch long, or about the length of a grain of rice, Alba says. Coppola emphasizes the importance of your waxing technique. “Keep your hand close to the skin and pull parallel to it, against the direction of growth,” she explains. “Never [pull] up and away,” she adds, because that can lead to bruising.
After waxing, show your skin some TLC. Apply moisturizer to keep it hydrated and support the skin barrier, Dr. Rastogi says.
Meet the experts
- Lilin Alba, a licensed esthetician and founder of Alba Aesthetics in New York City
- Vanessa Coppola, MS, FNP-BC a board-certified nurse practitioner, integrative aesthetics and menopause expert, and founder of Bare Aesthetics in Closter, New Jersey
- Supriya Rastogi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology in New York City
How we test and review products
When Allure tests a product, our editors look at it from every angle in an effort to best serve you. We review ingredients, scrutinize brand claims, and, when necessary, examine peer-reviewed scientific and medical studies. In addition to testing each and every product that’s included in each and every review, we rely on experts who shape their fields, including dermatology, cosmetic chemistry, and medicine, to help us vet the ingredients and formulas.
And for our reviews of the best at-home wax kits, we enlisted the help of multiple editors, writers, contributors, cosmetic chemists, and makeup artists with a range of experience studying and using these products. Testers considered performance across four primary categories: efficacy, texture, experience, and formula. For more on what's involved in our reporting, check out our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Our staff and testers
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors—in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon—is essential to reaching that goal.
After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the “best” for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from are folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We’re proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.
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