Reviewers Swear This $15 At-Home Wax Kit "Removes Every Hair" (2024)

Waxing. Bring it up with your friends and you’ll get every different reaction imaginable: People refusing to do it because of the pain, others raving about how long waxing lasts, and even more wondering if waxing really makes hair grow back thinner. (Spoiler: It could, if you do it regularly!) But no matter what you think of the pain-factor, regular trips to the wax center can get seriously expensive — some salons charge $54-$59 for a Brazilian bikini wax that lasts about two to three weeks. That adds up, which is why the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab set out to find the best at-home waxing kits for easy (and inexpensive) hair removal.

Our beauty chemists evaluated a range of waxing products, including hot waxes, cold waxes, strips and hard wax. We enlisted 22 consumer testers to try the products themselves. Each one was sent a waxing kit, which had its brand name blinded beforehand for true, unbiased feedback. The women used each product at least once, monitored their results for up to a week (watching for any irritation or ingrown hairs), then sent us their thoughts. GH experts analyzed the data to find the winning waxing kits that actually perform on underarms, bikini, face, and more.

Before you get waxing, make sure you know how to prepare with at-home hair removal tips and must-knows (for example, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) advises that hair should be about about one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch long for best results, and experts advise against trying to pull off a DIY Brazilian).

Now, check out the Beauty Lab’s top-tested waxing kits, plus top picks from our beauty editors and best-sellers you can’t get enough of:

This classic kit from Parissa (hot wax you heat in the microwave with cloth strips) removed the most hair at once and left skin ultra-smooth in our Lab tests. Testers said it was easy to apply, didn’t irritate skin, and wasn’t unbearably painful. Plus, even though it took a little more time to use than others, testers didn’t think it was difficult to prepare, making it the perfect mess-free choice for everywhere from bikini to underarms.

Nad’s hassle- and heat-free strips are the perfect intro to at-home waxing. It’s no surprise that testers rated them easiest to use, perfect for beginners— the wax is already on the strips and all you have to do is rub them between your hands to activate it! These wax stripsalso earned the highest score for not irritating skin, but few testers did say it took several tries to remove all hair.

Perfect for beginners, this kit comes with everything you need neatly packaged inside: hard wax in a microwaveable cup, four wax spreaders and post-wax oil to soothe skin and remove lingering traces of stickiness. The bright blue color makes this fragrance-freewax easy to apply.We haven't Lab tested this kit, but our editors especially loved the foolproof instructions on the brand's site for easily achieving the best results. Best of all? The wax nabs every last hair for silky-smooth skin.

Cirepil’s hard wax has earned over 16,200 reviews on Amazon! While you won’t need any disposable strips to use this hard wax, you will need a special warmer since the wax comes in bead form (if you don't want to invest in another gadget,one reviewer said she uses a coffee cup to microwave them). Reviewers rave about how effective the wax is, but warns thatthere is a learning curve when it comes to application. It may be helpful to watch a few how-to videos before attempting a DIY session.

Removing facial hair isn't something peoplelove to talk about, but it is extremely common. These perfectly-sized, berry-scented wax strips come ready to use, so you won't have to rub them or otherwise heat them before using on your brows, lips, chin or cheeks.This pack of 24happy wax strips comes with 12 finishing wipes to calm skin and remove any residue.

This pick from Nad’s is a clear, no-heat formula that's alsosuper-easy to cleanup post-wax, perfect for tackling larger areas on the legs and arms. Since it’s water-soluble, you can wash off leftover pieces from your skin, and even clothing and towels if you get any accidental drips on them — which is helpful since testers did warn application could get a little messy. Testers said it was effective at removing hair and didn’t hurt too much, but that it took them a few tries to remove all hair.

These innovative strips from Sally Hansen are ready to use right out of the box. You don’t have to warm them for the wax to work — simply separate the strips, smooth on and pull off! GH beauty director, April Franzino, says they’ll save time and cause less of a mess than some other kits. Depending on the temperature of the room you're waxing in (or where you store the product), you may need torub the strips between your hands to warm the wax a bit.

Thesuper-convenient roll-on applicator is the perfect size for applying to underarms for easy hair removal.Testers said a similar Nair roll-on wax was easy to apply, didn’t irritate skin or cause redness. But while the roll-on design is great for stashing in your bag, a few consumers said application was still on the messy side.