I tested the most popular at-home waxing kits — here's how they compared, and which ones actually work

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  • At-home waxing kits are a great way to achieve long-lasting hair removal at home.
  • They offer a way to remove body hair in your own space, and a great alternative to shaving.
  • Our top pick is the Nair Spa Sugar, as it offers the longest-lasting hair removal and a seamless removal process.
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At-home waxing kits are a great way to achieve long-lasting hair removal at home. They offer affordable ways of body and facial hair in your own space, on your own time. These days, there are hundreds of options out there — ranging from pre-made strips to sugar wax.

You may not be keen on the idea of waxing because of pain, worries about your hair growing back thicker and darker, and how long you can expect to wait before your hair grows back. But, here you'll find everything you need to know so that you can go forth with trying out a kit - already knowing its pros and cons.

I tested and evaluated a range of different waxing kits, to test its pain levels, hair removal, and regrowth. You can read more about my methodology here. 

Here are the best at-home waxing kits in 2021:

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The best overall

Nair Spa Sugar
Wax, salon wax, at home wax kit, natural hair removal. Nair

Nair Spa Sugar helps to remove coarse and fine hairs with just one strip. It's an easy-to-use waxing kit that comes with reusable tools, and offers almost pain-free hair removal.

Pros: The wax left no sticky residue, hair removal came with minimal pain, and the process was quick.

Cons: I didn't find any with this kit!

Nair's Spa Sugar comes with everything you need to achieve silky smooth skin in just one box.

Each kit comes with waxing strips that can be reused by simply rinsing in warm water, a reusable spatula, and a pot of 12 ounces of microwavable wax.

The wax itself is made up of 100% naturally derived ingredients, and just one pot will last you multiple waxing sessions. The wax is hypoallergenic & biodegradable with no perfumes, dyes, or parabens and offers a salon-quality wax every time, and comes with minimal pain.

The wax is warmed in the microwave and applied with the reusable spatula. It's the perfect consistency to coat hairs without dripping. I found that all of the hair was removed in the area covered by the wax and strip, and I was pleasantly surprised that when pulling the strip, there was little to no pain at all. No residue was left behind.

My skin stayed silky smooth for up to four weeks, but I noticed a little bit of regrowth around week two. 

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The best pre-made strips

Flamingo Body Wax Kit
Wax strips, reusable waxing strips. Flamingo

From the moment you open Flamingo's waxing kit, you get a quality experience. Each strip is prepared with soft gel wax strips that are recommended to use for up to two pulls.

Pros: They are relatively mess-free as the strips are pre-waxed, and they're easy to use in your own home or pack in a bag for a vacation.

Cons: They do require a bit of rubbing to heat up, and aren't always as powerful as hot wax.

Flamingo's soft gel-wax strips come ready to use, and offer minimal set-up or clean up mess. Flamingo was the first brand in the United States to offer this unique wax formula, and the high-quality ingredients contain no artificial colors or fragrances.

The kit comes with 12 double-sided body wax strips and six post-wax cloths, so you may need two packs if you want to do both of your legs from ankle to thigh. The brand recommends testing a small patch first to make sure you don't experience irritation.

After warming up the strips between my hands for around 30 seconds, I applied each side one at a time to my legs. I noticed that I had to press the strips into my legs a little firmer than with hot wax, to make sure all of the hair was covered. Ripping the strips off wasn't too painful, but did have a few patches that wouldn't remove straight away, and required multiple pulls.

Since they're pre-waxed, they're a little weaker, so you may be left with a little residue or patches that have hair remaining. They're really convenient for smaller patches of the body, such as the underarms or lower legs, and offer a mess-free, quick hair-removal process.

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The best for delicate areas

Bliss Poetic Waxing At Home Wax Kit
Microwave wax, salon quality wax, bliss wax. Bliss

Bliss is well-known for its iconic waxing services, so you're in good hands. This kit offers a safe, low-temperature at home wax, with salon results.

Pros: There is minimal cleanup as no strips are involved, and the product is free of paraben phthalate, and animal cruelty.

Cons: It can take a while to get used to pulling the dried wax itself instead of a strip. Additionally, if the wax is too hot, it can take awhile to set — and alternately, it sets too fast if it's not warm enough. 

This Bliss Poetic Wax Kit is cruelty-free and made without parabens and phthalates. The wax itself is formulated to shrink-wrap around your hair follicles, so that even the shortest, coarsest and most stubborn hair is removed. The chamomile oil in the wax is gentle enough for sensitive skin, while the apricot oil leaves skin moisturized.

The chamomile oil makes this wax gentle enough for the most sensitive skin, and the apricot oil helps moisturise.

I heated this wax in it's pre-filled cup in the microwave for the recommended time, but it was a little too hot when taking it out, so I left it for a few minutes before applying it to my legs. I found the consistency to be quite thin, and so it was easier to work with in smaller patches to avoid running. After getting the hang of pulling at the dried wax rather than a strip, the removable was fairly painless, and involved minimal mess, which is always a bonus.

You may find that this waxing experience is slightly different to most at-home kits, as you need to pull on the dried wax itself, rather than a strip. Make sure to heat up your wax to the right temperature, as too cold and it'll dry quickly, and too hot and you may be waiting a while for it to set, as well as being at risk of burns.

Because of its removal process and nourishing ingredients, this wax works best on more delicate areas of the body, or in small patches at a time.

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The best natural wax

Sugar Coated Wax Kit
Natural hair removal, waxing kit, sugar wax. Sugar Coated

The beauty of Sugar Coated's Full Body Waxis that it's easy to remove if you make a mistake in applying, so you always get a precise wax. 

Pros: Everything is natural, vegan, and easy to remove.

Cons: You have to have the perfect amount of growth before waxing your legs, as it doesn't pick shorter hairs up very well.

Sugar Coated Hair Removal Full Body Wax is not only vegan and free from any testing on animals, it is 100 percent natural, water soluble and eco-friendly. It doesn't contain any citric acid, resins or additives, and so offers a smooth application and gentle results.

The kit comes with plenty of reusable strips (15) and three spatulas, as well as nearly nine ounces of sugar wax. It smells like warm caramel, and only takes about 40 seconds to heat up. The wax didn't take long to heat up at all, and was the perfect honey-like consistency to apply. There was no dripping, but it was thin enough to be able to spread and coat hairs efficiently. I made a small mistake around my knees (I prefer not to do too high up my thighs), and I was able to remove it really easily with some warm water.

The wax removal was surprisingly painless, even though thicker and darker waxes like this one tend to hurt more. Have no fear: It's a short sting, and then it's over.

The wax is quite dark in colour because of its natural ingredients, but it's also fairly transparent so it's easy enough to see that you're picking up hair well. The process offers a removal at the more painless end of the spectrum, most likely because of its natural ingredients: just sugar syrup and water. It's also safe to use over the whole body, so you don't have to purchase multiple kits for different parts you may want to wax.

The wax seems to pick up mid to longer hairs more efficiently than any shorter, stubbly ones. So make sure that you've got enough growth before setting up for your waxing session.

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The best gentle wax

Nad's Natural Hair Removal Sugar Wax
Sensitive skin, gentle hair removal, natural wax. Nad's

Nad's Natural Hair Removal Sugar Wax is the no-heat way to achieve silky smooth skin.

Pros: You don't need to worry too much about the wax setting or becoming cold during the process as it's designed to be used at room temperature, the wax also offers a nearly 100 percent removal of any hair that it covers.

Cons: If your room isn't particularly warm, you may need to heat it up for a few seconds in the microwave. It also leaves a bit of a sticky residue.

This natural wax from Nad's is designed to warm to the body's natural heat. The formula is hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested, and so is designed for even the most sensitive skin.

You can use the product at room temperature, but I found that I needed to heat the wax up before using it, just to make it a little more malleable. I waxed one leg at a time to be able to assess whether I had a reaction, or was left with any sore skin — I didn't, and I wasn't. I did my legs in two stages, because the wax is designed to be used straight from the jar. With a little heating, I didn't have to worry about it setting before I finished my session.

This wax is so incredibly gentle, and anything that's left on your skin is easily removed with some water and a cloth. I found the whole process quite painless, and didn't get the catching, stingy feeling that you get when you pull at hairs with thick wax to coat them.

Make sure to follow the instructions when it comes to prepping. The box contains not only six ounces of wax, six reusable wooden applicators and 100% cotton reusable strips, but it comes with a bar of naturally derived pre-wax cleansing soap.

You may notice a little residue, but the great thing about this wax is that it simply washes away with just water. So, if you're applying to a more delicate area, or make a mistake with where you cover, you can just rinse it off.

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Our methodology

To test everything fairly, I split each of my legs into two sections, split right down the middle of my calf, and one side being the left, one the right. This covered four waxes, and for the fifth, I waited until I had sufficient regrowth and tested on my leg then.

I followed the instructions contained within the boxes, and made sure to document which wax was applied in which section. The wax was applied to my legs primarily, and then either tested on a small patch of bikini line or underarm to test for more sensitive areas that may have darker, more stubborn hairs.

Each day for 21 days, I took notes on what regrowth I noticed from each section and wax.

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