Nair Disaster

Well, if I was going to give any of my readers advice, I would suggest never using Nair products on any part of your body. Ever. Last week I endured countless hours of involuntary pain. I  have to mention that I only have sensitive skin if I shower with a place that doesn’t have a water softener, luckily my new place does. No more eczema for me! I was feeling a bit lazy and didn’t want to shave that particular morning. Instead, I went out to the drug store and picked up a ten dollar(!!!) bottle of Nair that I am contemplating throwing in the garbage. I read some of the instructions, it told me to test it out on a patch of skin first. Who does that anyway? (Smart people probably). But not I! It then tells me that I should not use it if I have sensitive skin. I certainly don’t—my eczema is gone, right?

I slathered it on my legs, a glob on my arm pits, and everywhere else that grows unnecessary unattractive hair. I left it on for about 6 or 7 minutes, hopped in the shower and scrubbed the nair off with a face cloth. That stuff is hard to get off, and the hair sticks, and it’s all just one gross mess. When I washed the product off my arm pits I noticed it did a poor job of removing all of the hair that I wanted off. So, again I applied more of the nair to places on my body where I didn’t think there should be hair. This is where I took the wrong turn. I should have never applied that devil of a product on my body for a second time. I burned the cripes out of my arm pit skin. It stung so bad. It almost looked like a wet cut, the rash was that bad. I literally called my Mom and was almost in tears (She laughed). I immediately tried to calm my skin with … SOAP. Where in the hell did I get that idea? IT STUNG A LOT MORE THAN THE BEGINNING. So, I tried to put on deodorant. Third sting. Bloody hell. So, the only idea I had left, was putting a bundle of baby powder on. Which seemed to help soothe it, to a degree.

What I didn’t know was that nair is no different than shaving, so you will see stubble a day or two later. Just like shaving. So I just wasted ten dollars, and I can’t shave for a few days. Awesome. I couldn’t put deodorant on the next day, I was that sore. It was painful having something restricting on or near my arms, oh… you know. Like a t-shirt? Yeah, couldn’t wear one of those for a day and a half. It felt like a reeeeally bad sunburn. I also had some red, rough, raised, rash-like patches on my legs. I think the pain of the armpits overwhelmed any other pain I would have otherwise experienced.

Where is the nair right now? It’s sitting on the top of my wardrobe, waiting until the next time I use it. Which probably won’t be that long from now, as I’m a stubborn person. IE: (“Oh, I don’t remember hurting that bad. I won’t leave it on for as long this time. I also won’t put it on a second time”). I need a slap! Seriously.

A few people that I have talked to, can’t use nair because of the stench that comes off. Apparently they said it smells like hair burning. Maybe they have come out with newer products since they’ve last used it. I used something, and it smelled like some nice lavender scent. No burning hair! Gross.

I think I’ll either stick to waxing, or shaving. No more nair. Do you have any horror stories about shaving, waxing, or hair removal cream? Tell me! I want to be entertained today lol.

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39 Comments

    1. I feel your pain. I used Nair five years ago to remove some dark facial hair on my upper lip and it burned me. Five years later, I am still scarred. The pain was unbearable and my lip swelled. I haven’t gone near the stuff since.

  1. Nair can be the DEVIL!

    Normally nair works awesome for me, though I usually just use it on my legs. But one time I decided to use it on my eyebrows because I was too lazy to pluck and thought it would be an awesome idea because i would be able to easily control the shape of them. WRONG.

    I started off with doing one eyebrow to see if it would work. Not long after I applied it, it started burning like crazy, so I took it off and it left a huge rash. I put ice on it to take away the burning, but it was itchy too.

    Eventually that rash turned into a scab, and it was there for a couple weeks. Totally sucked. Soooo I just use it on my legs, though i actually prefer shaving, it’s quicker.

  2. You should give them a call and complain about it!
    And after that just take it to a Walmart and RETURN it!!!

    The Yves Rocher store has great waxing stuff and they also have their own little spa inside the store with great prices for waxing, never over $20 dollars.

  3. LOL oh i have tried this! exactly this!
    I was going on a hiking trip, where i wouldn’t be able to shave my legs for a week. so i thought, hey why not shave my legs first, and THEN put on nair?! BIG MISTAKE!!! because when you shave your legs, you shave off a thin layer of skin, and a new layer of skin is exposed, very sensitive skin!!! then i put on the nair :) great! and because of the new sensitive skin i got a very red and burned skin. and after a day i got a crisp layer on the red and burned skin. so instead of having nice shaved legs for a week, well i got crispy, red and sore legs :(

    1. @Nanna: The same thing happened to me,But I shaved my legs then picked up a bottle of Nair thinking it was lotion (it was late at night). I lather the Nair on, I rub on my skin. And my skin starts peeling off and burning!. I then read the label :(. I start to panic I then read the Do Not List. ( DO Not Use On sensitive skin,Rub,And Leave on for more than 10 minutes,Which i had done).I had red bumps and burning legs. I am never going to use Nair again

      1. @Kaydance Jo: it wasn’t Nairs fault. Why would you stop using it? It specifically told you what not to do and you just didn’t read it so it was nothing wrong with the product

  4. Wow! I’ve never heart of anyone who has had that bad of an experience with Nair. My mom always uses this Brazilian stuff that is more harsh than Nair. I don’t even both with wax, because (like you mentioned) it’s just like shaving–stubble appears within a few days. You should definitely call NAIR and complain. They’ll probably refund your money.

  5. I’ve used Nair before, absolutely useless! It just didn’t remove hair at all and when it did, it left patches so had to shave anyway. Throw it away! DON’T leave it on top of your wardrobe to use again! :P

  6. i know this is an old entry, but i stumbled upon it after typing in bad experience with nair, on google. i have just used nair for the 1st time and i will never again! i bought the bikini area one since it specifically was made for that area. so i tried it out and i tried it on my underarms as well (bottle said i could) so i waited about 5 mins, and wiped it off my under arms, didnt take off the hair at all, then i washed it off the bikini area as instructed and when i used the washcloth there was blood every where. i rinsed as much as i could, but when i got out of the shower my bikini area was very red, rashy, cut up and burned like heck. it looks like i shaved myself with just a razor and water. horrible! i am calling the company 1st thing in the morning~~

  7. I have had the same exact story last night i was too lazy to shave was going to stay at my bf (which he has used it ) its been so many years since i have i couldnt remember why i never used it. I can now!!!! My right armpit oddly enough looks like someone took a knife too it. I put burn onitment on made the pain worse so i put ice on seems to soothe it a little. Will this pain ever go away ????

  8. Never using Nair again!!! I’ve used the nair shower power for sensitive skin a few times & had good results. Even the smell wasn’t as horrible as I remember it being! So when I saw the nair Brazilian clay, I thought I’d give it a try. I mean, hey how bad can it be? It’s got pomegranate & everything “good for you” these days seem to have pomegranate in it… Plus, it’s got clay…clay supposed to be good for you, right? Like clay masks & stuff… So I slathered it on (no test patch here either..), left it for the appropriate amount of time & jumped in the shower. Stuff & hair came off as expected…until I got out of the shower & I noticed that my entire right leg from knee to able was covered in red bumps…and they burned! It’s almost a week later & I’ve got little scabs all over my legs. Doesn’t hurt anymore but certainly not baring leg anytime soon…but the worst part is – I had stubble within 2 days but I’m afraid to shave now!! So by the time I’ll be ready to shave, I’ll have my very own fur coat to contend with! I’m going to Florida for New Years so I’m really hoping I’ll be able to shave by then (never thought I’d look forward to shaving!)

  9. Hmm, its says on the bottle not to leave it on for longer than 2 minutes before going in the shower, and its pretty clear about not applying it to wet skin.

  10. Nair doesn’t bother me. But this time it did. I think i applied to much and left it on for to long. Because now my vagina has a scab n lil bumps around it. Should i go to the doctor or is it a creme i can apply??

  11. I used to use Nair I never minded not shaving cause you know when you do that first shave of the year it itches like crazy. Well, today my niece has a choir concert and I didn’t want to embarrass her by showing up in a dress with bambi possibly running throw the fields. So, to avoid the itchy sticky feeling and the nicks and razor burns I used my mom’s Nair. I used it before a few years back and it worked fine. But this time it didn’t get all the hair the first or second time and I was STUPID enough that even though it burned the first time I put it on a third time and was almost in tears. Powder does seem to sooth it but it does feel like a sunburn.

    So, in less then ten minutes I learned two things.

    1.) NEVER use Nair again!

    2.) If women were meant to have no hair in the arm pits they would never grow hair there.

    Also, it is less painful to just let Bambi run free in the fields then it is to shave.

  12. I have the SAME story with my armpits lol. I applied nair just once for about 3 minutes as it says. And i took it off with a wash cloth and there was a tiny bit if bleeding. It burned so much. Then got in the shower and my dumb self used soap. WORSE THING EVER. Didnt put deodorant on after but after two hours i decided to put some. It burned like hell. I jumped and screamed a bit. Now its all red. And im scared to shave. I hate nair now. I returned it and NEVER buying again.

  13. Hey i just read this, its spring and im beginning to wear shorts and such plus just keeping myself clean. I used nair and just like you i rubbed it off with a face cloth, i have used a different nair before but i got red bumps too and i keep getting them with nair idk why, but now i have been getting cut when washing it off and it doesn’t even talk off the hair, I sat in the shower almost in tears because of the pain. It is SO bad. I recommend not using it especially because it is so expensive.
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  14. i just recently found out about this website just because using Nair. My mom recommended using Nair instead of shaving. So just yesterday I used Nair and it burned when I applied it on my legs, so I just went with it thinking it was working, no. I left it for 3 minutes because it says too keep it on depending on the thickness of hair, so I did and I took it off. Some hair came off and some didn’t. So I left it like that and I now have red bumps on my right leg on the- right left .

  15. OMG! I used Nair for the first time tonight….i am in so much pain. I’ve tried Lavender Essential Oil, Aveeno Lotion, Neosporin,….its excruciating….doesn’t look like I’m going to get much sleep tonight or tomorrow….anyone find anything that works to relieve the pain? Let me know asap, please….I’m 37 weeks pregnant and really don’t want to go into labor already in pain from burns from this stupid product. :(

  16. So, I have used Nair and Sally Hansen hair removal creams. Both burn and I will never use either product again. However, I did want to share that as far as soothing the area(s), a cold wash cloth on the area for a few minutes, followed by pure virgin olive oil. I tried the lotion, creams- most of them have perfume in them, alcohol, and other non-natural ingredients or chemicals so it burned. I hope this helps.

  17. One time I got a new bikini top and I was going swimming the next day so I used nair on my stomach as I can never seem to get a close shave on my stomach. It felt fine when I was using it, but when I took it off there were lines of red rash and what looked like razor burn everywere. I quickly washed off with cold water, but it itched like crazy. I applied soothing cream and took an antihistamine, but it was still irritated when I was putting on my bathing suit. :(

  18. I feel your pain sista! Just put that stuff on my upper lip and around my brows… HUGE mistake. My face is on fire!

  19. I had used Nair before on my bathing suit area, only I used the kind with aloa vera this time. I smoothed it on my legs as well, and was immediately ON FIRE. I rinsed it off in the shower and tried powder and Boudreauxs But paste for some relief in my private area. I’ve been walking bow legged all day!. Never using this stuff again….

  20. Just used some Nair on my lip. Didn’t get the hair off. Used it again.
    By the way. I currently have chapped, eczema-y lips.
    The nai burned my skin. Now its weeping. Bad. And burning. A wet cut.

  21. Soooooo I used nair bikini on my vag area almost a year ago… I know it says only use in bikini area BUT I figured skin is skin. What difference will it make? When it was time to wipe it off, it burned like SATAN. I rinsed it all off. My hoo ha was burned, ulcerated and hurt so bad.

    TO THIS DAY, it itches right there because it’s still healing!!!! A year later. I will never use this bs again. Lol

  22. Just used the aloe vera Nair worked fine in my legs and bikini line so I put it under my arms. It IMMEDIATELY started burning my skin like it was eating my skin so I rubbed It off and tried to wash it away. Several hours later, I’ve tried burn relief ointment, aloe vera for burns, CeraVe lotion and a neosporin spray. Nothing makes it feel better. The only thing I can think of is that maybe my deodorant (that I put on the day before!) And the Nairobi had a terrible reaction. It look’s like a chemical burn…
    Legs and bikini line are great though…

  23. I should have read this before buying Nair lotion I bought some used it on my legs and my thighs hurt like crazy hurts to walk! It worked good just hurts and broke out

  24. I mean… if you read the instructions and did some research, you would have known that you should NOT use Nair more than once in at least 48 hours, (recommended 72 hours on their website) you should NOT apply deodorant 24 hours after applying it, AND TO DO A TEST PATCH! They tell you these things for a reason.

    Also, follow the instructions! They say to leave it on for three minutes and wipe a small patch to see if it’s done. If you have fair hair, then seven minutes is way too long. I have thick hair, so I have to leave it on for about ten minutes and it works fine.

    Plus, just because you didn’t have eczema anymore didn’t mean that you didn’t have sensitive skin. You said it stopped after you got a water softener, so your skin IS sensitive, it just wasn’t showing symptoms.

    Next time you use Nair, be sure that you haven’t shaved in at least two days, as the micro cuts can become larger with use of the product, DO A TEST PATCH FIRST! Just a small area on the bottom of your ankle will do, wipe a little after three minutes to see if it worked, if not, leave it on for another minute and so on until you see it’s working. Just do this before you go to bed and see the effects the next day.

    I personally found that wiping it off with a wash cloth before you shower, then gently exfoliating in the shower with a loofa helps to get all of the effected hair off. It’s ok to touch up with a razor if you need, but don’t dry shave. Moisturizing after can’t help, and you may even have to take a while off of shaving to let your skin become completely healed before using Nair. They have these instructions to keep you from damaging yourself too much. Some Nair products aren’t to be used in certain areas because the skin there can be more sensitive. These are chemicals you’re working with, always do your research if you’re not sure about a product. It can never hurt.

  25. I’ve never had a problem with nair, right? Well I’m about 5 months pregnant so you can imagine that my lazy preggo ass didn’t feel like bending over constantly trying to spend a crap ton of time shaving. Especially after a hard day of work. Good god. It has never burned me like this. But the weird part is that it only FREAKING burns on the back of my knees! It got rid of all the hair, but god its so not worth it! Currently almost in tears while trying gold bond powder on the extremely sensitive area’s (thank god my fiance is strong enough not to laugh at my stupid butt.) NEVER AGAIN.

  26. Everyone on here is saying how they had the WORST experience with nair. Then they continue to say how they completely neglected the test patch instructions and left it on for WAYyY too long and wonder why it burned them. It is like saying if you put jeans on as a hat and wondered why they didn’t look cute.why are they expecting it to work well if they didn’t follow the instructions.

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