There is a wide range of options for the intrepid home waxer. There are waxes that require fabric strips, waxes that harden on their own, and even pre-waxed plastic patches that you warm up in the palm of your hand. Whatever the packaging, the principle is the same. You apply the wax in the direction of hair growth, let cool, rub a little and yank off. Presumably, the offending hair is yanked off as well.

I started off with a pot of self-hardening wax that retailed for about $5. On the box, the product promised to be “easy to use” and, appealingly, “less messy.” Both of these statements are dirty lies. The wax heats from the center out, and it is therefore extremely difficult to get a uniform consistency. It's also hard to spread an even layer on your skin, and next to impossible to pull off all of the hardened wax at once. Strangely, the wax didn't seem to adhere to my hairs all that much. It stuck more to my skin and proved exceptionally hard to remove. After more than two hours of fruitless tugging and rushing back and forth to the microwave, I ceased operations for the day and decided to head back to the drug store the following morning.
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