If we’re being honest, we have a love-hate relationship with waxing. On the one hand, it solves the issue of five o’clock shadows that can crop up whether shaving with a manual razor or electric shaver. But booking and going to appointments can be inconvenient. Luckily, the best home waxing kits keep your underarms, upper lips and nether parts smooth without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home (or sacrifice your personal space). Plus, they’re cheaper, much faster to use and more efficient than going to have it done by a professional. (And if you’re looking for even longer lasting results, check out our favorite at-home laser hair removal devices.)
There’s a lot to consider when settling on the right one for you. First, you have to choose between a soft, hard or sugar-based formula. And the kit options range from microwavable beads and honey to strips and roll-ons. To simplify the shopping process, we’ve listed our top picks below, plus some seriously helpful expert advice to help make at-home hair removal easy and, dare we say, painless. Scroll on for everything you need to dodge a hairy situation.
Best Home Waxing Kit Overall: Athena Club Wax Strip Kit For Body
Best Drugstore Home Waxing Kit: Sally Hansen Hair Remover Wax Strip Kit
Best Luxury Home Waxing Kit: Gigi At Home Beginner Waxing Starter Kit
Best Hot Wax Kit: Bliss Poetic Waxing Straight-From-The-Spa Hair Removal Kit
Best Home Waxing Kit For Sensitive Skin: Completely Bare Bare More Ouch Less Waxing Kit
Best Home Waxing Kit For Legs: Flamingo Body Wax Kit
Best Home Waxing Kit For Bikini Area: VidaSleek Hair Removal Wax Kit
Best Home Waxing Kit For Face: No Mo-Stache Lip Wax
Best Home Waxing Kit Overall
A Plant-Based Pick With Major Post-Wax Skincare Benefits
Athena Club Wax Strip Kit For Body
Formulated with glyceral rosinate wax (harvested from pine trees), this plant-based formula is vegan, cruelty-free and made with sustainable sourcing practices. Besides being a derm-approved product you can feel good about using, this wax is strong enough to grab even the smallest, thinnest hairs. Then there are the post-wax wipes that have an ingredient list you generally see in high-end skincare, including hyaluronic acid, aloe, niacinamide and panthenol.
Best Drugstore Home Waxing Kit
Affordable Strips That Activate With The Warmth Of Your Hands
Sally Hansen Hair Remover Wax Strip Kit
If you’re on the hunt for an affordable and effective at-home waxing kit that can be picked up online or at your corner drugstore in a pinch, here’s the only one you need to know about. This $7 box comes with 34 pre-waxed, pre-cut strips that activate when you rub them between your hands. Suitable for both face and body, this do-it-all formula is infused with coconut and marula oil, which hydrates skin and leaves you feeling softer and silkier than any razor could.
Best Luxury Home Waxing Kit
A One-And-Done Set That Makes It Easy To Replicate The In-Salon Experience
Gigi At Home Beginner Waxing Starter Kit
With a kit as comprehensive as this one, you’ll never need to book another waxing appointment again. The one-and-done set has everything you need (and maybe more) to obliterate all traces of stubble or fuzz. The wax heater comes with an adjustable temperature gauge, pre- and post-waxing lotions that reduce inflammation, a variety of spatula sizes for every body part and more. And the wax is made with good-for-you ingredients like honey and chamomile, both of which are sensitive skin-friendly.
Best Hot Wax Kit
A Microwaveable Wax That Soothes As It Smoothes
Bliss Poetic Waxing Straight-From-The-Spa Hair Removal Kit
Get that warm-wax feeling you get at a salon with this microwavable wax-filled cup. The cruelty-free formula is made with apricot oil to moisturize and chamomile oil to hydrate and relieve redness and inflammation. The kit also comes with oils for before and after your wax session to keep your skin in tip-top shape during and post hair removal. Keep in mind this isn’t a last-minute or on-the-go treatment. A full cup of wax takes about five to six 30-second microwave intervals to fully heat the formula.
Best Home Waxing Kit For Sensitive Skin
A Hard Wax Kit That Won’t Tug On The Skin
Completely Bare Bare More Ouch Less Waxing Kit
While sticky waxes can tug and pull at the skin, leaving it red and irritated, hard wax is known for gripping the hair and not the skin, which means less pain and irritation. This applies thick like honey and dries into a hard coating that you peel off without needing to use strips. Coconut oil and lavender oil in this cruelty-free formula moisturize the skin, leaving even your most sensitive areas feeling soft and smooth.
Best Home Waxing Kit For Legs
Oversized Wax Strips That Cover Plenty Of Ground
Flamingo Body Wax Kit
Complete with 28 large ready-to-use soft gel-wax strips, this kit is ideal for legs and other large areas, like arms, back and stomach. Each strip peels apart to provide two pulls, meaning a single box can cover some serious ground, leaving you smooth from the bikini line to the ankles. And as for the wax, it’s made with castor seed oil and beeswax to nourish the skin long after the session is over. Then there are the post-wax cloths infused with almond oil to remove any traces of sticky residue while also soothing the skin.
Best Home Waxing Kit For Bikini Area
An Extra-Strength Wax That Obliterates Thick, Coarse Stubble
VidaSleek Hair Removal Wax Kit
It’s no secret the hair on your bikini area is much thicker and more coarse than hair on the rest of your body. This extra-strength formula is ideal for removing even the most stubborn stubble in the area and yet somehow still has a totally natural ingredient list, consisting only of avocado oil, gum resin and pine resin. It heats up in the microwave in just one minute; keep in mind this extra-strength formula isn’t ideal for facial hair.
Best Home Waxing Kit For Face
An On-The-Go Kit For Removing Peach Fuzz In A Pinch
No Mo-Stache Lip Wax
There’s nothing worse than stepping out into the sun (in public, nonetheless) and realizing you have a trail of unwanted peach fuzz outlining your upper lip or a patch of strays under your chin. This portable wax kit, packaged in a purse-friendly tin, makes on-the-go touchups a breeze and makes embarrassing encounters a thing of the past. Each kit includes 24 small waxing strips (that warm up between your palms) and post-wax aloe cream to soothe and hydrate the skin.
What To Look For In A Home Waxing Kit
Waxing is an incredibly personal process, whether you get it done by a professional or take it on yourself at home. The type of wax you choose should complement your skin type, and the method should reflect your lifestyle or time restrictions. For instance, if you’re traveling, pre-waxed strips that can be warmed in your palms are the way to go.
Ingredients
While every formula uses a different combination of ingredients, there is overlap between soft and hard versions. Wax professional Kimberly Avalos says, “The primary ingredients in both soft and hard waxes are beeswax and rosin.” These ingredients help grip the hair for a smooth finish. Then there’s sugar wax, which can be ready-made or a product of an at-home DIY. “The main ingredients are sugar, lemon juice and water,” says Avalos. Steer clear of formulas that include alcohol at the top of their ingredient list. “If the wax contains a lot of alcohol, it makes the wax break faster, which can break the hair,” she says.
Formula
Wax comes in three types of formulas: soft wax, hard wax and sugar wax. “Soft wax uses honey wax with a muslin cloth and is great for larger body parts such as legs and arms,” says Avalos. Then there’s her favorite, hard wax, which she tells us is especially great for intimate areas. “It’s applied to the skin, and once it is dry you can pull it off the skin gently to lift the hair,” she says. Finally, she says, “Sugaring is the oldest form of hair removal dating back to 1900 BC, which is a natural form of hair removal that consists of smoothing it onto the hair and removing it using only your hands.”
Skin Type
Avalos warns, “If you plan on waxing from home, make sure you are not on any harsh or prescribed creams or medications that thin out the skin.” This includes over-the-counter retinol, Accutane, Retin A and Tazorac. She also recommends against waxing sunburned, irritated, inflamed or damaged skin as well. “If you’re unsure, it’s always best practice to check with your doctor or dermatologist if waxing is safe for you,” she says.
How Do You Use A Waxing Kit At Home?
As with any product, it’s important that your skin is properly prepped before application. This includes exfoliating, cleansing the area and ensuring it’s dry. Once you’ve prepped, Avalos stresses the importance of checking the consistency of your wax to guarantee it works properly. “If you are using hard wax, it should be thick like honey,” she says. “If it’s runny, it’s too hot.” Patch testing on your hand or wrist is a great way to test the wax before applying it to a larger area.
When applying wax, follow the direction of the hair and pull against the hair growth to remove it. Avalos recommends making sure the wax is hard and not tacky before pulling. “If you lay a bad strip or pull it incorrectly, it can result in lifting the skin or bruising,” she says. “This can be quite painful, so do your best to avoid making this mistake.”
How Should You Treat Your Skin Post-Wax?
Poor maintenance between wax sessions can lead to ingrown hairs and dry patches. Avalos recommends exfoliating three times per week in the shower, beginning three days after your wax session. She also recommends a product like Bushbalm’s Ingrown Hair Oil: “It should be applied after every shower to help prevent ingrown hairs, brighten skin and hydrate intimate areas.”
Which Wax Formula Is Best?
Sugar and honey-based waxes are tackier than others, which adhere to the skin more strongly and tug on more than just the hair. This can be a bit more painful or irritating on sensitive skin types. However, Avalos recommends these soft waxes for larger areas, like your legs. “If you are working on intimate areas, I would suggest sticking to hard wax,” she says. Hard wax wraps about the hair follicles at a cooler temperature, which can be gentler when removing stubborn, thick or coarse hair.