Smooth Away Hair Removal

I'm sure you've seen those infomercials for SmoothAway, the hair removal product that the company boasts as "the fastest selling, most popular women's product in Europe." Hmmm. Right. Dubious claim. I was even more intrigued when a gal pal of mines called and said I should give them a whirl. So, does this miracle product really work?

I picked up SmoothAway for $10 at the drugstore and decided to give it a whirl. Each package comes with two pink plastic mitts, one large for areas like arms and legs, and one small, for upper lips and other tight spots. You stick on a sheet of what basically amounts to superfine sandpaper (4 of each size included in the box), slip the mitt onto your fingers, and start buffing away.

The package insert instructs you to buff in a circular motion, several strokes one way, and then the other. I waited till the hair on my legs got nice and fuzzy. I started on my leg, and honestly, it took several tries to start seeing a difference. SmoothAway definitely didn't eliminate all the hair, even after multiple passes. In the time it took me to do one small spot, I could have easily shaved both legs. Definitely not worth it.

But then I tried the SmoothAway on the fuzz on my arms, perhaps my leg hair wasn't long enough. Gone, baby, gone! This was a much easier task than the leg work, and the results were far better. My arms were super smooth and fuzz-free, with the additional benefit of the exfoliating power of the pads (they're sandpaper, so of course they're going to exfoliate).

So if you're looking for an alternative to shaving your legs, don't get too excited. But for quick smoothing of smaller areas with less hair, SmoothAway might be a good solution. Perhaps I will let the hair on my legs grow out a bit longer, then I will try again. I will keep you posted. 

Oh and P.S. no It didn't hurt one bit.