I do a lot of things for my faithful readers. You may not realize the true sacrifices I make all in the name of blogging, but after reading this post, you’ll either have a newfound respect for me or you’ll be shutting this browser window so fast, you may break it! Yep, thanks to Bare for Men, Duane Reed and a grooming process we all call “waxing,” I have truly brought blogging to new heights. Or lows, depending on your view.
Let’s start by saying I have a hairy chest. Not super hairy like my former roommate Mike who could pass for a Grizzly Bear. But not a little bit hairy either. I guess you could say it’s just right. But my wife has always wanted me to shave it. Call it curiosity, a fetish or simply a turn-on. I never had an interest before. Until blogging that is.
I was recently offered the change to review a line of hair removal products called Bare for Men. And yes, they have a Hot Legs line for women too. Seeing this as a sign from the Hairless Chest Gods, I decided to throw caution into the wind and go for it. After all, these days it’s apparently #Cool2LookHot!
I work in Manhattan just one block from a Duane Reade, which is certainly convenient. I always thought Duane Reade was just a small pharmacy with some candy and notebooks. But apparently I’ve been missing out. This one near my office has an entire second floor chock full of personal products for your hair, skin, teeth, body, you name it.
So I picked up a pack of Bare for Men Cool Gel Wax Strips for me and a box of Hot Legs Total Body Wax Strips for Allie to try out. There are 16 to a pack.
Allie gleefully volunteered to help me out both in taking photos and in ripping the hair from my body. Keep in mind that the camera adds like 10 pounds, and I think we had like 4 or 5 cameras on during this shoot…
Okay, let’s start with the patented Before photo… And you can tell this is a real classy photoshoot by the big black bag of garbage in the background.
In the box are 8 packets and each packet gets pulled apart for a pair of sticky/waxy strips. Allie picked her spot and stuck it on, smoothing it out in all corners. Notice I’m still smiling at this point.
One superquick yank later (and a big ol’ YELP from me) and gazillions of hair follicles are separated from my body. Just like that!
Next up, Allie went the vertical route. I think she was trying to make a Pac-Man maze on my chest or something. Still smiling, though there’s a touch of nervous anticipation in there.
Toss in a diagonal pull from Allie and here’s where my chest currently stood.
In the end, we used up all 16 strips and got the bulk of my chest. We’d probably need another 16 to get my entire stomach and the little bit left by my shoulders. The scariest part of it all? Yes, you guessed it… the nipples!
I was scared to begin with before Allie attempted to rip off my nipple. But when she puts the strip on gently and tells me, “I don’t want your nipple to come off” as she quickly tears it, well, let’s just say I almost passed out. Almost.
Here’s how it all looked in the end:
Did it hurt? I’ll be honest. It certainly didn’t tickle. And while the box says “painless,” I wouldn’t quite go that far. It basically felt like pulling off a bandaid super fast. And since I have never done this before in my life and I do have a decently hairy chest, then yes it hurt. But only for a split second on each part. The less hairy the area, the less it actually hurt.
Now, if you’re still reading at this point I give you serious credit. You’re a braver person than me! And for that, you deserve to be rewarded. So, here’s a short video of the Bare for Men strips doing their waxing thing.
CAUTION! Pregnant women, the elderly and those with weak heart conditions should consult their doctors before viewing the following:
Looks like fun, right?
To be fair, now that it’s a day later, I kind of like how it feels. I don’t think I’d ever actually use a razor to shave my chest, so I may have to keep this up. And I doubt it’d hurt even close to as much as the first time, since there’d be far less hair going forward.
Now it was Allie’s turn. She’s done it all: waxing, shaving, you name it. For this experiment, she wanted to get rid of the hair on her arms.
Here’s the Before photo:
Barely skipping a beat, she ripped open a box of the Hot Legs Total Body Wax Strips, separated a packet and slapped it around her arm.
A super quick yank and… BAM, well, take a look.
It only took her a few strips per arm, but Allie was really pleased with the results. Here’s a comparison after she finished one arm.
She definitely liked how well these worked and said they were a lot more effective than things she’s tried in the past.
So there you have it. One hairy tale of a blog post where I bared my chest for you all. I’m not sure how many of you guys out there have shaved your chest or thought about it, but I definitely say it’s worth trying at least once in your life.
Look for Bare for Men and Hot Legs products at your local Duane Reade.
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Do you wax?
OMG! you have courage man. My wife did it to me once and i didn’t talk to her for whole week lol. Its very painful, You have guts man. Thumbs up!
Thanks, Shawn. I’m not sure what was the braver part, though: getting waxed or actually sharing the video!?!
I have only tried to wax once, many years ago, and never again. I lost too much skin, so not worth it to me.
To be quite honest with you I found it amusing! Sorry, but us women have to shave, wax and whatever EVERYWHERE and now you have just a LITTLE taste of what we have to do to our brows, face (sometimes), underarms, legs, and bikini area (can you imagine – you probably wouldn’t want to try that would you?). So, yes, I found it a little humorous. 🙂
Thanks, Amy. I like to think you’re laughing WITH me, though. Not at me. 😉
As soon as I saw the wax strip, I was reminded of The 40-Year Old Virgin movie. Sounded and sounds painful!
Wow, I made it all the way through, and my sweetie pie is stuck with all my hairy gloriousness!
Funny story though…I took the kids to the pool at the gym the other day.
A little girl came over and started playing with us.
After a while, she said “what’s that?”, point at my chest.
What’s what, I asked back.
All that hair…
Well, you see, I’m a man, so I have hair. (Seemed like a good answer to me.
Uh, my daddy doesn’t have hair…
Sorry kid, I don’t have an answer. Where’d the boys swim off too??
OUCH!!!!! You are one very, very brave man!!! I truly believe that you do a lot for your readers!
Why, thank you, Terri! That comment just made my day. (Not the ouch part, the reader part.)
Kudos to you for even trying this!!! I recently tried some for my legs and quit after the second strip because I couldn’t take the pain. I hope your wife appreciated the gesture!
Why, thank you, Michelle! So now you know my pain somewhat! 🙂
you sure are brave! I don’t know one man that would be willing to do that lol good job!
You are one brave guy! My husband would never even get near those and he’s a hairy beast!
You are out of your mind!
I’m not sure what to say other than you’re certainly dedicated to your readers. I love my readers but I’m not sure if I’d ever go that far. Kudos to you. I think. 😉
You look like you lost weight after using the strips! I would do that, too, if I had chest hair and if it would make me look like I lost 20 pounds. 🙂
If you need some waxing tips, I can help lol. 😉 And yes, it doesn’t hurt as much as you keep doing it because the hair follicle gets smaller and the hair more thin.
OMG you crack me up! I cannot believe you did this, but ooo how smooth now huh? LOL Too funny. Do you like it better or not ?
HAHA!! That’s awesome. I watch doods on AFV do this all the time and I just die laughing. Woulda loved to see this~
You are a brave man!!! I’m thinking this was a one time only LOL
I am crying …this has to be the best post ever!
You’re much braver than my husband, Andrew. 🙂 Heck you’re braver than me. LOL! My eyebrows are the only think I wax.
I’m impressed! That’s not a fun activity! The things you will do for the entertainment/education of your readers!
Glad someone understands the sacrifices us bloggers have to make!
Omgosh Andrew!!! That looked painful!
But you totally laughed didn’t you? Admit it!!!
No way I would do this – you are freaking crazy.
LMBO! You are so brave! You seriously crack me up with your great and very humorous reviews. Thanks for making me laugh!
Hi, Lisa! Well isn’t that sweet. Thanks so much for the comment. That almost makes the pain worth it! Almost.
Ha ha, hilarious!
My husband has a semi-hairy chest too, and I would love him to do this. But he won’t.
A top tip when waxing is to quickly rip the sticky strip off, then place your hand firmly on the skin afterwards – it works great for easing any pain 🙂
PS. future wakings will be so much less painful with less fuzz to work with. You’ll *almost* enjoy it!
Love the video, I kept waiting for a little Steve Carrell a la The 40 Year Old Virgin, but good job maintaining composure! I tried waxing my legs once, not pleasant, but not horrible. The worst thing I ever did was an epilady (sp) man that thing hurt!
Heh. Billie, I actually watched that scene before writing this post up. I wanted to include the video, but yowza that’s like an NC-17 rating for that scene alone based on his sailor mouth!
You’re hilarious. Now you know what we have to go through to look good – beauty is pain.
Just a suggestion, but for the nipples maybe you can put some of those little ribs bandaids, then put the strip, just a thought…
round*
NOW you tell me! 🙂
Brave man! No offense but I’ll be SO glad when this “phase” is gone. Men are SUPPOSED to have hairy chests. *cough* Tom Selleck -> DROOL!!!
They look like prepubescent boys without it.
Excellent review, by the way, and thank you for the morning laugh. Not AT you, but your writing as well as the topic! 😀
Hope you did not throw the hair away? I can use it for my head.
Ye-ouch! Effective though!
There is no such thing as a painless waxing product from what I’ve found, for men or women. Props to you for trying it out though!
Hey, Kristi! The only thing I could think of is putting some sort of super-numbing cream on the gel itself. Otherwise, yeah, I can’t imagine anything else being 100% pain free.
I’m sorry, I really don’t mean to but I can’t stop laughing and it’s only because I feel your pain. I grabbed some wax strips and did one section of my leg and let’s just say your scream was a whole lot more civilized than mine was. Then I pulled out my trust razor and finished the job peacefully.
Hahahh. No, no. By all means, please laugh. Otherwise my pain was all for naught! 🙂
You are a brave man. It started playing on Instagram and it made me shiver in pain all over! I’ve never been brave enough to wax like that. Heck I hate ripping off bandaids, and I don’t have a lot of hair.
YOU ARE CRAZY MAN! Aint no way that I would do that,,,lord have mercy,,,lol
Hahahha. Glad I could entertain ya, Vickie!
You are definitely brave! I have an appointment to get my armpits waxed for a wedding and have to admit I’m a tad scared. But if I survive that, maybe I’ll up the ante and go to the Screamin Peach (is that not the coolest name ever for a waxing salon that does Brazilians?)!
Hey, Kim! So great seeing you last week! And well, either I”m brave or a good husband (or maybe just stupid?). I don’t think I could’ve done my armpits though. Ouch. And Screamin Peach? Hah! Good luck!