You’ve obviously seen Nair or other hair remover creams on the shelf one day and thought that might be too good to be true, something that spares you the pain and hassle of shaving and just takes the hair right off? Well, it’s true.
Nair is a kind of compound called a depilatory. Simply, you apply the depilatory to the area you want, you leave for 3-10 minutes and the hair comes to clean off!
While depilatories were originally intended for women’s armpits, legs, and other areas, more and more men are using Nair and other hair remover creams to upgrade their grooming routines. However, that begs the question, can you go shaven for longer with Nair than shaving?
HOW DOES NAIR WORK?
Depilatories such as Nair are made up of thioglycolic acid, calcium, sodium, and others which penetrate your skin and target the hair strand, dissolving them. Our hair is made up of chemical bonds and a protein called keratin.
Depilatories work on breaking those keratin bonds, weakening the hair, and making it susceptible to just falling out into its sink grave.
With that in mind, Nair and shaving are similar in one regard; they don’t remove the hair from the root. Shaving cuts the hair as close as possible to your skin, leaving a tiny bit of the root that’s imperceptible to the human eye, and this small stump grows and prospers into a full beard eventually.
Nair, like shaving, only removes the shaft. The only methods of completely removing the hair are plucking and waxing, but it’s just not worth it for your face.
Recommended: How does Nair Works – Full Guide.
HOW LONG DOES NAIR KEEP THE HAIR OFF?
The million-dollar question involves the amount of time Nair will keep the hair off your body or face. Scientifically speaking, any kind of hair removed through shaving, waxing, plucking, or depilatories will grow back different from everyone.
People have different hair growing genetics; some will grow back their 5 o’clock shadow by… well, 5 o’clock, and for others it takes days. How long will Nair keep it off though? Now, Nair lasts slightly longer than shaving; you’re looking at two to five days at most.
While it sounds underwhelming, it’s still not bad. Two to five days instead of taking a razor to your face or body is still worth it! Some research suggests that using hair removal creams long-term might slow down the rate of your hair growth.
Read Also: Does Nair Cause Ingrown Hair?
DOES HAIR GROW BACK STUBBLY AFTER NAIR?
The mechanism of Nair isn’t much different from shaving, since it doesn’t remove the hair from the follicle, meaning your hair should grow back the same as it does when you shave. There is one thing to note, though, and that is the type of your hair.
If you have thick, dark hair, you might still see stubble after using Nair the same as you do when you shave. In that case, you might want to wait a couple of days before trying to remove the remaining hairs. While growing back, the air may appear thicker, but there is no noticeable difference from shaving.
It won’t make your hair stubbly if it’s already stubbly. However, the components of depilatories help exfoliate your skin, which is always a plus.
IS NAIR 100% SAFE?
Like anything in life, nothing is 100% risk-free. While Nair and other depilatories are widely used all over the world and available in pretty much every pharmacy, there are still some side effects that include possible allergies, irritation, burns, blisters, rash, and other skin-related issues, but again, it’s uncommon.
The one thing though is that it does make you more sensitive to the sun, so you might want to cover up the area you’ve used it on. You also want to avoid using moisturizers or lotions directly after using Nair.
Nair also includes fragrance, so keep that in mind and don’t use it if you have allergies to perfume or fragrances. If it’s your first time, maybe try a little bit on a small area and see how your skin responds first.
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Does Nair Last Longer Than Shaving?
What Hair removal lasts the longest?
If you want to entertain your options for hair removal, these are the ones that will last you the longest, ranked from shortest to longest time hair-free!
- Shaving: Shaving is the oldest method of taking your hair off. As we’ve mentioned, it cuts as close as possible to the skin, but it doesn’t remove the root from the follicle. Shaving has its pros and cons, but for some, the cons such as needing to do it every day, risking ingrown hairs and burns, and the accumulated cost outweigh the pros. If you want longevity or permanence, shaving isn’t for you
- Nair and Other Depilatories: Again, it will give you a tiny bit more time than shaving, but not much. However, it is more comfortable, and hassle-free. Give it a try and see how you like it, just make sure you’re getting the face-specific types if you’re shaving your face.
- Plucking: Plucking involves using tweezers to pull the hair entirely from the follicle, which lasts quite a long time; about two to six weeks, but it’s also quite painful. It’s perfect for eyebrows, but using it for large chunks of hair is simply not ideal.
- Threading: Threading is a relatively underrated method of hair removal, which is widely used in the East for facial hair. Threading is a process in which you use a doubled thread to pluck the hair out. Science is quite similar to plucking, but it requires far greater skill, and usually, you need someone to do it for you. Still, you’re looking at a few weeks hair-free.
- Waxing: Everyone knows to wax; you spread the sticky resin over the area you want removing, you wait a little bit, and then forcefully remove the resin, taking off the hair with it. Waxing lasts from four to six weeks, and you can do it yourself or professionally. It can be used for large chunks of hair, but it presents the same problem of pain.
- Laser: Laser is becoming more and more popular, but there is a misconception that it’s permanent for hair removal. It uses heat to weaken or destroy the hair follicle from the inside, which reduces the amount of hair but doesn’t completely obliterate it. It will lead to significantly less hair growth in general, but it might take several sessions and it’s quite expensive.
- Electrolysis: Electrolysis is perhaps the only actual permanent hair removal method. It uses electricity to completely destroy the hair follicle, making it dormant. It’s not much pain, and it is ideal for unwanted hair. While it might take a few sessions, just make sure you find a good electrologist and perhaps start small instead of regretting it on a large chunk of hair.
Overall, Nair and chemical hair removers are not a bad way to start experimenting with your hair, just make sure you test it out first and see how your body and skin response.
Put enough research into the different kinds directed at the face and body, and give it a go. If you’re looking for long-term hair removal, then you may want to look into the methods we’ve mentioned above.