Hairy Ain't Pretty

There is a mythical instance when my friend T, C and I were at the Loft and gabbing about the usual when T exclaimed: "Ang haba ng hair mo sa legs!"

Source

Well, it was long but it was hardly visible and the hairs were extremely thin, too. But still, there was hair and after 25 years, it was only then that my legs started growing hair. I remember being extremely discombobulated the whole day because I was wearing a tight, knee-length skirt and my legs were for the world to see. Of course, the hair was only visible when looked into closely but knowing they were still visible did not make me feel any comfortable. I blame my inattention to detail when scrubbing my legs during shower time and the poor lighting at the bathroom but yeah, not really. I haven't paid it attention in years because all my life, I knew my legs didn't grow my hair.

As the clock ticked 5 PM, I walked over to the nearest waxing salon {that's Strip in GB5} and had my leg hair waxed off.

But having the legs waxed, as as opposed to the underarms and getting a Brazilian, seems to tedious a habit. Not to mention expensive for an area that's comparably insensitive.

I remember then picking up a tube of Veet from a Watson's store and experimented on my leg hair.

Veet says:

Veet offers the modern woman faster and more efficient ways to soft, smooth skin. Its skin-type specific hair-removal products are suitable for use on legs, arms, underarms, bikini line and face.

Veet Hair Removal Cream dissolves hair at the shaft with results twice as long as shaving. Hair re-growth feels significantly smoother versus the stubble that shaving produces and without unsightly ingrown hair or the painful cuts and nicks.

And there are waxing strips for those hard to reach bikini lines, too!

The Good:

DIY. Sometimes long, waxable hair occurs to us at the most inopportune times, like for me, it was the middle of the week, I remember. Most of the time, I have no liberty over my time and I can't just walk over to Greenbelt every time {and no, I can't be bothered during weekends for the taxing task of waxing}. With Veet and other DIY waxing stuff, I can do it before or after showering, either in the morning or at night.
Less expensive. One session of waxing for both legs is roughly Php 500 (less with some other salons like Lay Bare} but still more expensive if you'd just get DIY wax strips of depilatory creams like Veet, which retails for less than Php 300 and is useful for about 10 times. Of course the cheapest way to get rid of leg hair is shaving them but shaving {anywhere} is a no no. Hello, icky stubble!
No stubble. I believe that this is not applicable to everyone as I have friends who get stubble when using depilatory creams. However, depilatory creams work on me like a dream and the hair growth is not as bad as when I shave {tried once, NEVER AGAIN}. I use Veet approximately every 1 1/2 weeks {I think I have slow hair regrowth} so this may vary.
Three minutes is all it takes and hair is dissolved and one can scoop out the cream with hair. Not time consuming at all!
The smell may come on a bit strong but the good thing is variants are added with fragrance such as Jasmine and Lily.
If you think waxing is painful, you may consider this because it ain't painful at all.
If you run out of cream, there's always Watson's.

The Bad:

The first time I used Veet, I accidentally left it too long {around seven minutes} and I burned my skin. Ever since then, I watch the clock closely and stick to three minutes.
Washing the cream off is tedious! It gets off into the bathroom floor in chunks so I have to scoop it out and throw it into the garbage bin so it doesn't clog the drains.
Since it's not wax and I am not pulling the roots of the hair, growth is faster than when waxed. The time doesn't bother me but it may do so with some.
Not too bad but you may want to check first if you've got allergies to any cream you'll try.

Overall Recommendation:

Depilatory creams like Veet are the answers to a modern girl's prayer of painless/inexpensive hair removal. I'd gladly go for laser if it weren't too expensive but for now, I'm happy with Veet and I recommend it to anyone who's willing!

Directions for Use:

Apply directly onto the skin using the spatula {comes with every box!} or your hand, spreading the cream evenly to fully cover the hair. Do not rub and wash hands after application.
Leave the cream on for three minutes {max. 6 mins.} timed carefully, then gently use the head of the spatula to test a small area. If hair comes easily, remove the rest of the cream with the spatula. If needed, leave the cream on for a bit longer without exceeding six minutes.
Rinse your skin thoroughly with water and pat dry.

Oh and some photos from the Veet Lunch last week: