It’s been two months since spas officially closed across New York City, which means we’re probably all starting to look a little … fuzzier than usual. I’m personally leaning into some aspects of having lost the ability to book a waxing appointment — for one, I’m currently growing out my brows in the hopes of emerging from quarantine with beautifully messy, Brooke Shields–inspired brows.
However, I personally do prefer to have shaved legs (not that there’s anything wrong with letting your hair grow out). And when it comes to keeping my body and face smooth, I can’t use just anything — I have extremely sensitive, eczema-prone skin. Over the last two months, I’ve tested various razors, waxing kits, and tweezers to figure out what works best when it comes to keeping my facial and body hair at bay. Below: a list of my favorites, all of which are safe for sensitive, razor-burn-prone skin.
I’m a devout laser-er (I do my face and body) which means I shave rather than wax between appointments. But my friends are all longtime waxers, and lately, everyone in my group chat has been raving nonstop about these strips from Flamingo. My friends explained that unlike most at home wax strips — the old-school Sally Hansen ones, for instance — these Flamingo strips do a genuinely excellent job at removing hair in a single pull so you don’t need to (painfully) go over the same spot again and again. And they apparently don’t leave the skin feeling tender afterward.
My eczema makes my skin particularly sensitive to shaving. The cheap disposable razors that I’ve picked up from my local CVS in the past are far too harsh for my skin — they make me practically erupt in rashes within seconds. These Billie razors were revolutionary to me. They’re the first I’ve ever tried that leave my skin feeling silky smooth, they never rust, and they never, ever cause my skin to erupt in eczema flare-ups.
A friend of mine recommended this product to me a while back after I complained to her about how sensitive my skin felt after shaving, and it’s been my go-to since. This gel formula is rich in aloe vera and coconut, so it helps deeply condition skin as you shave. My legs used to feel insanely dry and parched when I stepped out of the shower, especially after I shaved — they feel moisturized and silky when I use this.
Since I laser, I can’t wax my face — between sessions, I am forced to tackle any strays with a dermaplane razor tool. But hair removal isn’t all dermaplaning does: It can also help exfoliate dead skin cells off your face, leaving soft, supple, and smooth skin behind. This particular tool from Michael Todd was recommended to me by a beauty-obsessive friend: It’s expensive, but if dermaplaning is a consistent part of your life, like it is mine (I do it about once every three weeks all over my face — cheeks, upper lip, etc.), I can’t recommend it enough. It leaves my skin hair-free, insanely soft and smooth, and unlike many dermaplaning tools I’ve used in the past, it never irritates my breakout-prone skin.
If the above is far too expensive for you, my dermaplaning-obsessed friend strongly recommended these eyebrow razors from Tinkle. I use this in the same way as my Michael Todd above — all over my face. It works quite well, for the price.
As I said, I’m using this time at home to grow my brows out. But every now and again, I tweeze the strays in the middle of my brows, and few loose guys around the edges. I have superthick, coarse brow hairs — if the tweezer isn’t strong enough and it doesn’t fully take out the hair, I can actually end up creating an ingrown. But I’ve never had a problem with these guys from brow legend Anastasia, which always manage to pull out even the peskiest, grippiest, and hardest-to-grab hairs.
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