In pursuit of a bald body (Immac Cream)

Name: Caradawn

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Product:	Immac Cream
Date:	19/08/02 (346 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Painless, lasts longer than shaving

Disadvantages: can be messy, a bit time consuming

When it comes to removing those unwanted body hairs what I really want to hear is:

"New! A cheap and painless way to PERMANENTLY remove body hair!"

But that is of course the one thing I don't hear. Instead it's 'No pain, no gain." Yes, if you want a permanent hair removal treatment you have the option of a painful, long winded and expensive process called electrolysis. Which is really only practical for small areas.

My hair grows thick and fast and I seem to be waging a constant war against it. Of the temporary hair removal methods I've tried, waxing or plucking hairs is the longest lasting and also the most painful. I have encountered a few problems with this method though. Firstly it leaves the shorter hairs behind, secondly when I use it on my bikini line I get bruising and bleeding and thirdly I get in grown hairs in abundance as they grow back. By far the easiest method is the good old razor. This also has its drawbacks though; for instance the hairs seem to start growing back in a couple of hours, I get a shaving rash on my bikini line, it itches like mad when it grows back and I still get a few in grown hairs. So the remaining method is hair removal cream.

With my holiday to Greece looming, I thought it was time to start removing that excess body hair again. After all I am planning to wear a thong bikini and I don't want what my partner terms 'werewolf paws' sticking out either side of my thong or comments like 'Right turn Clyde!' when I expose my legs (for those who don't know, Clyde is the orang-utan in Every Which Way But Loose and I'm a red head). I had some hair removal cream from previous years, but after trying them I realissed that they must be out of date. Nothing for it, but to buy some more (I hate spending money!). At my local Tesco I had the vast choice of Immac with softening oils or Immac sensitive. So I bought the cheapest, the one with softening oil
s at £3.94 for 100ml. The sensitive was about £4.20 for 100ml.

The packaging is white and pink with blue writing and apparently Immac is soon to be called Veet (which I'm sure will increase its popularity...). It comes with a 'Perfect Touch Spatula' which is a wavy piece of translucent blue plastic, with green rubber ends. The instructions suggest that you test skin reaction by applying the cream to a small part of the area you wish to treat following the directions for use. if after 24 hours there has been no reaction, then it is safe to use. Being an impatient person and having never had adverse reactions to these sorts of creams before, I only waited 12 hours. However, I'm sure you sensible people out there won't follow my bad example!

I decided to do my de-furring before my morning shower so that I could rinse off straight afterwards. The directions for use are written on the side of the box in English only, rather than on a piece of paper inside the box with fifty different language translations that you have to sift through.

Directions for use read:

* Carefully squeeze the cream straight onto your skin in vertical lines. Using the back of the spatula provided spread the cream thickly enough to cover the hairs. Replace the cap after use.

* Leave the cream on the skin for 5 minutes (never more than 10 minutes), then gently use the head of the spatula to test a small area. If hair comes away easily the cream has been on long enough. Remove the rest of the cream with the head of the spatula. DO NOT GUESS THE TIME ALLOWED, USE A WATCH. Do not allow to dry on the skin.

* Rinse immediately using lukewarm water. Do not use soap. Pat dry gently and enjoy smoother legs.

Okay...well I started with my bikini line and was struggling a bit with the rather large Perfect Touch Spatula, so I used my finger to get a neater line. Probably not a good idea as after rinsing I noticed that my finger n
ail had gone rather rough and suddenly remembered that nails are composed of the same material as hair. So determined not to make any more mistakes I followed the instructions for my lower legs. I squeezed the cream on in lines and attempted to use the Spatula to spread it out evenly. The Spatula, however, proved very awkward to use and I could not get the cream to spread evenly. I ended up using one of the spatulas which had come with another cream. I left the cream on for approximately 5 minutes and then tested a patch as instruced. The hairs seemed to come away easily so I removed the rest using the rubber end of the fancy spatula. This was actually quite effective. It's king of like using a razor, but without the risk of cutting yourself.

Initially it looked as though all my unwanted hairs had been removed, but when I was dry I noticed that I still had some short bits left. Particularly on my left leg which hadn't been left quite as long as the other areas. I realise that I should probably have left it on a bit longer. As the instructions tell you to wait 48 hours between uses, I decide to leave it a couple of days before trying again. My legs felt quite soft and the short hairs which were left didn't pose too much of a problem as they were softer than stubble usually is.

Two days later...

This time I left it on for a bit longer. The results were much better on my legs, although I still had a certain amount of stubble on my bikini line (must be the wiry hairs...). I had meant to try the cream on my under arm hair as well, but I forgot.

I used approximately one third of the tube for each application on my bikini line and lower legs. The smell was initially okay, kind of floral, but once it had been on for a bit it smelt rather like burnt hair, except more putrid. Not very nice to say the least, but then I suppose that's to be expected when slathering chemicals on your hairs. I got a few in grown hairs, but not a
s many as I tend to get shaving.

Summary: