Elle Macpherson Hot Wax Review

Yay - more sunny weather coming next week which means, I may yet manage to wear my skirts again before the summer is out.  Traditionally I'm a razor sort of a girl when it comes to my legs but, when I'm feeling flush, I do like to get my legs waxed at the salon but there are four reasons why, until recently, I've done my best to avoid waxing at home:-

• I'm rubbish at applying wax neatly with a spatula
• I'm rubbish at getting the temperature of the wax right (I either get it so hot it burns, or too cold so it doesn't apply well)
• I get bored easily of applying wax and ripping it off
• It is sticky and messy work

The Elle Macpherson Hot Wax Epilator by Homedics was a little beacon of light that meant I might be able to avoid the cost of the salon and wax at home.  So, how did I get on?

The Elle Macpherson Hot Wax Epilator is a hand-held home waxing system.  You buy replaceable wax cartridges which you place into the epilator and then place it into its mount and switch on to heat it up.  The wax takes about 20 minutes to heat which takes some patience but compared to my normal microwave exploits the wax was certainly at a much more appropriate temperature for use!!!

You roll the wax onto the leg using the very nifty applicator and then apply a normal waxing strip over the wax for removal (there is an art to pulling off wax strips!).  I found the roll-on process to be so much easier than having to mess about with a pot and a spatula.  After application though, it wasn't any different to normal.  I was very grateful when I was finished though because there was hardly any cleanup to do.  Just put the lid on and let the wax cool down for next time.  Easy!

In terms of addressing my home-wax stresses, I think it has certainly helped with the application of the wax but I don't think it can help me with the time it takes and the mess I tend to make!  I think I'd need some sort of super-gadget to solve that for me!

The Elle Maxpherson Hot Wax Epilator costs £34.99 and you can buy it in Argos, Amazon, Debenhams and House of Fraser along with replacement wax cartridges.

The Sunday Review – Acorelle Hair Growth Inhibitor

At the start of February, the day after my last waxing appointment, I started using Acorelle Skin Glorifier and Hair Growth Inhibitor. Acorelle claim that after 56 days I'll be able to notice a significant reduction in hair density on my body. OK.

The body lotion comes in a very easy to use pump and is actually quite a pleasant body lotion to use. It has a very savoury scent which doesn't put me at ease or relax me after my shower but I put the savouriness down to the fact that one of the headline ingredients of the body lotion is black truffle extract which has proven hair growth inhibiting properties.

It wasn't clear to me from the packaging whether I should be using the Acorelle Hair Growth Inhibitor alongside my normal moisturising body lotion, or instead of it on my legs and underarms. I have tended to opt for instead of. As a skin glorifier, I'd hope this was the right decision. I feel that skin glorification is quite a bold claim for any body lotion but my impression is that Acorelle believe that once hair regrowth is reduced and the hairs which DO regrow become finer and fewer, that you feel like your skin is healthier, brighter, and generally glorified!

The results: After about a fortnight I began to doubt whether the cream was having an effect so I decided to stop for a few days. After about 48 hours I noticed thicker hairs coming through... eek! So I started using the body lotion again and now, as I approach my monthly waxing appointment, I can confidently say that the hair regrowth has been reduced, but not by as massive a level as I had hoped. Using this lotion I could probably move my regular appointment out by a week for the time being, and hope that the effect would become greater over time. This would save me a small amount of money in salon appointments. At £23.99 for a 75ml bottle, I'm not sure whether to continue using it and find out whether it could really save me money on waxing and shaving in the long term.

Acorelle hair growth inhibitor is paraben, sulfate and pthalate free and is sold by mypure, a natural cosmetics retailer who, month after month impress me with their professionalism and speed of service. Thank-you mypure.