Now that the home-waxing and razor industries have the technical side down with cold-wax strips, microwaveable wax, and multiple-blade shaving heads with built-in shave cream and gel bars, the next big concept in standard home hair removal is … scented glitter wax? Fragranced razor handles? Well, yes.
Scented hair-removal products aren’t actually new. Sally Hansen has offered vanilla and lavender-fragranced depilatories since about 2005, BIC launched the Soleil Citron Shaver with citrus-scented handles in 2007, and countless shave creams are prettied up with fruity fragrance and conditioning ingredients. This year, razors from Gillette and wax strips from Nair joined the tease-the-senses ranks.
Gillette’s blade and razor claims technical leader Pam Zupkosky says the colourful, scent-infused elastomer handles on Gillette Venus Disposables Tropicals are “designed to make shaving more experiential.” Translation: It’s about making shaving less of a chore and more of a pleasant experience.
Nair’s Pretty Glitter Hair Removal Wax Strips, amped up with the scent of chamomile and cherry or chamomile and apple, are coloured a corresponding red or green and blinged out with sparkles in the wax. “Glitter is all about aesthetics and making the product more fun and user-friendly for the first time user of waxing products,” says Veronique Hamel, director of marketing for Nair.
The response? Ali de Bold, co-founder of social-media site ChickAdvisor.com, is a regular waxer but prefers unscented.
“My skin’s fairly sensitive. I’d rather not have fragrance in my wax, especially since waxing already makes skin a bit more sensitive, at least temporarily.”
But for others, making the mundane more girly is a bonus. “Hair removal is a task most of us don’t enjoy,” says Monica Sisson, a Toronto-based advertising entrepreneur. “Having a little scent would make it more enjoyable.”
