Product Review Part Deux: The Smooth Away

In a continuing series reviewing As Seen on TV products, Renee (from Rambleicious fame) reviews The Smooth Away.  To be honest, I’m a bit bummed that she didn’t include some hairy leg shots with blood trails from repeated Smooth Away use, but that’s just the ghoul in me shining through.  Let’s see what she has to say:

CurlyWurlyGurly picked me to review Smooth Away™ a pain free “As Seen on TV” hair removal product.

Pain free hair removal – something not involving wax or lasers? Bring it on Smooth Away™!

So, in the name of science, I have not shaved my legs in ten days. Not that anyone could tell since I’ve been blessed with very light and fine leg hair.

Anyway, I opened the box and pulled out a lime green travel case, several sheets of Flex-Crystal Hair Removal Pads and two Applicator pads. All in all, it looked pretty harmless.

And honestly, I like things that come in travel cases – I could get on a plane with this in my carry on! Try doing that with a safety razor! Of course, with my luck, airport security would have me apprehended at the gate and arrest me on suspicion of wanting to smooth away other passenger’s unsightly hair. I can already hear my own defense: “What can I say; I’m a slave to beauty. Plus, it’s CWG’s fault. She’s my Smooth Away™ pusher.

Right. The review. Anyway…

The instructions are pretty simple: stick Flex-Crystal paper to applicator, rub leg gently with circular motions until there is no more hair.

(One more thing: Flex-Crystal? Really? Flexible crystals? This is the sandpaper I used in shop class to smooth out the edge of a hideous plastic ashtray I once made.)

So, I began the task of rubbing away my unsightly science experiment whilst trying to photograph it.

10 minutes later…

I have managed to mostly smooth out the lower half of my left leg. The package mentions that it will exfoliate the skin and that the skin may appear “whitish or grey in color…due to exfoliated dead skin cells…” Joe’s comment while wandering out to the kitchen to get snacks was: “Oooh, Goth legs.”

This is not a sexy and attractive process, nor is it a tidy one. I should have done this in the tub – our dark blue couch now has white marks on the fabric from sanding my leg skin off.  

Another few minutes and I have my left leg done. It is definitely smoother than my right leg now. I run my fingers over my handiwork to see if they are as smooth as the box promises – the answer is a disappointing no. My legs don’t look hairy but, to the touch, it feels like I shaved them with a razor three days ago.

Smooth as a baby’s stubbly butt you might say.

I begin on the second leg only discover that the Flex-Crystal pad is no longer up to the job. I change the pad and start on my right leg. In just over ten minutes I have a powdered, stubbly leg to match my left.

I did attempt to photograph this process – I have several photos that show a) diddly-squat since my leg hair was invisible to begin with or b) dead leg skin creating a small dust storm on my couch.

None of these photos are the least bit appetizing. At all.

As I sit writing this review, my knees and shins are tingling – almost a very mild stinging sensation. The areas that required the most going over with the sandpaper are making their displeasure known. Not as painful as the waxing kit I tried, nowhere near that bad, but still uncomfortable.

To sum up Smooth Away™:

PROS:

• Easy to use
• Doesn’t require batteries or electricity
• Very portable
• Inexpensive

CONS:

• Doesn’t remove all hair
• Pads wear out too quickly
• Exfoliating properties made my skin sting a little
• Takes longer than shaving with a razor

Overall, this product gets a “C+”.