I hate shaving. Chances are, I’m not alone on this. It’s a daily (or weekly, depending on the temperature) ritual that everyone hates. I could definitely do without it!
That’s why my interest was piqued when I saw a commercial for Smooth Away. This product guarantees smooth legs with minimal effort and no pain. When my friend Mary Beth came back from Thanksgiving break with a pack of them, I knew I had to try them for myself!
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Smooth Away: My Experience
The kit comes with two sizes: A body-sized applicator that’s three inches long and two inches wide, and a smaller applicator for facial hair that’s two inches long and half an inch wide. Along with the Smooth Away applicators, the kit also comes with four refill pads. All of this conveniently comes in a small travel pouch.
After a day of growth, I was ready to finally try this “miracle” product. The instructions say to buff three times clockwise, and three times counterclockwise. Using the body-sized applicator, I did this for about five minutes, or the time it would take me to shave my entire leg. To my horror, I looked down to find my entire leg covered in what looked like white chalk.
Smooth Away Results
I really, really, really wanted to like this product. Honestly, it seemed like the answer to all of my problems: I’d stop wasting all that money on razor blades (site note: why are they so expensive?!) and I would save my skin from the nicks I still sometimes get.
I expected my skin to be 100% smooth after this product, but instead my legs felt as if I’d shaved 12 hours ago. Smooth-ish, but with a little growth. The more delicate areas of my legs, like my ankles, were especially hard to work. At one point, I had to rub so hard that I got something that resembled razor burn on my shins that burned for hours. A male friend of mine tried it on his chest, and experienced the same kind of pain that I did. Not only was it painful, but the “crystals” seem to dull after a few uses!
Smooth Away – My Overall Review:
The fact that Smooth Away turned my legs to chalk, caused me the pain of shaving with a dull razor, took a much longer time and didn’t even give me smooth legs prompts me to tell you guys not to buy this! The only reason I can think of that you’d need this product is if you’d need to be clean-shaven as you’re getting off an airplane. Save your $10 and buy some mascara instead!
What do you guys think?
Have you ever used this product? What was your experience? Do you know of any other as-seen-on-TV products that didn’t live up to your expectations? Tell me in the comments!
This thing is crap. first i used it on my legs, wich got me nowhere. then i used it on my “mustache” lol nd it worked. at first. my lip i guess had an allergic reaction nd it got kinda bumpy nd it HURT. ALOT. Nd now its growing back nd i havv the feeling its gonna be thicker darker and even MORE Noticable. wich rilly sux.So dont use this BS. the stuble is growing back nd btw its rilly uncomfertable so hoping it doesnt turn out too bad. this rilly makes me just wanna sue these liars. wasted 10 $! UGH.
The point of this product is that since you aren’t shaving your legs, the hair won’t grow back as quickly. So in order for this product to work, you have to use it for several months without shaving in order to slow the growth process of the hair. What I don’t like about it is that you have to wait for the hair to grow at least 1/2 (it recommends a full 2 inches of hair!) for it to work effectively. It also leaves hair cells (the chalky stuff) all over your leg, so you have to get back in the shower any way. I tried this product and I won’t be using it again.
I tried out the product as well. It works. You just have to loition your leg afterwards. What the product does is removes hair and also dead skin. So a quick rinse and you have nice smooth legs!
It depends on what kind of hair you have. I’m Mediterranean. (Most of us have dark, strong hair.) I used this thing for the recommended time and ALL the hair was still there, then I did it for 10 minutes on the same spot on my leg, and ALL the hair was still there. Then I tried the back of my hand, ALL the hair was still there. Then I tried somewhere else, ALL the hair was still there.
And, it burned.
Let my dd in college try it. She’s lighter than I am, but when she tried it, ALL the hair was still there.
A waste of $20.00. I was too embarrassed to return it. Some skin may have come off, but no hair.
I think those who found it shaved like an electric razor may be blonds or women with very thin body hair.
Not the thing for Mediterraneans, Latinas, or African American girls.
I used smooth away for the first time. i used it on my legs and my arms. My legs and my arms both turned bright red and burned intensly I followed the directions to the tee. I had to take benadryl to get it to go away…My sister in law used it the same day the exact same way and she had one pink spot that was gone by mourning and no hair……The next day i decided to rty it again just to see and I did a small spot on my leg and now my entire leg is red and burning and I only did a very small spot…….and to make matters worse I now have this rash on my arms from the day before. I had tried to get in the bath and it only made it worse along with moisterizer…But my sister in law still has no problems so I think if you are using it right and it is doing that then it is more like an allergic reaction, benadryl really helped me so I figured I would suggest it to all the others that are having a simular problem….oh and A&D first aid ointment is for burns and it really helped take some of the burn away so I could sleep.
hey i bought it,
i icant use it, explain me more :/
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my cousin got this for christmas, and we were all so excited because we heard all the hype about how great it was. so we all tried it. my cousin used it on her chin and hands, and i used it on my legs. my legs started to burn, i got a really bad irritation! and my cousin’s hands started to swell and turn red! what is that about? unles we were doing it wrong, which i doubt, i’d say clearly NOT a good product.
I’ve tried it, too. I completely agree with what you’ve said.
I Just stick with going for regular waxing. After a while the hairs on the legs and hands get finer and grow slower after every time. After few months going regularly for waxing you notice HUGE difference, but you gotta make it through those few months without reaching for the razor – winter time is usually good if you want to try this and you’ll be ready for the summer 🙂
I too was definitely disappointed with Smooth Away. In the time it took for me to get ALL the hair off only a tiny section of my leg, I probably could have been done shaving BOTH my legs. It took a ridiculous amount of time – especially because I’m 5’8″ and have long legs, haha – and was so not worth it. My skin felt dry and was flaky afterward, and areas like the knees and ankles was almost impossible to do. DON’T BUY, SAVE YOUR MONEY.
i saw a demo of these in person, so i bought them. they work but getting the technique down takes a lot of patience and practice. you must rub in a circular motion clockwise, then counter-clockwise, working one small patch of skin at a time.
the “chalk” is just dead skin. my legs have never been smoother after using these! but do not press hard or use these on wet skin or you will burn yourself, bad.
finally, the pads wear down quickly, so for that reason alone, i won’t be buying more. one pad does two legs, and that’s about it! not worth the money, so sad.
I notice a lot of people complain about irritation but did you:
1.) Wash off your legs and dry them before applying the product
2.) Dont press hard while buffing
3.) After buffing apply a non-scented lotion
When I followed the 3 steps above the results were better and I had waaay less irritation. Also the chalkiness comes off very easily, simply wipe down your legs. Though on the down side it does take forever, so until something better comes along I’ll probably stick with shaving. Unpleasent but way faster.
@cheryl – i also found that they dug into my back and hurt reallly bad! anyone who wants to try them,DONT. save your money & buy a racerback bra.
@paula – haha me too! i got the same reaction as elizabeth. this product is just terrible.
elizabeth thatnks for the great post. i love how you ended it with “Save your $10 and buy some mascara instead!” lol(:
Thanks for the review. I was curious about this product. Not anymore. I’ll stick with veet.