Review: Magic Shaving Powder

A while back I was doing my usual random website jumping and I found a forum where someone recommended Magic Shaving Powder as an alternative to bikini waxes/shaving. It's an inexpensive product and fairly easy to find so I went and bought some. I think I used it once and threw it under the sink with everything else but the other day I decided to use it for my first review.

Of course, I didn't use it on my bikini area (I'm pretty sure those pics would violate...well everyone), instead I used it on my underarms. Not very sexy but hey, it's PG. So here we go!



First, helpful info. What's it look like? I believe there is more than one formula available. I picked the fragrant one. It still has that Nair/Veet smell but it's not quite as strong. You can buy it at Walgreen's and Walmart I know for sure. I'm sure the internet can help you find it too. I believe I paid less than $3 for it but a google search tells me some places sell it for closer to $5.



Fairly distinctive packaging. The trick to finding it is it will be with the razors and shaving creams, not with the depilatories.

You're going to need a teaspoon, water, a mixing bowl and something to use as a scraper. I already have a scraper because I use Veet but you can use something like an old gift card or ID.



The instructions say to mix "2 heaping teaspoonfuls with an equal amount of cool water". So, I did.


Before mixing.
After Mixing.

It was a little runny to me so I added another 1/4 of a teaspoon. It's still a runny mixture but I'm not sure if it should be or not. The package doesn't specify. I'm used to thick creams but I just went with it.

Application is awkward on your underarms because, well I'm sure you can guess. I got it on there as best I could and then it was time to wait. Usually when I use a depilatory on my underarms I try to keep my arms up in the air. In my head if you let your arms rub together you'll mess it up. They always say DO NOT RUB IT IN. My arms get tired so I go the lazy way and lay down on the bed with my arms over my head.

Time Check:


The packaging says to wait 5-6 minutes. Now, these instructions are for the facial area because Magic Shaving Powder is actually a facial depilatory for African American men. I don't know if leaving it on longer will cause any damage. It should be gentler than most but even the strong ones never recommend more than 10 minutes. I went with 6. If it starts to dry out you need to wet your fingers and pat it to keep it moist. Don't be a genius like me and lay in front of the fan.



You want it to look like the hair is laying on top of the cream now. Kind of like this . This isn't quite as done as I would hope but without knowing exactly how strong it is, I don't want to leave it on too long so I go ahead and scrape it off.

It doesn't scrape of quite as easily as veet does but after a little bit the hair comes out. The right side came out better than the left side (I started with the left side so the right side did get to work longer). You can still see the little black spots under my skin but in the product's defense you can when I shave and when I use Veet also. There are some hairs left here and there but they look odd. Thinner and I can pull them out. If I had the patience (and there wasn't an almost 2 year old running around) I could probably just pull them out with tweezers easily.




My underarms are never gorgeous so don't think Magic did it. Shaving tears them up and they're never completely smooth.

In the end, I prefer Veet. I'm not going to say that Magic Shaving Powder isn't a good product. I think if I did it again I would make the mixture a little thicker, more like a cream. I would probably let it have more time to work. 6 minutes didn't seem like quite long enough. Obviously, it's not as good as waxing but it's less irritating than shaving. It's a little annoying trying to mix it but on the plus side of that you don't have to worry about it going bad. I'm sure after a few trial and error issues you would get used to everything and be able to figure out your own formula.

Want more opinions? Here's what MakeUp Alley thinks about it Soft Sheen Carson Magic Shaving Powder


Have you ever used Magic Shaving Powder? What did you think? Do you have a HG hair removal product?

Hope you liked my review. Forgive my not-so-awesome image quality. My poor Kodak does the best it can.

xoxo Amy