O Beauty Lab: We Tried It…So You Don't Have To

The R.E.M. Spring Facial Hair Remover

I'm a brunette with fair skin, so any hair on my face is immediately noticeable—especially on my upper lip. I used to wax it, but I always got a telltale red mustache. So I switched to tweezing. But I could never manage to grab every hair. When I was sent this Slinky-like stainless steel coil, I wondered if it might be the answer. After a quick glance at the directions, I bent the spring to form an inverted U-shape, then placed the middle of the coil on my upper lip and started to roll the ends between my thumb and finger while slowly moving the device up and down (this sounds complicated, but it's easy to get the hang of it). The directions also suggested that it would be helpful to stretch the skin around my lips outward with my tongue so that the surface would be flatter and easier to access. As the coil moved, it grabbed and pulled out the hairs. That hurt, of course. But it was also fascinating to see them stuck in the spring…which is why, I guess, I worked the coil down my cheeks and neck as well. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! As I was recovering, I was thinking that what interested me most was the simplicity of the thing. No batteries or electrical cord; no wax strips; no cream, water, or mirror required. And actually, it really hurt for only a few seconds. I'll still use tweezers to clean up my brows—the company warns that you shouldn't try the device on brows since you can inadvertently pull out your lashes, too. But for my upper lip, when I want to make sure I get every single hair, this will be my new go-to device.

— Kate Sandoval