Find the best bikini

Summertime means swimsuit season, which means you may want to clean up stray hairs that poke out of your bikini line. There are plenty of different hair removal options at your disposal — waxing , sugaring, epilating , even lasering — but good ol' fashioned shaving or trimming is typically the most accessible and least intimidating! The best shave really comes down to the tool you're using and how you're using it. The Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab has tested all kinds of hair removers, from waxes to razors , and solicited unbiased feedback from a panel of testers all over the nation to find the best of the best.

First things first: Before you use any home waxing kits, you gotta make sure your skin is properly exfoliated. To help prevent irritation, bumps, or ingrown hairs, regularly pat a hydrating body oil on your waxed skin —this one from Fur is spiked with ultra-moisturizing vitamins A and E, anti-inflammatory tea tree oil and antioxidant-rich safflower seed extract. The kit comes equipped with 24 strips, and six post-wax cloths for quick clean up. BTW: The formula is completely free of artificial colors, fragrances, parabens , and mineral oil. This gentle home waxing kit comes with pre-waxed strips that are cut into three convenient shapes for your face, your brows, and your bikini area. Need a little brow maintenance? These sensitive-skin-friendly wax strips are an easy alternative to plucking or trimming your eyebrows.

Every product is independently selected by obsessive editors. Razor bumps are basically ingrown hairs , which can pop up anywhere you remove hair, and often occur on more delicate areas where the hair is coarse, like the bikini line. Luckily, there are lots of products out there that you can use before and after waxing and shaving to help prevent or eliminate irritation — including some products that you might have assumed were only for the face but are more versatile than we thought.

Bikinis hold a special place in my heart. From retro maillots and barely there bikinis to swim skirts and the return of the low rise , I've seen and tried them all. Thus, my Instagram has become a true testament to my ongoing love affair with bikinis.