Originally Posted by bostontrevor
Nair contains salts that interrupt some molecular bonds that hold hair together.
Oven cleaner contains caustic soda which dissolves fats and other organic crap. Non-caustic formulas use some ethers. Don't rub oven cleaner on your body, don't clean your oven with Nair.
Depilatories work by breaking down hair with a high pH substance such as sodium thioglycolate or calcium thioglycolate - which reacts with the protein structure of hair. Oven cleaners and drain cleaners are typically ~1.5% sodium thioglycolate by mass.
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