How to Buy an Epilator
Look online to find the best epilators for the lowest prices. Get the best brands. Remove unwanted body hair easily and at low cost. Unlike shaving, which uses a blade to cut the hair off where it joins the skin, epilators pull it out. Women’s opinions are divided on whether this is a good hair removal technique. Nearly half of those who have tried one report at least some pain, and the same number report skin irritation after use.
Women who report good results with epilation tend to be those who have used waxing in the past but got tired of the expense. They aren’t as messy, and an epilator device can be used at home. And unlike shaving, an epilator leaves the skin free of hair for a maximum of three weeks.
The first epilator in history was the Epilady, which went on the market in 1986. This primitive design used a spring that was bent into a half-circle. An electric motor rotated the entire apparatus which made one side of the spring squeeze while the other side released. As the spring tightened, it caught hair and pulled it out. More than one woman has referred to this early epilator as a “torture instrument.”
The Lady Remington Smooth and Silky pioneered the rotating disc style of epilator, which with modifications is still in use today. A modern epilator has a rotating head that brings the tips of a series of metal plates together and then apart. This tweezing action takes place in a continuous cycle, with the hair being gripped, pulled, and discarded as the plates open at the bottom of the rotation cycle. The design is so effective the Epilady discarded the original spring design and now uses rotating plates in its epilators.
Even the best epilator can be painful to use, especially on the first try. Although not a medically proven fact, epilator users claim that hair regrowth comes in thinner after each epilation. Other techniques for dealing with the pain include taking an over-the-counter analgesic like aspirin or ibuprofen before epilating, or a couple of alcoholic drinks. Exfoliation after treatment is a must to avoid ingrown hairs.
There are several brands of epilator on market besides the Epilady. The Braun Silk-epil is the highest priced unit with the most features. It comes with a built-in light and includes shaving and massage attachments. Braun claims the effects of hair removal with its machine last for up to a month.
The Philips Norelco Satinelle Ice features ceramic disks. It comes with a liquid-filled cartridge that you can remove and put in the freezer until you’re ready to epilate. The cooling pack is supposed to chill your skin as you work so the process is less painful. The Satinelle Ice has two speed settings, one for coarse hair and one for sensitive areas.
The Philips Satinelle HP also has two speeds, but lacks the chill pack in the Ice model. At about half the price of the Silk-Epil, many users report that the HP gives great value in an epilator for the money.