Little pain, big gain! (Braun Silk epil Xelle Solo)

Member Name: bamamo

Product:	Braun Silk epil Xelle Solo
Date:	22/07/08 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cost-effective, long-lasting results, relatively quick

Disadvantages: Some pain, noisy!

When the summer rolls around I tend to have a dabble with waxing, hair removal creams etc but, unsuccessful, resort to shaving. But I hate stubble!
This year, I decided to try out an epilator.

AN EPI-WHAT?
An epilator is an electrical appliance with several rows of tweezers which pluck out hairs from the root, giving a similar long-lasting smooth effect to waxing without having to shell out on home kits or going to a salon. Like waxing, it's not entirely pain-free!

OPTIONS AVAILABLE
It seems that the main factor people consider when choosing an epilator is the level of pain, so it's unsurprising that most of the differences in products revolve around this. Most units I saw had some kind of a cover for beginners, or ice packs to make the process more comfortable.
So, since they're all so similar I opted for Braun, which appears to be the leader in the field with several products for sale in Argos alone, where I purchased my Silk epil Xelle Solo 5170 for £34.99. As I wasn't sure if I would get along with this method of hair removal, I opted for the cheapest one available.
Epilators can be purchased from catalogue stores eg Argos or bigger chemists such as Boots, where they are often on offer.

AT FIRST GLANCE
The epilator is roughly palm-sized, and mine was pink and white although the picture in the catalogue was green so I suppose it's the luck of the draw. The kit came with a drawstring bag for carrying everything, the mains adapter, the epilator itself of course, a starter head for beginners, instructions and a brush for cleaning the unit. The bag makes it easy to take away travelling although the charger is ridiculously big and heavy!
The instruction manual isn't particularly detailed, it is written in a lot of different languages and only has about three pages of English, so it obviously doesn't go into too much detail, but there is a page of diagrams and it's really not rocket science anyway. To be honest I didn't even read it.
The starter cover basically reduces the number of tweezers that make contact with your skin and has massaging rollers. The other cover is for a quicker, slightly more painful job.
The top of the unit is detachable by pressing buttons on both sides, so it is easy to remove for cleaning (with the brush only, don't use near water!), and then whichever cover you prefer to use just snaps on before putting the top back onto the base. Easy!

PLUCKING UP THE COURAGE (PUN INTENDED)
After returning home from Argos, I was eager to try out my new "toy". My hair wasn't particularly long as my regrowth seems to have been slowing of late, but I wanted to have a go at least before finishing the job properly in a couple of days. My hairs were at the shorter end of what is suggested to use the epilator on (it really was quite short) and it does work better on slightly longer hair.
I plugged in and turned on to have a look before braving putting it anywhere near my leg.
This thing is LOUD! It's a little unnerving but don't let it put you off. The roller spins so fast it made me wonder how the little tweezers would get chance to pluck anything but trust me they do!
So choosing the slower setting (there are two, and if you think it's loud on slow it really revs up on fast!), I gritted my teeth and went for it. Honestly, it's not that bad! At first I felt a little pinch but holding your skin taut and pressing on harder seems to do the trick. I cant say whether the massage rollers help or not because obviously I hadn't epilated before and didn't know what it was supposed to feel like. About halfway through my first run up my leg I realised that it really didn't hurt, it was more uncomfortable. After a little while I began to work up and then back down to try and get as many hairs as possible. Some parts of the leg such as the back of the thigh can be quite uncomfortable, I find it more of a "hot" pain which could be me pinching my skin!
I find it helps to try and continuously work over the area rather than lifting the epilator off and putting it back down in another spot. If you are constantly moving, there is honestly very little pain or discomfort. And of course the more hairs you take out, the less pain because there's nothing to pluck!
The manual says to work against the hair growth, but I went in a circle because hairs grow in different ways so there's always the odd one on a funny angle. I just found that it worked better.
One thing that I did find annoying is that when the hairs come out they just fall onto your leg, so you have to constantly brush them off your leg to see where you've missed, and they go everywhere! I don't really see how they could avoid this with the design though other than installing a tiny vacuum cleaner, in which case ear plugs would probably be necessary to use it!
The first try took a long time because obviously there were a lot of hairs and if you keep up to it when regrowth occurs it doesn't take long at all. If you have been shaving then you will probably notice a regrowth fairly quickly, which isn't the hairs you removed but a second round if you like, as with every shave there will be hairs you miss etc. After two or three times things begin to even out.
I was so brave on my first try, or maybe stupid, that I decided to try my bikini line. It hurt a lot more, but done in small doses I could probably get through it. You have to be a lot more careful though to keep the skin taut or your might tweeze your skin, which I haven't done yet but I imagine hurts!
After use my legs were a little red so I wouldn't use it the day you're going to be showing off your legs, but this disappeared quickly.

HELPFUL POINTERS
- It's important to exfoliate if you're going to epilate or you could get some nasty ingrown hairs. I find it easiest to use when I've just come out of the bath, but make sure you're completely dry with no lotion on. Rub your hands over your legs to lift the hairs up.
- After epilation, apply a moisturiser which will help for the redness.
- If you're disheartened after initial pain, don't give up! The patches with less hair barely hurt at all (for me) and so it does get better if you keep at it.
- Avoid using around your time of the month, because it could be more painful. Saying that I have and it was only marginally worse.

THE RESULTS
After the first try, I was impressed but my legs didn't feel TOTALLY smooth. However, after a couple of touch-ups (which, by the way, were completely pain-free for me) it started to even out and the results lasted. I have owned the epilator for about six weeks and after the initial "big job" have used it maybe three times for five-minute touch-ups and my legs feel smooth and the results are lasting longer all the time. Also, after the first go I didn't experience any redness at all after using the epilator.
VERDICT
I am SO glad I tried! If you decide to try it or have tried in the past but given up after an initial painful experience, please try again! It is so much quicker than constantly shaving, very economical and the results last wonderfully! Even after a little regrowth, it is so sporadic it's not even noticeable. Two thumbs up!

Also on Ciao under the same name :)

Summary: Definitely worth it if you're sick of shaving constantly!