Very efficient; pain varies (Philips HP 6414 Epilator)

Member Name: Klytemnestra

Product:	Philips HP 6414 Epilator
Date:	31/12/02 (4171 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Slow regrowth, Convenient and portable, Cost-effective

Disadvantages: Can be quite painful

Hair removal is a very personal matter. Some women have lots of thick, dark hair, others have very little; some find waxing exruciating, others barely notice it. There is also the matter of how far you are bothered, depending mainly on what you wear and whether you're in a relationship. I have to confess that I'm a long skirts girl and don't bother all that often when I'm single, whereas some people want their legs to be completely smooth every day whatever they're up to. I have found that an epilator gives the best result for longest, though.

The epilator is a small, handheld machine that plugs into the mains. It contains several rotating discs that operate rather like tweezers and get very close to the hairs. It also comes with a little case that is big enough to put a small bottle of lotion into as well, a loofah, and a wee cleaning brush. Do use the cleaning brush: my mother borrowed my epilator to try it out, and it came back clogged with black hairs! (Thankfully, she bought hr own after that.) You can also partially disassemble the machine and wash the head under the tap, but I find that a quick brush now and then does the trick. Pick somewhere to epilate where it will be easy to clean up afterwards, since you will end up with little hairs all over the place; I usually just hoover or sweep them up. Both the epilating discs and the "vibrating pain removing element" have two speeds for different areas and types of hair growth.

Epilating has a lot in common with waxing, so if you've tried that, you'll have some idea of how painful it will be for you. It does seem to vary, I've found, and most people agree that waxing is more painful if you do it yourself than if you go to a salon (I'd compare epilating with the salon). I have joint and muscle pain as a result of having M.E., and I've found that when my joints are going through a bad patch, epilating is agony, while it's OK the re

st of the time. Philips do a three-months money-back guarantee, which gives you long enough to try it a few times: if it's still too painful, they'll take it back. As with all methods that pull out the hairs, hair regrowth gradually becomes softer (you "train the hairs", as my ex-flatmate put it), and it is less painful after the first time or so.

The epilator removes hairs by ripping them out from the roots, so the regrowth time is the same as it would be for waxing, between 3-6 weeks depending on your hair growth. One advantage is that you can remove hairs that are only 0.5mm long, instead of having to wait for 5mm to grow in, and if you realise the next day that you missed a bit, it's far less hassle to touch them up. I found with waxing that some bits invariably got missed and you either had to leave them or go over your legs with tweezers, but you don't get this problem with epilating.

Instead of ripping out large patches of hair at a time, as with waxing, the rotating discs take just a little at a time. Whether or not you find this an advantage is probably up to personal taste: it takes longer overall, but the pain you feel at any one point is less. I found it a lot easier to cope with than waxing. How long it takes does vary: my mother can do a whole leg in about ten minutes, frequently chatting to me on the phone at the same time (although I keep objecting that I can't hear her clearly above the buzzing noise), while I tend to sit around wincing and take longer.

It's worth experimenting with ways of using this nifty little machine to see what suits you best. I find it less painful after a bath, when everything's been softened and the pores are open, but my mother finds it's worse that way. You can also stretch the skin with your hand, and try different speeds on the epilator and the little vibrating "pain softener": the idea of the latter is that it massages your ski
n bri
efly before the epilator gets to it, thus relaxing it and making it less painful. It's a bit like the way injections hurt far more when you're tensed up than when you're relaxed. Start with the less painful areas, such as backs of calves, since your body adjusts and it becomes less painful after a few minutes, and then move on to the bony bits.

As far as skin irritation is concerned, it rates very well compared with most other methods. As with waxing, there is the (slight) problem of ingrowing hairs, so you do need to use the nice little loofah they put in with the epilator and exfoliate regularly, or at least before you epilate. There is no hot wax to upset your skin, you can't cut yourself, no chemical reactions. Your skin can still feel slightly sore afterwards (I really don't recommend trying your underarms: I did and it hurt for a week), though not much (and I have very sensitive skin indeed), so it's a good idea to have a calming lotion at hand. Since legs tend to get dry anyway (although if you shave that's part of the reason), it's a good idea all round. I mixed one up myself using a plain lotion base from Honesty Cosmetics and added lavender, roman chamomile and sandalwood essential oils. One of the great things about epilating is that if you're concerned about cruelty-free products, you don't have to use them at all, since the wee beastie is purely mechanical and what lotions and potions you use is up to you. Don't moisturise your skin for 24 hours before you epilate, since it will make it difficult for the epilator to get a grip on the hairs.

I've also heard it advised that you should dab a bit of alcohol on your legs if you've been waxing or epilating in order to prevent any infection. I've never had a problem apart from the odd follicle looking a bit red, but it's probably a good idea anyway. I have a tincture of calendula and other herbs that are good f
or skin (N
apiers Herbalist, Marigold Compound), so I dilute a bit of that and dab it on before I moisturise. Vodka or similar would do perfectly well, I imagine, and to be honest, everyone seems to cope without doing this anyway.

Do shop around for prices: I bought mine for £32 at John Lewis (their price promise is very handy) and saw it in Boots the same week for £40. It may seem like a pricey initial outlay, but that's all you'll have to spend: think how few waxing sessions it would cover, and even razor blades are pricey these days. For about £10 more you can get a combi epilator that also includes an electric shaver.

A quick note on shaving: when I first started as an adolescent, I kept on cutting my legs, partly because I'm blind as a bat without my glasses and can't actually see my lower legs too clearly. My mother pointed out one day that if I got one scar a year, imagine how my legs would look in twenty-five years time. Now, of course I thought I'd been making the utmost effort to avoid cutting my legs, but it must have sunk in at some deep level, because after that I miraculously ended up with fewer cuts. The power of suggestion, eh.

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