"Gently" Torture Yourself - But It's Worth It

An Introduction

First, a warning about the pain levels mentioned - I'm a guy. I like to shave my legs because of comfort issues I experience with leg hair and it's actually becoming rather fashionable. Nope, that doesn't make me "evil" or anything of the sort :) But it is an appropriate warning to give because one can only assume my hairs are somewhat stronger and tougher than the average woman's. You may not experience the same intense torture.

Now, what is an epilator? It's a device which spins a series of tweezer-like devices to pull hairs out by the root. It's a little like waxing, except instead of every hair being pulled out at once, it's slowly pulling out individual hairs one after another. If it sounds uncomfortable, it is! But afterall, you must suffer to be beautiful (or just get rid of those annoying leg hairs that are itchy and uncomfortable themselves).

A bargain Wal-Mart find!

I was out shopping at Wal-Mart with my roommate at Wal-Mart. A store which I really don't like to support, but he loves so I took him. I saw this unit on sale for $15 and he laughed when I went to get it when he saw what it was - he thought I was surely joking, but nope. $15 was well worth it to see if it was the answer to end the choice between pricey waxing and the daily ritual of shaving. I hadn't shaved in a few days, so it should be perfect!

Technical/Out-of-box-before-use

Inside it's poorly designed box, you'll find the torture device, uh, I mean hair remover; a plastic storage pouch, a protective cap, and a power adapter. This unit may be used on battery or plugged in to a power supply. Battery life was not tested and the claim is in uses, I believe they claim 6-10 "uses". Whatever a use is.

The product itself is as uninspiring as the package. Very minimal writing and cheap plastic do little to inspire confidence as to the quality of the product.

18 tweezers is about average and should ensure speedy epilation. Unlike the Braun Silk-Epil epilators, this unit's tweezers are quite large and the rows overlap each other. This should assist in guiding hairs into the tweezers.

And it hits the skin!

First trying the unit on my underarms, it's incredibly comfortable and does a great job quickly (I'm very used to it though from my Silk-Epil which I can't stand on my legs). To a beginner, it's a little painful but future uses become painless! On my arms it's pretty good as well on the light fluff that's there, just to thin it out a little... but where it's meant for... the legs. Wow. Ouch. Argh. The pain which I expected. But it's better than the Silk-Epil and I WILL stick with it!

No really, this unit hurts but it's not that bad really. It's more like pinpricks. Imagine if someone was sanding your skin with a fine sandpaper while poking it hundreds of times per minute with a very fine needle. You've got the basic idea of what this unit feels like. It stings but it's not bad. And just like waxing, epilation results in long-lasting hair removal that eliminates the daily chore of shaving and the skin feels great afterwards (it stings for a little bit but after a few minutes it's the most comfortable you can image. Super-duper smooth and wonderful).

Expect to spend 3-4 hours to do your legs the first time if you want to do it in one sitting. It's very slow. You ARE afterall pulling out hairs one by one. I'd consider having a friend do it for you the first time if there's one you're comfortable with. Why? Because over half (3/4 maybe) of the time is stopping to relax yourself before the next little patch. If you had a friend doing it you could lie back and relax.

Regrowth is slow and fine just like with waxing (based on my experience with the Braun Silk-Epil - I haven't had this long enough). Also, like with waxing, the pain is less if you keep up on it. If you use it daily, it actually feels very good after awhile. My underarms are there - I love the feeling of it, it's very soothing. My legs aren't there... yet. I trust they will be.

Some warnings...

These units cause major ingrown hairs. Make sure to keep your skin clean and exfoliated. Yes, the ingrown hairs will be worse than shaving or waxing because they're not pulling hair as cleanly. Just keep this in mind.

The unit says you can use it on your face (but not your eyebrows). Somehow I REALLY don't think they mean for us men who have full facial hair... Though I'd love to try it. If some brave soul tries this and tells me how it turns out, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Final advice

Stick with it. It really does feel good after you've stuck at it. Yes it's a time-consuming chore compared to shaving. But it's far less often (though keep up with it!). And if you could get a friend, I think it'd really help it go a lot faster.

Highly recommended, especially if you can find one for a great bargain like I did. Saves a lot of money compared to waxing and gives great results