I know everyone is different but I think if you can pluck your eyebrows you can use an epilator. Like you wouldn't wax your whole eyebrow off at one time but most of us can have a quick go at the strays without much discomfort. Treat your epilator like that, a quick pass over strays every so often. It isn't waxing, it can be more gentle and gradual than that. Maybe I'm a bit weird though, I feel a bit evangelical about epilating.
The more epilation surface area the better. Not sure how to express this, but the business end should be dense with discs and wide. If there are only a few of those bits and a big frame of smooth plastic it'll take forever. I've never got on with the kind that have lots of little tweezers, they break the hair and cause ingrowns (on me anyway).
If it's your first time, shave first (in the direction of hair growth, not against it) then epilate (approx) every two or three days for two weeks. Hair grows in cycles, if you attack all the cycles at once (like in the spring if you've let it grow all winter) it will be dense and therefore painful. After two weeks you should be able to reduce to weekly or fortnightly. Now I only epilate for a few minutes every six or eight weeks or so and it's not painful, there just isn't that much hair present.
If you're densely hairy anywhere don't start there 😀
Trim longer hair before epilating.
Couple of paracetamol and/or an ice pack beforehand.
The more dense areas of growth need a few passes from various angles, if you go at it it all at once directly against the growth it will hurt.
Hold the skin taut in areas like bikini and knees.
Don't epilate immediately before an event, beach or similar.
Occasionally (post-epilation) I mix a tiny bit (smaller than a pea, like half a pea? 😀) of otc cortisone cream with bland lotion (like Cerave) and apply to any red or rashy areas at bedtime. Clears up by morning.