Epilators...are they any good?

[witsender]

I'm fed up with shaving my legs, but think I would find waxing too much of a faff. Are epilators worth a try?

Can anyone recommend one?

I'd really recommend a Phillips lumea over an epileptic if you can afford it. Mine has been a revelation.

Yes they are great but you need to only do it on quite short hair otherwise it hurts too much.
I do my legs over a couple of days, just to get all the hairs - it takes about 15 mins - and it lasts for a couple of weeks with minimal maintenance. Skin is better because shaving isn't so frequent.
Over time regroth slows and hairs get a little finer. Regrowth isn't so sharp.
STRETCH your skin with your other hand while doing it otherwise it hurts. A bag of frozen peas is good if you really cannot stand the pain!

So worth it! I have a braun silk epil, possibly bought it 11 years ago! It's used every few weeks and is so much easier than shaving; no more nicks or cuts! The tips above are great, I find shorter hairs less painful than longer ones. If I haven't epilated for a while so the hairs are long I sometimes shave before to only have stubble to minimise the pain. One of my best purchases.

Have you ever had a wax?

The reason I ask is not because of potential pain (although it really does hurt) but because if you're anything like me, it just won't work. My epilator is great on my underarms, been doing them for 15 years and now have hardly any hair and it's very fine. On my legs however, it just doesn't rip the hairs out properly. It breaks them off at the root and it was the same with waxing. So no good if you have that problem!

I have a Lumea but I only use it on my face and underarms, I prefer an epilator for my legs as it's faster and you can pull all the hair out, whereas with a Lumea you are just shaving. Lots of the hair on my legs has now gone where I epilated it.

Ok, maybe I'll have a try. Do you use wet and dry ones or just a standard one?

I use a lumea and an epilator - a few sets of flashes and the hair is so fine, I got much braver with the epilator than I ever was

My advice is don't get the cordless wet/dry one as the battery doesn't last. Go for a cheaper model that you have to use plugged in.

I have been using an epilator for nearly 30 years (they are much better now than the early ones which were steam powered ) and I still need to do my legs every day if going bare legged. So, although some people seem to get away with infrequent use don't necessarily expect it. I highly recommend one with a light.

Another one here with an ancient Braun silk epil. Works great!