Talk to me about epilators

[SexyManatee]

Fed up of shaving. Fed up of blunt, dark hair regrowth and needing to shave twice a week in the summer.

Going to buy an epilator tomorrow - probably from Argos.

What am I looking for, oh wise women of style and beauty?

I love mine. Had it years, keep it clean and it’s earned it’s keep many times over. I’m away but think it’s a Philips one, cost about £30 from amazon. There have been several threads on epilators recently so you’ll find other brand recommendations on here.

I don’t find it painful and it’s reallt easy and convenient to use. Get one!

Oh watching this, I need a new epilator myself

I have one, donkeys years old ( I think Rio, bought it from QVC)

I use sugaring or hot wax on armpits and bikini , mainly because it's applied , the strip is applied then you Have to remove it. No shillyshally-ing about .
I use the epilator on my legs, mine doesn't have a chilled bit (though that might be worth thinking about)
You can I think get wet/dry like razors (DD has a Ladyshave wet/dry that she gifted to me) but I know what you mean about the stubble. Its only a winter fall back when my pits aren't on show.

You'll need a scrub to exfoliate, shops the ingrown hairs. Make sure your hairs are long enough to catch.
Legs are easiest, I do small circular motions, you can go over any missed bits easily.
Ankle and tops of feet not so nice but its quick.

Any that you're looking at in particular?

I was looking at this one, but now thinking I need wet and dry functions?

www.argos.co.uk/product/4438630

Some people swear by the ones that you can use in the bath because they are meant to be less painful. Personally I think it depends on how good the light is in your bathroom and if you can remember to keep the thing charged up (I can't). So of the two that I have I use the plug in one the more than the wet and dry one.

Newby Hands, Beauty editor at bazaar magazine, reccomends Braun ones & she has never let me down.

I want one too.

Ooh me too, been hmmming about one for years but yet to commit!

I'll get a Braun one tomorrow and feed back! Although it may be a few days, my leg hair isn't long enough yet.

What is the ideal hair length, btw?

This is the best time to start! If you let the hair grow out (as if for waxing) there will be more hair and it will be more uncomfortable. I'd start when you get the epilator and use it every other day for a week or two until no more hair is appearing.

I'd get a model similar to the photo (from here hairfreelife.com/your-complete-guide-to-epilation-with-epilators/). That article says that the tweezer epliators are the most up-to-date but the disc kind (pictured) work miles better in my experience. The tweezers can be weedy at getting enough hair (often the head only contains a small number of them) so you're just rubbing it on your legs for ages, and they seem more likely to break the hairs, which is a painful and expensive way to get the same effect as shaving.

As you can see in that photo, the head is just discs, no plastic areas showing in between (though ideally you'd want less plastic shoulder and more disc area). You want the epilator with the biggest head and most discs on it.

Philips and Remingtom both make a good product if you keep the above factors in mind. A cheap epilator (unless you find a quality one on super-sale) will not give you a good result so you won't want to use it.

PS. I also find the cordless ones sometimes stop recharging a year or so into use, so while cordless is great it may not always be that way.

Use it over something you can wash or throw away as the hair roots are sticky and can be hard to wipe or hoover up. Cheap tissue paper is good, or have a dedicated towel. Bath (not with water, just over the enamel bath to catch the hair) is ideal if you go cordless.

Thanks Mrs. I'll go and get one after work.

I have the one you linked to OP - I really like it, I've had it about three years and it's still going strong, even on my wire wool . Only thing is I've found I have to regularly exfoliate to stop ingrown hairs.

As the previous poster said, I sit on the edge of a (dry) bath to do mine so I can just rinse the hair away afterwards - I plug it into an extension lead and the faff of doing that is worth the mess you don't have to clear up.

A little light on it to help show up the hairs is helpful.

Skin Doctors Ingrow Go is a decent product too.

Agree with the advice not to let your hair grow too long. The difference compared to waxing is that you can do it little and often to get the bits you've missed. Try it with whatever hair growth you've got and don't worry if it doesn't go well the first time - I found it took a few attempts to get the hang of it.

agree it is more painful if the hair is longer - found that out with the bikini line (ouch). I would go for a wet one that can be charged and one with a special facial attachment as putting the big one on my upper lip I just can't bring myself to do! The one I've got is a mid price phillips - it's good, but if I could use it in the bath I'd probably get those annoying stray hairs that you miss more easily.

It's much cheaper than shaving over time.

I am going to have a full wax next week because I have let the hair grow just too long. Agree with others. Don't let that happen. Have it fully charged as that seemed to make a difference.

If I was doing a whole leg I sometimes take a paracetmol. I have never used for bikini line. Waxing is better in the area IMHO

Leaving work now - off to the shops. Will let you know what I buy