Can’t decide whether epilation is right for you? Do epilators work? How does it compare with shaving, waxing, or hair removal creams? There are so many reasons to choose epilators over traditional forms of hair removal. Unlike shaving, epilators pull multiple hairs out at the root. Every form of hair removal has pros and cons. Epilators are not perfect. Here are several reasons why you should choose epilators over other forms of hair removal.
Why I Love It?
1. Long lasting results up to a month
While epilating is not a permanent form of hair removal, one sitting will leave you hair free for at least a week or 2. With shaving and waxing, having smooth legs all the time requires a lot of effort. I am not a big fan of shaving, since in order to maintain smooth skin, you really have to do it every day. With shaving you are cutting the hair at the surface which gives it a blunt tip. Within a day, the stubble already grows back. It’s hard to make time for it every day. This leaves you with a prickly, stubbly feeling.
With epilation, you are removing hair at the root, so it will not only take longer to grow back but the tip of the hair will be narrower. Epilating is a lot like waxing. The more you epilate, the longer periods of hairlessness you will experience.
2. Removes tiniest hair
With waxing, there is an awkward period where you have to let the hair grow out. If it is too short, you have to wait. Typically, I have to wait 4 weeks for my hair to grow out long enough to wax. I hate having to wait for the hair to be long enough especially on the arms and legs. Worse, all the hair grows out at different rate so you have to wait for all the hair to be long enough. If you are worried about being seen with hairy legs, you have to wear pants in between.
With epilating there are no hairy in between days. I love that with epilating, you don’t really need to wait that long before the epilator can remove the hair. Even if there are tiny hairs that grow out, it is really hard to notice from a distance. While epilators won’t remove stubble, some of the best models remove the shortest hair as small as 0.5mm since the tweezers get really close to the skin.
3. Hair grows back much more slowly and finer
Studies have shown using an epilator for an extended period of time can lead to lighter and thinner growth. After epilating for a few years, for me, there are patches of skin where the hair does not grow back at all. I’ve heard of women who have been epilating for 20 years and their hair is so light that they don’t have to epilate anymore.
4. Keeps the wallet happy
Waxing can get super expensive. The place I go to charges $26 dollars for a half leg and $48 dollars for the full leg. That’s about $30 dollars a month or $360 dollars. For the initial investment, most epilators cost between $30 and $150 dollars. Then there is nothing more to buy. We have reviewed all of the most popular brands. You can find the Philips Hp6401 for $30. The Braun Silk 7 and Braun Silk 9 are the most expensive epilators. On average, most epilators last for a little over 5 years before you have to replace them. Models that are corded can last even longer than that. Even shaving can get expensive because you have to buy the replacement blades, creams, and foams.
5. Convenient
You can epilate wherever and whatever time you want. Some people prefer removing hair in the privacy of their own home. I hate making an appointment and taking a trip to the salon. With epilators, if you’ve been waiting to wear that nice dress or sleeveless top tonight, you can.
If you do wax, because epilators are small you can take them with you when are on vacation. It is easy to quickly touch up without worrying to find a nearby salon.
6. Easy to use
Unlike waxing, there is not a whole to learn. Just hold the epilator 90 degrees to the skin and pull the skin taught to minimize pain and make sure the epilator doesn’t pinch the skin, moving against the growth.
7. Cleanup is fairly easy
Epilators are super easy to clean. The only thing I hate is that the hair seems to get all over the place so I like to use it in the shower with the water off. When you are done, you just simply remove the cap and brush the hair out. You can then blow the hair that is stuck out. Most epilator heads can be rinsed under water. I like to clean the head with a little rubbing alcohol.
8. You can use them anywhere to remove hair
Most women use them on the legs, but they can also be used on the face, underarms, and bikini area. Some models come with special caps designed specifically for the underarms and bikini area. There are even facial epilators.
9. Skin looks nicer
Because epilators remove hair from the root, I think the skin looks smoother and sexier. I call it Hollywood skin. This is especially true for the underarms. While deadly painful, once you remove hair on the underarms, you will never want to go back to shaving because you don’t get that dark shadow that you usually get with shaving. Skin looks instantly several shades lighter, because there is no hair underneath it.
Why I Hate It?
1. Painful
When I say epilator what do you think of? Most people cringe in pain. The technology in epilators has gotten so much better than the original Epilady, but they are still painful. Epilators remove hair from the root so it impossible not to feel anything especially at first. Most people don’t epilate because they are afraid of the pain. After epilating 3 or 4 times, the pain gets less and less. The first couple of times, it can be a bit rough. Once your skin gets accustomed to epilating, it becomes a lot like waxing your eyebrows. Now it feels like just a tug.
2. Ingrown hair
Since epilators pull hair in the opposite direction of growth, there is a chance for developing ingrown hair. Those suckers can sometimes be ruthless. Fortunately, there are many things that you can do prevent ingrown hair from developing. As long as you develop a good routine of exfoliation you should be fine. Here are some great products for dealing with ingrown hair.
3. Takes time in the beginning
Epilating the both legs at first can take about over an hour especially if you have never done it before. We all been there. I couldn’t even finish it all the way through. Once you get proficient it takes about half an hour for both legs. If you do it weekly, it can be done under 10 minutes for both legs.
4. It is not permanent.
While you can remain hairless for awhile, you still have to epilate routinely to stay hairless. If you don’t epilate for awhile, it’s like starting all over. It hurts just as much as the first time if you wait a long time between sessions.
Epilation is not for everyone, but if you try epilation, you might not want to go back to other forms of hair removal.
Have you tried epilation? What do you love or hate about epilation?