I am here today to help you buy the right epilator. Hopefully, finding an epilator for your needs will be a lot easier with this step by step guide. Here is everything you need to know when shopping for your epilator. The most important question you should ask is, “What am I going to use the epilator for?”
The epilator market hasn’t changed a whole lot in the last couple of years. However, there are more choices than ever before. With all the choices, it can be a bit confusing which model to choose. There are now more options than any other time. Today’s models encompass everything from the ability to use them under water , to wider heads, to an inordinate amount of tweezers, to exfoliating brushes that prevent ingrown hair.
The standard epilator looks a lot like it has looked like for the last couple of years. The basic technology hasn’t changed much. The very first epilator used a spring to remove hair. Spring designed epilators had rotating springs that trapped the hairs in the coil, plucking the hair when the spring rotated. Modern epilators have moved away from the early spring designed epilators to a rotating tweezer head. The design of epilators is very similar to an electric razor, except the cutting blade is replaced by a row of tweezers that pull hair out at the root. These spinning disks trap hair and pull them out as they spin around opening and closing. The technology hasn’t changed much. What has changed is the additional amount of tweezers and options you get. There is simply a lot of variety in the epilator space to fit the needs of everyone. There is something for pretty much everyone.
That’s where our buying guide is helpful. In addition to testing epilators, we’ll give you a rundown of the latest design, technologies, features, and current trends to help you figure out the features you really need. This way you will find the epilator you really want.
Categories Of Epilators
Body Epilators
If you are looking to remove unwanted hair from a large area of your body, you are going to need a larger epilator. Braun, Emjoi, Philips, Panasonic, Remington, and Epilady all make epilators for the body. If you want something that will last you for awhile with a rich feature set, you are going to need to invest a little money. For anyone who wants the best performance, a decent amount of tweezers, all the bells and whistles, and a large surface area, higher priced epilators might be worth the extra cost.
There is no question that most people use an epilator on their legs. A lot of higher priced epilators are designed to be used anywhere on the body. These epilators come with special caps or heads to be used on the more sensitive areas. The prices run a lot higher. An entry level body epilator starts under $50 dollars, but prices can go up and over $100 dollars for the latest epilators with wider heads and features designed to be complete hair removal systems. Men can even use epilators. See the best epilator for men.
However, before you spend your money on a high end epilators, you should make sure that you are getting the most of your money. Do you need an epilator that can be used under water? Do you already have an exfoliating brush? Do you plan on epilating other areas besides your legs? All these questions should weigh in on your mind when choosing an epilator.
Check out our top epilator picks.
Portable Epilators
If you are looking for an epilator to take on vacation, for quick touch ups in between waxing, or one that you can carry, a portable epilator may be for you. On one hand, you have the larger epilators designed for the body but over here you have smaller more portable epilators. Over the years portable epilators have gotten dramatically thinner and sleeker. Companies are now creating smaller epilators designed for the more sensitive areas of the body. Most of these epilators are battery operated, which is the biggest downside to portable epilators. The batteries typically last anywhere from 2 – 7 uses before the epilator starts to lose power. We don’t recommend using them on larger areas like the legs because they can take forever. They are designed for smaller areas like the face, underarms, and bikini area. They are also useful for minor touchups and getting to smaller areas that larger epilators have a difficult time to reach. These smaller epilators represent a newer vision for the space- an epilator so small that you will forget it’s in your purse or bag.
For more, check out the best epilator for the armpits and the best epilator for epilating the pubic area.
Facial Epilators
Recently, using an epilator on your face is becoming more and more popular. We don’t recommend using a general purpose epilator on the face because it is too powerful and may damage the delicate skin. Companies have started making and designing epilators specifically for the face. Both Braun and Epilady make models specifically for removing facial hair. Braun recently came out with the world’s first facial epilator and cleansing brush with the Braun Face.
Check out our pick for the best facial hair epilator.
Inexpensive Epilators
If all you want to do is epilate your legs, a cheap epilator may all that you need. High quality epilators cost over $50 dollars. These epilators have more tweezers and more features. They also offer better performance because of the number of tweezers and size of the epilating area. On the low end, you can get a perfectly functioning epilator for as little as $30 dollars. However, it does come at a cost. You will get only about 20 tweezers and it will take you longer to epilate. The design might not be the best but you will be able to get started epilating and decide if it is for you.
Features Of Epilators
Once you have settled on pricing, you can think about which features are important to you. To get the most out of your epilator see our epilator tips.
Wet & Dry
Quiet possibly the most dramatic change to come to epilators in the last couple of years is the ability to use them wet and dry. Most of us have been shaving forever in the shower and the ability to use an epilator in the shower is a natural extension of that. Epilating under warm water is supposed to be gentler and less painful, but your mileage will vary. Epilating under water is not perfect because it takes several more passes to grab the hair since the hair tends to stick to the skin. The results are always less thorough than dry epilating. There’s a lot more to wet & dry epilation that can’t be addressed in our buying guide, but the bottom line is if you are new to epilation, a wet and dry model is highly recommended because it is a much gentler way to epilate.
Tweezers
The most dominant feature on epilators are the tweezers. Most epilators feature metal tweezers though the Philips Satin Perfect has ceramic tweezers. We didn’t find a whole lot different between the metal and ceramic tweezers. Epilators are equipped with everything from just 1 tweezer to 72 tweezers. Actually, Epilady just released a model with over 100 tweezers. In theory the larger amount of tweezers you have, the more hair you will be able to pull out per pass. Whether you go for a model with more tweezers or one with less, we found about 40 tweezers to be a sweet spot. Models with more tweezers are better at clearing larger areas but because the head is too big these epilators can be difficult to maneuver in smaller areas.
Cordless Or Not
One of the biggest decisions you have to make is whether to go cordless or not. Some epilators only work while plugged in. This is not necessarily a bad thing. While you do have to fight with the cord sometimes, models that have to be plugged in never lose power. Most likely these models will last much longer than models that are cordless. Other models feature rechargeable batteries. Most models with rechargeable batteries can be used while plugged in. However, as a safety precaution Wet & Dry models can’t be used while plugged it. This is something you want to be aware of before purchasing a new Wet & Dry Model. You will have to charge the battery for at least an hour before you can use the epilator.
Exfoliating Brushes
Because epilators remove hair against the root, you must have a good regimen to prevent ingrown hair from developing. Some of the latest models feature exfoliating spa brushes which are designed to offer better exfoliation than manual exfoliation alone.
Design
As designs of epilators get more sleeker, companies have tried to make the plastic bodies of the epilators not look cheap. Some epilators have decorative patterns and contours designed to appeal to women.
Pain
At first, epilators can be painful and cause bumpy skin especially on sensitive areas.
Extended Warranties
Most epilators come with a 1 year warranty. This warranty is limited so it won’t cover any accidents. You can also purchase optional extended warranties. If you are buying a warranty you shouldn’t spend more than 15 percent of what you paid for the epilator.