Like a few other bloggers, I was recently sent this for review purposes. I’ve used it a couple of times now, so I thought it was about time to share my first impressions.

I’ve used an epilators before, and had variable results. My first attempt was with a Philips Satinelle “Ice” which had a clip on ice pack which was meant to deaden the pain. It didn’t. I ended up using it without as the condensation from the ice pack just made my legs all wet and stopped the epilator from working – fail. 

I also used another bog standard one (I can’t remember the make or model, sorry), which gave better results, but was a little bit less cumbersome to use. so I liked it better. It also had more speed setting, which was good. As I say though, a bog standard model, with no bells and whistles or fancy attachments.

So, moving onto the Silk Epil 7…

First of all, I’ve seen a lot of people expressing concern about the pain or otherwise of epilating on twitter etc. Lets be frank here – epilators work by plucking hair out from the root. They are essentially tweezers on a power trip. This is NEVER going to be a pain free experience, but the payoff is meant to be slower finer regrowth. Apparently repeated epilation can lead to a longer amount of time between needing to epilate too. Personally, I find this on a par with waxing in terms of pain, but it just takes longer. Obviously everyone is different though.

So epilation is not a permanent method of hair removal, as the hair folicle is not destroyed, but because it plucks the hair, it causes a delay in regrowth, and the hair is fine – shaving “blunts” the end of the hair, leading to regrowth feeling thicker. 

This is also currently on offer on Amazon for £89.99 as opposed to the usual cost of £120. The epilator comes with a great amount of adaptors to enable you to use it on the face, bikini line, underarms, and also had a shaving and trimmer head adaptor, a pouch and a pack of pre-epilation wipes. 

 

One thing to note though, is that the epilator does need an adaptor as it comes with a two pin plug. 

This epilator does have some great features in comparison to other ones I have used in the past. I am a big fan of the SmartLight, which is basically a little light which allows you to see where you have missed. This is a godsend if you have those eco friendly energy saving bulbs – great for the planet, but bad for doing makeup etc. The epilator also has two speed setting – I use the lower setting on areas like ankles and knees, and the higher setting on the rest of the legs.

I also like the way the head has been designed on the epilator too – it has a pivot feature so its easy to use, and also has a little massage/roller feature which makes the hairs stand up so get them all in fewer strokes. 

The epilator is easy enough to use – basically go against the direction of hair growth, and work on small areas, keeping the areas taught as you go. As I say, pain is a definite factor, so definitely take that into consideration. 

After use, the skin can look a little red – It gives my skin a little bit of a “plucked chicken” look, but that calms down after a couple of hours. Worth bearing in mind though – you might not want to do this immediately prior to a big night out!

I have quite coarse hair, but I find this does a good job – there are some patches where the hair seems to get “snapped” off rather than plucked out, but I know on past experience that the more you use an epilator the less this happens. I’ve been epilating on a weekly basis with this, and getting good results – I have a never-ending battle with my leg hair, so anything that slows it down is a winner for me. 

I’d definitely carry on using this on my legs – personally I’m too squeamish to use it around the bikini, face or underarms, but hey, each to their own!I also feel this particular epilator compares favourably with other ones I have used – no annoying ice pack, and I find the massaging feature on the head prepares the area well, and I’d expect that the pain would reduce with use too. 

Oh, and incidentally, the model I was sent was a “prototype” version – the “real” version can be charged up and used in water – I think epilating in the shower or bath might also prove useful in pain reduction too.

So – have you got the nerve to epilate? What’s your experience?!