Reviews of Epilators - What to Look For

So now that you've mustered enough courage to try an epilator as a hair removal method, what are the best products out there? Reviews of epilators from Braun, Panasonic and Epilady are almost always the same as each has the same basic features.

Review of Epilator Features

Most epilators live up to their claims of removing unwanted body & facial hairs. These inexpensive devices are very effective at removing the hairs by the root and leaving skin silky smooth for a longer time than shaving (but not as long as laser hair removal).

One thing is for sure, epilating unwanted hair is likely going to hurt and the more hairs that are pulled out at the same time, the greater the pain.

Epilator Options

• Wet epilators can be submersed in the bath where the warm water helps reduce the pain. Wet epilators may be preferred for use on the legs, arms and chest, but not for epilating the bikini line where you need to see what you're doing.

• Dry epilator are often electric and more powerful than the battery operated ones, and thus can remove more hair with fewer passes. If you want this self-induced torture over with quickly, look for a powerful head with more 'pulling power'.

• Speed - Look for a unit with adjustable speeds that can be tailors to different body part. We found that epilators with fast rotating tweezers caused more pain but required fewer passes over the same body part to get hair-free results. However, hair epilation on some body parts like the underarms, shouldn't be rushed!

• Hair Guards - Plastic extension caps can be interchanged to suit different parts of the body. These control how close the tweezers are to the skin and claim to reduce pain significantly - but some people don't find this to be true. They do prevent damage to the skin, especially where there are creases or folds, like the underarms or behind the knee.

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  Size of the Tweezers - Units come with different size openings for the tweezers and even the number of rotating heads. The more operating tweezers there are, the more hairs that will get yanked out and the more intense the pain. For units that accommodate interchangeable hair guards, some come with 'beginner's caps' to reduce the size of the opening and the amount of pain.

• Men - Because male body hair is thicker than women's, epilation for men is a bit tricky. Look for a unit with large openings and a powerful head to prevent clogging. It will hurt more but will reduce the chances of hair breakage under the skin which can lead to ingrown hairs.

• Noise - Horror movies create suspense by with music and sounds, and when it comes to epilators, the noisier it is, the scarier the hair removal may seem.

• LED light - some epilators, including some of the popular Braun, and Panasonic epilators come with an LED light that helps to make it easier to see the hairs being plucked out and those that were missed.

• Cleaning - Most units come with a special brush with cleaning bristles that remove hairs from the tweezers. Rubbing alcohol can be used to prevent the spread of infection. Units should also be periodically lubricating with mineral oil to reduce friction in the mechanical parts.

Epilators haven't changed much over the years but manufacturers are always coming out with new models of varying shapes & sizes. Since all units still encompass the same basic components & design, reviews on epilators haven't really changed over the years. Look for a basic unit that's effective and for which you can endure.