Braun Silk-Epil - Follow the instructions and it won't hurt!
Written: Jan 07 '01
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Pros: does a nice job, good features
Cons: it is loud and you have to follow the instructions!
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| poseidon's Full Review: Braun Silk-epil SuperSoft Plus Body System Hair Re... |
I know, I know. What’s a guy doing a review on a ladies personal hygiene product for?
Some of you may have read my review entitled, If you like your legs bare then you have to use Nair that I wrote on October 6, 2000. In that article, I explained several things.
My first explanation was as to why I shaved my legs. As I explained in that article, I’m a rather serious mountain biker. It is not uncommon for male cyclists to shave their legs. We have a variety of reasons as to why, mine stems from the fact that bandaging a cut leg is easier when there is no hair on the leg to interfere with the cut itself, cleaning out the wound, and bandaging the wound. It’s also much easier to apply sunscreen to my legs when there’s no hair in the way. I have, naturally, very hairy legs.
I first started using electric razors on my legs. Those were great for about two hours, and then the hair would start growing back in (I have the same problem on my face, I get a five o’clock shadow at ten in the morning!).
I then went to a product called Nair. Nair was good and did an awesome job. The problem with Nair is it lasted two or three days and then the hair would start growing back. The other problem with Nair is that the allergic reaction (rashes) was coming more and more frequently, and let’s just state that those rashes were quite painful.
Finally, Nair was getting rather expensive. At nearly $5.00 a bottle, each bottle lasting a week or a week and a half (if I’m lucky), it was getting to the point to be rather serious money. We’re talking nearly $260 a year!
That left me with two other choices. The first would be to visit a salon and have my legs waxed, which was a very pricey solution, or I could have an outlay of some money up front, never have to pay it again, and get a hair removal system.
I’ve heard horror stories for years from my female friends who have stated that they tried an Epilady once, then put it back in the box, never to be used again. They told me that ripping the hair out of the body was the most painful experience they have ever endured.
Yet these same women wax their legs.
I’ve tried wax. Frankly, it’s a painful proposition. With wax, you’re doing the same thing you are with an electric hair remover, you’re just pouring warm wax on your legs instead of not.
And you’re ripping the hair out of your legs anyhow. And it still hurts like the dickens. I know because I’ve tried it, too.
I decided to plunk down some money in one lump sum and purchased the Braun Silk-epil SuperSoft Plus. I picked it up at Bed, Bath and Beyond for about $49.99. I made my purchase at the end of October.
How’s it work?
Basically, the Braun has a series of rotating tweezers that yank the hair by the root out of your body. In my case, it’s my legs. The Braun has two Soothing system strips that are basically little pieces of round, dimpled rubber gears that perhaps stretch the skin ahead of the tweezers.
There are three tweezer tips that are on the skin at any one moment in time. These move at a rather high rate of speed, grabbing a few hairs and pulling them out.
There are three speed settings. My recommendation is to use the slowest speed first, and then as you get used to the process, you increase the speed. The slower speed produces better results with less pain and provides “gentle” epilation. The next speed is for normal epilation, and finally, the highest speed is for rip-roaring, high-speed epilation.
You can also control how much tweezing the machine does. There is a knob on the side that can be manipulated with a long (and strong) fingernail, a coin, or a screwdriver. If you turn it toward the “+” sign, it provides more tweezing power for normal or thicker hair. If you turn it toward the “-“ sign, it provides less tweezing power for finer hair. As you epilate more and more, your hair will grow in finer each time, so eventually you’ll be at the “-“ sign after time.
Yeah, stupid, but doesn’t it hurt?
Well, yes and no. When it comes to pain, I’m a big weenie. I don’t handle pain very well, and I admittedly have a fairly low threshold of pain.
When using this product on my lower legs, there is no problem at all. Strangely enough, it feels rather good. Let me try to describe this to you. With the spinning action, on my lower legs, especially along my shins, it’s like having someone scratch your back. Sure, the back-scratcher’s nails may drag once or twice, but after awhile it just feels good. Well, in the same manner, the SuperSoft Plus feels good.
Even running up to the lower part of my thighs, the product isn’t painful. Although at this point, it feels more like pinching than having my back scratched. It’s a mild annoyance, but it is far from painful.
At mid-thigh, the tweezing action does get painful – to the point where I’m wincing the entire time. I have, however, learned a few tricks to make it far less painful, and that makes the epilating process far less painful on the whole.
I don’t remove hair from my upper thighs. That hair stays under my bike shorts, therefore, there is no point in doing it. I don’t remove hair from any other area of my body aside from my face, and for that I use my electric razor.
Whoa! Back the truck up! You said there’s tricks to make it less painful?
Yeah, I did.
First of all, it’s a good idea to take a nice, hot shower before using the SuperSoft Plus. I’m sure this goes for any sort of epilating. You work with clean, warm legs. In this manner, your pores are opened and your skin is relaxed. Because you’re relaxed, there is less resistance to the hairs coming out of your legs.
Second of all, before you go over an area with the SuperSoft Plus, rub the hair on your legs to make them stand out straight. This makes it easier for the tweezers to grab the hair and lessens the pain involved in grabbing it.
Third of all, it is important to remove hair in the direction of hair growth. In other words, go with the grain of the hair. In this manner, hair is tugged out of the leg instead of ripped out of the leg, and the whole ordeal is far less painful.
Fourth of all, make sure you take advantage of the Soothing system. Make sure that the Soothing system gears work ahead of the tweezer heads. To do this, you have to have the machine angled correctly, otherwise the Soothing system won’t work and you’ll be yanking instead of pulling. Yanking is more painful.
Finally, use some sort of lotion on your legs after epilating. This will not only prevent the skin from getting dry, but will also help reduce pain afterwards.
Okay, but how well does it work?
On the average, I’d state that the Braun Silk-epil SuperSoft Plus works great. The only problem area I have on my legs is next to the bone on the front of my leg and around the sides of my knees. I’ve tried the various tips that are listed in the instruction manual, but for some reason this is an area where the machine often misses. I find that I have to go over this area several times before it will leave the area hair-free.
However, on all other parts of the leg, this machine works flawlessly. I only have to go over areas once, and the area is hair-free.
As far as results go, my legs can go for about eight or nine days before it’s time to epilate again. Since shorter hairs are easier to epilate than longer hairs, you don’t want to let your leg hair grow in. The manufacturer recommends that hair longer than 5mm not be epilated; but instead should be shaved and worked into the next epilation cycle. The SuperSoft Plus will epilate hairs as small as 0.5mm.
I’m a guy who has fast hair-growth for a guy. I’m guessing that women will experience even greater results. Braun claims that your skin will remain hairless for up to three weeks. I don’t doubt that with people who don’t have my Grendel-like hair growth.
Are there any other downsides?
Yes. This is an excessively loud machine. I generally use it on my recliner in front of the television. To hear my television above the SuperSoft Plus, I need to crank my volume up about as loud as possible.
Some people may have financial difficulty forking over $50.00 for the initial outlay. However, aside from a penny or so tacked onto your electric bill, you’ll never have to spend another dime on razors, waxes, or salon fees.
Okay, but do you recommend it?
Yes, I do. While you may experience some pain the first time or two that you use the product, you’ll find it dissipates with each subsequent use.
Over the long run, this is a very economical way to keep your legs hair-free. It costs the same as ten applications with Nair or a little more than one visit to a professional salon to have your legs waxed. It lasts far longer than shaving using either a safety razor or an electric razor.
With the sixty-day money-back guarantee and a one-year warranty, Braun has built a machine that will probably last for many years of continual use.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 49.99
Battery Life: N/A
Noise Level: An intolerable racket
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poseidon
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Member: Jeffrey Schwartz
Location: Sunrise, FL, USA
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