Braun Epilator Silk-épil 9 9-720, Hair Removal Device, Epilator for Women, Wet/Dry, Waterproof, 3-in-1 Epilate, Shave, or Trim, Salon-Like Smooth Skin, Womens Shaver & Trimmer, Cordless, Rechargeable

I started on this epilator journey several months ago. The main reason for the journey is that I was going to a five day music festival, where I would be camping and wearing very little clothing for the world to see all my most secret parts. One night I was in nothing but pasties, a thong, and a mesh dress. I did not want to be worried with shaving and hair maintenance everyday. I have dark, thick, course hair. Shaving everyday also irritates my skin.I had considered waxing, but that’s very expensive and I couldn’t do any maintenance myself. I did end up at the waxer for one area which I will explain later.One thing I did before starting this journey was I also stocked up on lidocaine cream. Before my first round on any area, I put on lidocaine and let it sit for 40min to an hour. The extra time does make a difference. The first epilation is the most painful, so I wanted to help it a little. That being said, it still hurts, and I have a high pain tolerance. If you are a wussy, not sure anything will help.Legs:I started on my legs. And by I, I mean I made my husband start on my legs. I didn’t do any area on my own the first time. You can’t psych yourself out if someone else does it. Anyway, it hurt, but not unbearable. I did several rounds over the next several days to get any stray hair. After the initial run, it is not at all painful. It only hurts the closer you get on the upper thigh to your lady parts. The nice thing is, once the hair starts to grow back, it comes in at different times, so it’s never like the first time where you are doing a ton of hair at once. I epilate my legs about once a week. You will have to shave any of the baby hairs that the epilator can’t get, but I just do that after I epilate. It’s only my upper thighs that get the baby hairs. I also do it all myself now which my husband is grateful for.Armpits:Holy mother of sweet baby Jesus. I would rather give birth again than epilate my armpits for the first time. Even with lidocaine, it was awful. I had to have my husband help with several rounds over several days. I stuck it out after how much I enjoyed my legs, though. The not having to worry about it everyday, the lack of itching from regrowth, and it’s better for your skin than waxing, all made me want to tough it out. I am so glad I did. Like my legs, I just check for an regrowth about once a week and take care of it. There is only minor pain. Like plucking your eyebrows.The Vag:Nope. Just nope. So, I lidocained for an hour, and then I had my husband start on the area near my c-section scar since I am pretty numb there, anyway. He got about three hairs and I said NOPE. We were only a few days away from our trip by the time I decided to make my way to that area. I made a waxing appointment, which obviously still hurts, but it’s a different beast. BUT, from there I have been able to maintain the regrowth on my bikini area and upper vag area. It is like the armpits where it stings but not like being stabbed with a million knives like the first time. The area nearer the taco and the taco meat is still a nope. Plus it is hard to get in the tighter spaces and kind of gross too. I go every six weeks for a butt strip wax and have them do the areas I can’t get. I shave in between those if needed. Again, it is all worth it for no itchiness/skin irritation and how long I can go without stressing it. My husband repeatedly talks about how much he loves the smoothness. I maintain the bikini and upper area probably once a week, sometimes I ignore it for two weeks.Pros:No itching from regrowthNo skin irritation - you may get little red bumps but they go away within a few hours.Maintenance is infrequentCons:Getting through the first epilationOther hints:Epilating after a warm shower and exfoliating while in the shower makes epilation easier and slightly less painful.

Firstly, I’m partial to this brand.This is my third silk-epil in about 40 years (my first one was when there wasn’t many of these gadgets on market), so for me it’s a long-tracking brand.Only had it for a couple months, but used it a few times already.It replaced my much older corded dual power Braun epilator I had for at least 15 years! that died suddenly making awful rattling noises.I was wary of cordless cause recharging batteries eventually wear out.But there aren’t many corded valuable options out there: this was a good choice all considered.Here’s the pros (mostly pros so far tbh):-Fairly easy to hold and maneuver.-It works well on dry skin, I have not tried wet. I use it after showering so my skin is clean. Will epilate short and longer hair like my previous one, using two speeds.-Has a light, which for me it’s a huge plus, cause it means I can sit down more comfortably, and not need to have a flashlight shine to see any lighter color or thinner hair (also my sight isn’t getting any better after 50, so…), or going by “touch and feel” to make sure I am thorough.-Will do well on underarms too, no issues there, no pinching, smooth skin. So far no ingrown hair either.-Mine comes with couple of adapters. I wish I had gotten one with a smaller one, so I could do small areas like upper lip or brows as needed instead of waxing, but that’s okay (that’s what waxing of tweezers are for).-Has a shaving head I’ve not used yet, though I don’t think I’m going to either.-Cleans easy with its brush. I guess you can also wash it as it’s wet/dry use, not dove that yet.-Battery actually lasted quite a bit with first charge, and will beep lightly when you use it on low charge so you’ll know. Will also have yellow light to warn of charge needed.-Does not overheat with prolonged use, so you can do legs and underarms at the same time without requiring an in between “rest”. Maybe worked a good 30-40 minutes.I think the total work time (over several days) with full charge was at least 3-4 hours before needing to recharge it, so that’s s real plus!-Hair will take a lot longer to regrow when epilating, than shaving, and your skin will not be bumpy or stubby the next day. No change in skin color like when you wax either.Cons:-Just like any other epilator, it isn’t pleasant to epilate, but it’s definitely better than waxing and less messy, especially if you do it at home.-I don’t like the dial turn on, I’d have rather had a push up/down switch. Not sure why it’s a dial? It’s not super practical, but it does function fairly easy.-Not sure the curved head is an improvement, I don’t see much of a difference from the straight head of my old one, but it is easy enough to hold.-The bag it comes with is like a think plastic “satchel”. I kept my older one which is a rigid bag with zipper and mesh, so it’s more functional to take with if you travel, as well as have it set in a drawer and just pull out the shaver without having to pick up the whole thing to open.Overall though, not many cons to this; it’s pretty nice.My only regret is not buying the one that also had the smaller adapter, so I could do small areas like lip etc. the adapter with the rolls actually helps with sensitive areas, but it still has a wider path.I still prefer waxing for bikini area, but that’s because it’s “faster” (one and done) imho.My two cents…I’ve always preferred epilating to shaving, as all you pull is the hair not the skin, and no scraping like with a razor. Also no buying supplies all the time.I would recommend it, after only a month it two of using, but also based on faithful years with this brand.