Braun Epilator Silk-épil 9 Flex 9-300 Beauty Set, Facial Hair Removal for Women, Hair Removal Device, Shaver & Trimmer, Cordless, Rechargeable, Wet & Dry, FaceSpa

We’re on month 2/3 of the quarantine and my legs were looking like the wolfman’s!! I live in LA and it’s getting hot here already so I didn't want to wear pants and my years of waxing (mostly from terrible irritation from shaving) I didn’t want to undo with shaving. I have tried all home waxing - I have a little wax pot with both soft wax and hard wax - and sugar wax and prewaxed strips and I love this so much more than all those. Waxing at home is so messy and I am not a professional so it’s so hard for me to spread the wax! It’s incredibly messy and the prewaxed strips are okay but I was never in love. So I decided since it’s starting to get hot, I needed to do something so I ordered this!I had to wait about a week after I ordered this to actually receive it - so I had the whole week to stress and read about epilator pain. All of which is way overdramatized! I was super worried but hopeful!First of all, whoever said this is worse than childbirth is crazy. I haven’t had a child but since this just pinches a little - and once you get used to it it’s nothing - I find this hard to believe.I do not have a high pain tolerance but I have been getting my lower legs waxed for maybe 5 years now. (I’ve also had them sugared which I hated and thought was way more painful than this). (I did do my thighs as well which I both wax and shave and the hair is thicker and it did sting more there - just fyi - but definitely not much.)They recommend trimming the hair on your legs and I should have because the hair on my legs was super long - it was probably closer to 3 months that I had last had them waxed with the lockdowns - and the hair was probably an inch long (ick but let’s be honest it probably was).So I charged it up - and my boyfriend did a tiny bit on his leg. He made a face and I said - let me try this - and guess what?! It pinched a little but no more than getting waxed. Yes - waxing is faster but you’re doing this yourself. You control the speed. Also, I had super long leg hair (again ick but it is what it is).Here are my tips:- trim the hair down if it’s long - they recommend this so it doesn’t yank as much and just pulls from the root. I was lazy and didn’t do this and it was still fine.- use the gentle option. I started with this but by the end of my legs (on the first try - I bumped it up a little) - Start slow.- make sure and hold the skin taunt. I used a table (and ottoman when I switched legs and watched tv while doing this). Keeping your leg straight and taunt and using the other hand and tightening above the area you are doing is how you do this. If you don’t use the other hand and just go like you do with a razor - it will hurt more. The tighter you keep the skin the better.- make sure you go in the opposite direction that the hair grows. It seems like it all grows in one direction - it doesn’t - especially on the backs of your legs.- I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere but this is what I did to start! Use small strokes!!! Don’t go from one part of your leg to the other. I am sure you can do this in the future but when you first start - I recommend taking small strokes. You’ll get used to it and start taking longer and longer strokes. Trust me.- As with waxing, you probably want to put something on after to soothe them. I have sensitive skin and when waxing I get red bumps that go away in a couple hours. Same with this device.- Also, it not familiar with waxing - you usually get more ingrowns than with shaving. I imagine this is the case too with these. Use a scrub on your legs when you shower.I LOVE this thing! I love being able to do this myself and it’s pretty much painless (yes there is some pain but it’s definitely bearable and no more than waxing - in fact maybe even less). I saw someone say it stings and it does a little. And you get used to it. And you barely feel it at all. Seriously.I feel bad for my wax girl - because I’m not going back to waxing after this. I LOVE being able to do this myself (and you can touch up and not have to grow it out for as long) with the same results as waxing. My legs are so smooth!! I was seriously sooooo happy with this!

Update #1:OMG this device is amazing.Just buy it.The first session on any area is by far the most painful.The follow ups are a breeze everywhere except the forearms.The post epilating inflammation is not bad after the first big session.Forearms continue to be very painful for me, but I’d rather suffer through it than have to shave them everyday.Follow ups on underarms are not painful, follow ups on legs are not painful.I’m doing follow ups about once a week.The shaver head is amazing for peace fuzz on the face, and extra smoothness right after epilating.Love this device, money well spent.I only use my razor on the underneath side of my bikini area now and use the shaver on the front.Essentially I’m done with shaving except for that.Can’t believe I didn’t know about epilating years ago.I feel like a hairless dolphin.Original Review:So before I ordered I read the good reviews and bad reviews and decided to try anyways.I ordered the kit that has the most extra attachments. I’ve got thick, coarse hair on my arms and legs and get tired of shaving so much real estate area every other day.It’s a lot of shower time.Granted, I’ve got a high pain tolerance but didn’t think this epilator pain was THAT horrendous.It was bad, but not so bad you can’t muscle through it.I used it on freshly showered and dry skin, pulled taught.A technique that worked for me was to not take super long strokes, but to go back and forth over the same few inches of skin before moving to another patch.This helped.And I split up my first session into two days.So the first night I did the left side of my body - leg and arm, the next night the right leg, right arm and armpits.The pits were the most painful.In case I hadn’t already suffered enough, I spritzed with straight rubbing alcohol afterwards to kill germs, and then slathered on a nice lotion and went to bed.You’ll be red and bumpy like a freshly plucked chicken at first - this is probably worse if your hair is coarse with a meaty root to it.But that side effect goes away fairly quick.My skin was generally sore the next day and still a little inflamed at every hair follicle but I imagine that will fade by day 2 or 3.The device seems powerful, good battery life, and it’s really easy to use.I liked the shaver attachment to hit the peach fuzz on my face, too.I’ll update the review as time goes on.I’m hoping that with consistent use it’s less painful and the inflammation doesn’t last as long, the hair grows back much less coarse, but time will tell.Definitely way better than shaving since I generally have stubble within 6-12 hours.

So I've had this about a month now, and there's a lot to say about it.Originally I wanted the Braun IPL system, but after extensive research, I'm blonde with lighter skin, I discovered IPL would not be very effective on my hair.Braun recommended the epilator, and since they're the experts, I went with what they said would work for me.I was so nervous to try this, I scoured the internet for every hint, tip, suggestion and trick.These are the ones that were most beneficial.1) Use in the bathtub or shower with the hottest water you can stand2) Use the Flex-head to start3) Have a high-quality vitamin E lotion to apply afterward4) First time: shave, wait 3-4 days then epilate.Then epilate once a week.5) Take your time; go slow.Having used it a few times now, the flex-head is a definite must when you start using.The little rollers on the edges feel like it's kind of "scratching" you which distracts from the fact your hair is being ripped out at the roots.I can use the skin-contact cap on my legs now after 4 times.Underarms - that's a different story.Holy crap did that hurt the first time! Using the flex-head, directly under the shower stream, I wasn't sure I would get through the first session.I had to stop & start a few times.But, I did it, and I'm glad I did.The next underarm epilations were not nearly as bad.I haven't done the skin-contact cap yet... Maybe I'll update when I get brave enough to do that.The little face epilator is a bit awkward to use, but once you get the hang of it, it's fine.Between & above the brows is not bad. (I haven't done my actual brows, still tweeze/shape those by hand.)Upper lip though, holy crap again!Way worse than armpits!The first time literally brought tears to my eyes and made my nose run!To make this tolerable on the follow-ups, I rub a little Icy-Hot Lidocaine around my lips, let it sit 4-5 min, wipe it off and then epilate the lip/chin.Much more bearable! But your face WILL BE RED! And it takes a while to "calm down", so do this when you aren't planning to go anywhere.Use the vitamin E lotion AS SOON AS YOU ARE FINISHED!Your body parts will be stinging a little.But that subsides pretty quickly after lotioning.After epilating, skin is smooth and stays that way for days!The once-a-week routine has worked great thus far.Braun says you can extend that out to 2-3 weeks once you get efficient with the skin-contact cap.... I guess I'll have to wait and see.Overall, I'm glad I got this - it's better than shaving every couple of days.