The epilator

[moonshadow]

So I tried am epilator for the first time this week...

Wooooooo.... that little gadget is right!

Shins and calfs not so bad... back side of leg almost pleasant... but that thick stuff on the inner thigh.... better have a wooden spoon handy to bite down on!

Boy it sure is smooth though.... day four and still not prickly.

[denimini]

When I was a naughty child, the wooden spoon was applied to the legs and I had nothing to bite on

[nzfreestyler]

well done! I am a smooth fan too. I tried everything in the past.

waxing is even better.... and then get IPL/VPL for permanently smooth eh!

The good thing about waxing/epilating by pulling the hair is that regrowth becomes finer and easier to remove.
Shaving options encourage courser regrowth. Yuk.

Just don't forget to exfoliate a lot and mositurise (prevents ingrown hairs and improves skin tone)

[Coder]

I tried it a few times, couldn't get used to the feeling of millions of hairs being ripped from the roots. But I do agree - shins and calfs are at least tolerable. Saving up (unsuccessfully, I might add) for laser, a place in town has very reasonable rates.

[r.m.anderson]

Keep at it - the pain gets less and less and the hair thinner and easier to remove - - -
And then fewer episodes to get on top of it - although it will be a continuing battle
unlike using the laser or electrolysis methods which are more permanent
Some areas need assistance in getting a firm angle to remove the hair i.e. the back
Fortunately moonshadow has a partner in this pursuit of the hair-less beast ! LOL !
I taped the epilator to a yard/meter stick to reach the back gaining the leverage needed
I had one that was hard wired (110 ac powered) and later got the cordless model which
is a great deal easier to work with.

Yes the first time is OUCH ! after that just an unpleasant nip.

Read the instructions about trimming the hair down to about 1 cm just enough
for the machine to grab the hair and not having a strangling yanking whipping event
and not removing the hair sub-root level.

After using the epi for awhile I have been able to use my fingers to tweezer the
fuzzy slim regrowth without the mechanical aid

And of course - - - YMMV ---

Imagine trying to tweeze each individual hair and as fast as you yank one out
another whack a mole replacement pops up - - - But keep at it - it is worth it !

[rivegauche]

I have quite a lot of experience of this. I have hairless legs at various periods over the last 20 years and last had hairy legs 10 years ago. Waxing is fine but does not last. Shaving leaves stubble. Epilators work but also leave stubble and ingrowing hairs (even if you exfoliate) and are painful on the inner thigh. I got fed up of the stubble and invested in a Lumea IPL. £300 is not cheap. You have to use it on a rigid schedule. So far after the first two passes with the Lumea, backed up with some light epilation there has been a dramatic improvement in leg smoothness. You also have to shave your legs before using the Lumea. I have had it for three weeks and they say you need to use it for 2 months before the full effect kicks in. If I had to go back to the epilator from scratch I would shave my legs and then epilate the regrowth - much less painful than yanking out full length hair. And you need to press it lightly and stretch the skin - don't press hard. Good luck.

[pelmut]

...I got fed up of the stubble and invested in a Lumea IPL. £300 is not cheap.

It works because of the difference in energy absorption between light-coloured skin and dark-coloured hair roots: the roots are heated and the skin is not.  If you have light-coloured hair, the Lumea will not be effective; if you have dark-coloured skin you would risk burns if it weren't for a detector in the machine to prevent it from firing in those circumstances.  Read the manufacturer's information carefully to see if it is the right thing for you before buying one.

[Kilted Musician]

I've been using an epilator for years on everything from the neck down and agree with all of the tips from folks here. The most important one [in my opinion] is to definitely exfoliate to remove dead skin cells before using the epilator. My body hair is medium to fine, which makes epilating much easier to tolerate. The most painful place to use it is the back of my thighs. What I found that works the best for me to keep the pain level down is to epilate every few days or so. The longer the hair gets, the more it hurts when you epilate. YMMV...

--Rick

[Dust]

...

Read the instructions about trimming the hair down to about 1 cm just enough
for the machine to grab the hair and not having a strangling yanking whipping event
and not removing the hair sub-root level.

...

I assume this is supposed to read 1 mm, or roughly 1/8” for those of us who use standard units.

[r.m.anderson]

...

Read the instructions about trimming the hair down to about 1 cm just enough
for the machine to grab the hair and not having a strangling yanking whipping event
and not removing the hair sub-root level.

...

I assume this is supposed to read 1 mm, or roughly 1/8” for those of us who use standard units.

NO !

If less than 1 centimeter (3/8th ") there will not be enough hair to grab on to - to yank out -
The epilator device has a coiled revolving spring that tweezers the hair between the coils
If there is nothing to bite into - grasp - the device does nothing - - -
The angle the epi is applied and the pressure next to the skin determines the effectiveness
of the tweezing
On the other hand you don't want the full length of the hair jamming up the system.

You have to use the epi device to get the hang of what is going on here
The epi is not a shaver but a device that removes hair down to the root
The frequent application makes the root release the hair easier and the regrowth is
substantially reduced and in a few cases the root in whole is removed

The "EPI" a device that tweezes multiple hairs at a time -
Think of it as a machine gun hair removal application as opposed to a single shot.

[Dust]

Okay, my math was bad (1/16” is a bit more than a mm), but I thought those things could grab some pretty short hair. My leg hair isn't much over 1cm ever, on the lower legs at least, and that without ever shaving. Maybe 1/2”. So I assumed you were talking about trimming way shorter.

[r.m.anderson]

As I posted earlier:

After using the epi for awhile I have been able to use my fingers to tweezer the
fuzzy slim regrowth without the mechanical aid

The hair becomes sometimes too fine for the epi to do its work.
Slips between the tight coils of the epi
Just wet my fingers and thumb and grab the hair it is gone

Age may have a lot to do with the hair loss reduction making the
epi and other devices easier to tackle the problem.

[Midas]

After epilating once a week for four years I bought an IPL device in the spring. After having to use it weekly for the first three months I now only need to do so about every six weeks. In addition I epilate about once during this period. The results and time saving are amazing.

[Sinned]

I wouldn't buy an epilator, I'd buy a laser device of some sort. I'm thinking of researching the market over Xmas while the sales are on. Any advice as to which one would be appreciated.

[nzfreestyler]

It was a personal goal to have perfectly smooth legs years back -which I did and I learnt a lot about hair removal during that time. An epilator or waxing is much better than shaving for the finished effect and is definitely an improvement in presentation of ones legs.

To start IPL or VPL permanent removal using pulsed light - you can no longer epilate in conjunction or wax your areas you want to treat. You need all the hair root etc in there so the IPL/VPL can heat the entire hair up and destroy the base of the hair from where it grows (I forget the technical terms - but thats the essence of the story. If you want to do IPL/VPL permanent hair removal then you must revert to shaving during the course of IPL/VPL treatments. (scary having to go back to shaving but the end results are worth it. IPL/VPL hair removal using profession grade equipment at a salon will be approx 6 treatments on average - with approx 4-6 weeks between each treatment. (varies per person as it depends on your hair growth rate as to how soon for the next treatment, and your hair density and colouration will affect how many treatments you need - and also how much power needs to be delivered to your skin to achieve the results.

Its great being smooth - I've gone and had every other area zapped now - and its better looking and also more hygienic too I think.