Braun 5270 Epilator

Hair grows in cycles, not all hair is above the surface at any given time. So when you epilate and you think you are smooth, don't be surprised when you find new stubble a day or more later. Don't worry, that's not hair you missed, that's new hair. Because when you pull it out, it's just as long as the other hair that you pulled out before. And how long is the hair under your skin? You'd be amazed. The pieces I measured were typically 5-6 mm long. And hair typically grows 1 mm per 5-7 days. So if you do the math, once your skin is totally epilated, (usually over the course of a week), expect the advertised 3-4 weeks of smooth skin. And the thing is, that if you epilate every month or so, over time, your hair will become finer and thinner. You may even experience total hair loss if and when any given follicle gives up producing hair.

The epilator drum or roller is very unique. It contains 40 metal flaps (tweezers) that move against plastic edges which grab the hairs and pull them out as the drum rotates away from your skin. And it doesn't take much of a hair above the surface for the tweezers to grab the hair. That's probably one of the greatest thing about this epilator. You don't have to wait days for hair to grow to a certain length to epilate them. You can do it within 24 hours or so.

If you are a chicken like me, follow these instructions instead of the manual, provided you are willing to invest a lot of time initially. I said initially, because, after a couple of months, the pain will subside and you'll be able to do it any way you want, while watching TV or lulling your baby to sleep.

1) Take a long, hot bath.

2) Shave. If you are persistent, that's the last time you ever will.

3) Use Silk Epil on just shaved skin. Yes, there will be hardly any results, but there won't be any pain either, and your muscles will relax; it's important to get into the habit of relaxing while epilating, it reduces the pain considerably.

4) Repeat next day (except, of course, no shaving). Heck, repeat later same day. You will achieve the results gradually while staying within your comfort zone as far as the pain goes. Do it every day until you feel in control, then gradually reduce the time interval between epilations to up to a month.

5) When you begin feeling pain on one leg, switch to the other. Somehow that reduces the pain.

6) Use long, quick strokes until you are comfortable.

7) Holding the device so that it rotates in the direction of the hair growth makes the process much more gentle on you and more time consuming.

8) If you feel like giving up at any point, remember the 2nd epilation will be nothing like the first and the 3rd will be a breeze.