Sleeker, Silkier, Smoother – Hair Free Days With Epilators
Epilators, or mechanical epilators, as they are sometimes called, are strange little devices that hold certain nostalgia for me – they were my first foray into the world beyond shaving. Basically, these are electrical machines that look much like electric razors, except that they have rows of coiled springs instead of razors. The idea is that you epilators on and run them over your skin. The coils grasp the hairs and rip them out of your skin, leaving you in considerable pain but with very smooth legs that will stay smooth for a few weeks.
When your hairs are at least 1/4 inch long, you’re ready to use the Epilator. As with waxing, you may need to go over areas more than once to get perfect smoothness. If you have sensitive skin, you should avoid using epilators on under-arms and face areas. On the plus side, this is far less messy than waxing and it’s pretty fast. If you travel a lot, taking along these little machines is easy (many now come with travel pouches). Your hair will grow back thinner and sparser. Most ads for epilators claim that the pain gets less intense with use, but I think it still hurts. Everyone I know who uses these things still says it hurts, even after years of use.
Ouch! That hurts!
Unfortunately even the most effective and longer-lasting methods of hair removal do entail at least some degree of pain. You will need to find a reliable line of attack to deal with pain, since you will experience more or very much more of it, depending on how securely your hair is attached to your skin. A good way to deal with pain is to go over an area with ice. It is important to use epilators on dry skin (since they are an electrical device), so here is what I recommend:
- Take an eyebrow pencil and divide the area to be shaved into four-inch sections.
- Take some ice cubes in a baggie and run them over one section until the area is slightly numb, then very thoroughly dry the skin and your hands until no water moisture remains.
- Immediately run the epilator over the dry and numb area of your skin. Repeat for the other areas.
- This is the most effective way of getting rid of pain, but it is time consuming and messy, so when in a rush, you could just pop a pain pill (Tylenol, Aspirin, or Advil will do the trick) a few minutes before epilating.
- Once you are done, soothe irritated and puffy skin with cool water. As with all hair removal methods that involve ripping hairs out, avoid sunscreens and moisturizers right afterwards, as these will clog pores and make irritated skin even redder.
Is Epilation for me?
If you like the effects of waxing but don’t like the messiness or the salon visits, then YES, it sounds like epilators are for you!
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I just purchased a razor/epilator and want to use it to remove hair from my underarms and bikini area but the instructions say do not use for these two areas.
I do have sensitive skin but I have waxed my underarms before and it work. Why don’t they recommend using the epilator for these areas? Will it hurt if I try it?
thanks for your help.
Lisa
Hi Lisa, to be careful I would follow the manufacturers directions. If you want a better alternative, then read our review on the depilatory ‘Revitol’ – http://www.hairchick.com/revitol-hair-removal-cream/
I’ve been using an epilator for almost a year now. The skin has red marks and possibly some scars where the hair gets pulled out. Is there any way to lesson this effect? The hair on my legs grows very fast (I have to use the epilator at least twice a week!) so I love what it does, but I don’t like how it’s marking up my legs!
Thanks!
I did an all over body job, venturing into areas that would bring tears to a veteran epilator’s eyes. I obtained whiteheads and red marks after doing this, but they subsided after a few days (2-3). I always removed my hair prior to bedtime as this avoided activity that was likely to generate sweat, as well as my body healing itself better during the night. I changed the sheets and pillowslips as a precaution.
What helped me immensely during epilation is as follows:
I use warm water (normally a cloth soaked in warm water) and apply it to an area before epilation – Ice, cold water, cold air, etc. contracts pores and makes for a slightly more difficult unrooting of the hair follicle. But it is a trade-off between ease of removal and pain management. My pain threshold is poor but it never became unbearable for me… Just a sharp stinging sensation (perhaps like a tattoo needle?) when I encountered too many hairs under the epilator head.
After the region is finished, I would hop in the shower – not the bath – and wash the skin solely with water. If you apply soap, gel or any other type of cleanser, they will take up residence in some of your pores and could create recurring problems. Remember that whiteheads may still appear irrespective of your cleanliness since bacteria exists under the skin and is brought to the surface when a hair is pulled out. In my case, they disappear in a surprisingly short amount of time (about 2-3 days). While warm water is cascading over the newly hair-free areas, I would lightly exfoliate in a circular motion a couple of times and doing this wherever hair was removed. This is not the time to be vigorous – Be gentle yet consistent.
NOTE: The exfoliator pad or mitt you use (I find those fluffy mesh type ones to be too flimsy) should be placed in a bowl of boiling water as a type of sterilisation, then hung up to drip dry. It doesn’t need to be dry by the time you use it, just clean.
Once out of the shower, I pat myself dry with a towel rather than rub dry. Just rest the towel over wet skin and pat away to absorb water. Once dry, I use organic tea-tree oil and pat it over the hair-free areas, paying particular attention to red bumps, dots and anywhere where there may be small spots of blood. While the tea-tree liquid is an oil, it is an antiseptic and I don’t find it particularly comedogenic or greasy. It is potent though, and may give a bit of a sting along with a strong odour and cool burn (like Tiger Balm and Deep Heat, so keep away from eyes and orifices!) Some may use cold water afterwards to close up the pores but I tend to walk about clothessless so that the cooler air naturally closes up my pores.
This is the process I use to great efficacy. While light exfoliation should be done each evening, it is certainly important to commit to it for at least several days after epilation (or waxing/sugaring/tweezing for that matter of fact).
As a side note, I am unbothered if I break open whiteheads while lightly exfoliating – The water and tea-tree oil do a great job of cleaning my skin up. My chest was entirely covered in them after epilation and they certainly didn’t stand up to being abrased everytime I exfoliated them, but three days later and there wasn’t one to be seen. Popping and squeezing whiteheads has hygienic merit… Just don’t always believe the alarmist advice about ever breaking them. Just make sure that areas with whiteheads are done last to avoid contaminating unaffected parts of the body, that tea-tree oil or some other organic herbal remedy (witch hazel is another good topical treatment) is applied to skin after showering and that the exfoliant pad or mitt is covered in boiling water before its next use.
Then you can enjoy weeks, perhaps months, even years of hair-free skin depending on how regularly you epilate, as well as your hair type. It is a lot easier and much less painful for me to go over my body a few times a week (only a few minutes) to pluck out stray hairs as opposed to letting hair grow back, take up more surface area and requiring a lot more time to remove. Think of it as preventative maintenance.
I use the Emjoi Gently Caress, which is a total misnomer to say the least when dealing with a lot of hair! That’s why I use it in conjunction with waxing and use it to clear up strips or small patches of hair that the wax missed. The result? Smooth, beautiful-feeling skin!
I wish you happy hair-free days ahead!