Braun Silk Epil 7, what the hell am I doing wrong?!!!

Mumolulu

OMG it really hurts! :eek:

I've read all these reviews about it being fantastic and pain free and really wonderful, but OMG I can stand it for about 3 seconds!

I bought it new, with the olay wipes, and I've been attempting to do it in the shower, but it doesn't say anything about using the wipes before I wet epilate? I've used shaving foam other day, then soap today.....

I know the length of hair should be about 2-5 mm but seriously, I'm not going to get my ruler out! If I can see the hairs and feel them then surely thats long enough?! I did read someone had shaved their legs and epilated the day after for a few days, every day so all the hairs were at the same length, but it hurts so much!!!!

I have a very high pain threshold, had 2 babies no pain relief, so I can handle pain well, but it didnt even feel easier the second time so I know I'm doing something wrong.

I've not epilated before, and wanted to get the best one, that reported not much pain, so please give me some help, I sooooooooo want it to work!!

flippin36

The first time is the worst. I used icepacks on my legs before using mine and did it a little bit at a time. Now I can just get on with it, I don't have any pain at all. I'm still getting used to it underarms - ouch, but even that isn't as bad as it used to be.

KittyPryde

I think it just takes getting used to. I recently got the same one and don't find it any less painful than the really old one I have. I had never tried to epilate my underarms before though and tried with this one and thought it hurt a lot! But i swear it got less painful as I carried on, maybe adrenaline or natural painkillers were kicking in? And once you've got rid of all the hair on your legs etc then the upkeep is SO much less painful. If you run the epilator over them once a week etc as there won't be much hair growing back and it will be just be plucking the few that it catches.

one_bill_at_a_time

I have the epilator with the icepack attached (can't remember name) and the ice bit really does make a huge difference.

It takes time to get used to they sensation - remember the first time you tweezed your eybrows? I cried but now I don't even notice :-0

marrowgirl

I was in the same situation as you a couple of months ago, but each time I try my skin gets less sensitive. First time I managed about 3 seconds worth too! Take a painkiller 20 mins beforehand. Epilate during/just after a bath/shower and the pores are open = less pain.
It really does get better I hardly notice it now. The only time it hurts is if I have longer hairs, the little ones are ok.

jenniewb

Try taking a pain killer 20 mins before hand.

Warmer skin helps as it opens the pores more so the pain is slightly reduced. Use the ice pack AFTER the epilator has run over the skin to reduce any swelling and so any pain as the blood ruses to the surface to try to 'repair' what it feels is an attack on the skin.

I have an epilator, I read the packaging properly before use- I had not seen anywhere that advises shower gel or shaving foam- I just use on dry skin.

Some times of the month are more painful then others. Around the time of your period and on your period = most painful. The week afterwards is not as painful, its to do with hormones.

Some parts of skin are just more sensitive then others. I can now do my legs with minimal pain, its fine. But my under arms? despite forcing myself to epliate several times one month, it never got any easier and I never did stop drawing blood. I tried the same again the following year but to no avail, I just guess I need to give up the ghost- I ended up tweezering them out as it was far less painful!

Keep trying, it does get eaiser but if your not able to get used to it after about 10 times I'd then start to feel hard done by! It should improve before then

Oh, and one last thing: daily exfoliation! Make sure you exfoliate the skin every day after you have used the epilator, what you have done is pluck the hair straight out the pore and as a result you get a sort of hole in your skin. Dead skin can easily fill this hole and as the new hair begins to grow, the dead skin pushes down on it and you get an ingrowing hair- very itchy, very annoying and also very difficult to get rid of, you end up exfoliating alot more to do so when actually if you'd exfoliated in the first place.... Prevention is better then cure.

suki1964

Hold your skin as taught as you can. Try not to use it on long hair, if need be shave then leave a couple of days and then give it a go. You might want to start on the tops of your thighs where hairs are so much finer so you should be able to bear it a bit longer - long enough to realise that actually it stops hurting after a while. I use mine once a week on lower legs - once a fortnight on bikini area and apart from where I catch the odd long hair it really doesnt hurt at all

Charliezoo

It does hurt unfortunately. I epilated for years as it was cheaper than waxing and I found epilating far more painful. You don't need and shaving foam or anything and I've only epilated on dry skin after a bath.

I have to admit I used to have awful ingrown hairs from epilating and eventually saved up for laser hair removal which was worth every penny