Epilator - I just bought one very mse but HELP!...

merlin1 · 13 April 2013 at 4:02PM

As above. I spotted it on the boots website reduced from 129.99 to 64.99 and thought I could use a 20quid gift voucher as well that I had left over from xmas. So I have been waiting for it to come back into stock for a couple of weeks but it hasnt so when I took my son to hospital yesterday we stopped in at one of two stores on the way home. I was told they have now been discontinued. She said that it's been replaced by a £140 pound one - I said that is far too much for me to be paying for pain!

I called the main boots.com customer services and he appologised and said that it shouldnt still be on the website as it shows stock coming soon - which it wont due it being discontinued, so I let it go.

When i woke up this morning, I thought (and I dont know why) I'l ring the local small town store. As it happens they had 3! So I went and got one. £44.99, paid my dues and left.

Now I am absolutely petrified of it! :rotfl: It is sat at the side of me still in the boots carrier bag. its this one - linky

I have never epilated in my life, and forget your "too posh to push", me? I am "too wussy to wax"

but i need to do something as I think far too many years of shaving above and below and the bits inbetween are taking their tole.

So HELP! can anyone offer any input on epilating? or words of encouragement? or just a kick up the backside to make me get on with it? ( darn thing does 766 plucks a second! :eek:)

Seriously though any advice would be much appreciated

MatyMoo · 13 April 2013 at 4:06PM

I have one but don't use it often - I prefer waxing - but I would use it when you come out the bath as it doesn't seem to hurt as much.

That said, my sister uses one for EVERYWHERE you can think of and loves it.

dorsetlady · 13 April 2013 at 4:17PM

I bought my epilator about 15 years ago (it was a Phillips and very cheap from Lidl at £15). I won't lie - the first time I tried it I found it so painful that I put it away for about two years! :eek:

However, I then started using it regularly. It does hurt at first but if you grit your teeth you soon get used to it. The more you use it the easy it is. I epilate my legs about once a month now and it's virtually painless. I still shave under my arms though. Good luck with it. If you persevere you'll think it's great!

merlin1 · 13 April 2013 at 4:28PM

Thanks both!

I have read the more you use the easier it gets, when you say regular how often is regular?

As things are I have to shave every other day right now, I'm dark haired and 'blessed' with quite fast growing but course hair. stuff on me head is really fine though!

this beasty comes with a smaller one for 'delicate' areas which I presume are under arm and bikini line ( see can you tell it's not even out the box yet? :rotfl:) I cant believe I'm actually asking on a forum to be honest!

FattyBettyBoo · 13 April 2013 at 4:38PM

I bought one after wanting one for ages ... used it after psyching myself up and OMG it hurt. Not used it since lol

I do need to toughen up a bit and maybe do my legs but couldn't ever imagine using i anywhere else

Kynthia · 13 April 2013 at 4:40PM

I'm sorry to say this but I found it the most painful thing ever!!! :eek: It never seemed to get better, truly was torture and along with some bleeding I even ended up with red marks/scars that took months to fade. I now get my bikini line waxed and find that much quicker and less painful. However I get terrible spots after that leave their mark for weeks, so I'm tempted to look into laser hair removal. I seem to have developed an allergy to hair removal creams so I'm running out of options. :rotfl:

I agree that after a bath or shower before would be good, or take a painkiller half an hour before. Another idea to minimise pain is to try numbing the skin with a ice pack just before epilating that area.

Cazza · 13 April 2013 at 4:41PM

I used to get my legs waxed and when I first epilated it hurt a LOT more than that. I would recommend a large glass of wine before and during then grit your teeth and go for it! Legs were the least painful, bikini line was uncomfortable and underarms were agony. I did them once and then went back to shaving them for the next 5-6 years!

I'd say I need to use mine roughly every 3 weeks on legs and bikini line, plus an extra in-between for underarms because regrowth seems quicker there. Try to avoid shaving if you can, I've been using mine for 10 years and I still find that if I've shaved, then next time I epilate is more uncomfortable. It will take a couple of months to get used to it but I will definitely replace mine when it packs up - it cost £70ish 10 years ago and still works fine now, saved me loads compared to waxing and lasts much longer than shaving!

If you've never waxed before, go and get that done once or twice first. It hurts far less (I think!) when someone else does it and I think it makes the epilating less painful because the hairs have been weakened. That's how I managed to get past the underarm pain!

quinechinoise · 13 April 2013 at 4:48PM

Gosh, that epilator looks swanky!

I have a much cheaper, plainer Philips one. Honestly, it doesn't hurt any more than using tweezers does. (And you probably use/have used tweezers before, haven't you? Eyebrows, ingrowing hairs, etc?) It feels like tiny prickles, when you epilate - and only when the hairs are actually being pulled out. If you run an epilator over totally smooth, hair-free skin then it doesn't do anything.

Feels... a bit like pins-and-needles for a second or a fingernail scratch or... well, nothing worse than that. If it helps, the more "painful" bits are anywhere with minimal fat e.g. around your ankles. Calves don't "hurt" at all. Not that I'm suggesting you pile on the pounds to avoid your epilator stinging your legs!! lol

Primmer · 13 April 2013 at 4:54PM

I use an epilator about once a week on my legs and font think it hurts at all. When I first used it, it was quite painful but you do get used to it. You can do it!

krlyr · 13 April 2013 at 4:56PM

As others have said, painful at first but you soon get used to it. It gets to the point where it doesn't really hurt at all, and I'm not just saying that! However, don't take long breaks from using it, e.g. stopping over winter, because it doesn't take long for your body to 'forget' all that 'resistance' to it, I learnt the hard way!

Kathy535 · 13 April 2013 at 5:24PM

A friend of mine has one, she says the best way to use it is after a few drinks, she reckons you can barely feel it then. And, if you do, then you haven't drunk enough so have some more! The right amount (apparently) is when you wake in the morning with smooth legs, bikini line etc and can't remember having done it! I'll stick to shaving, my hair grows so fast, my liver would give up before I achieved a constantly smooth finish.