Women like to have clean and smooth skin. 

Most of the time methods they use to remove hair are expensive or don’t get results that last enough to make them happy.

If you are looking for a totally different type of approach to remove hair then an epilator is the best hair removal method for you.

Before knowing what an epilator is and knowing about it in a deeper way we should know about types of hair removal methods.

Contents

What are the different types of hair removal methods?

There are two types of hair removal methods: depilation and epilation.

  • Depilation – is a temporary hair removal method. In this method, hair is removed from the surface of the skin. These are the worst methods to get smooth skin for a long period of time. The depilation method includes shaving, trimming, hair removal creams, etc.
  • Epilation – can remove hair permanently or temporarily. In this hair is removed from the root. This is the best method to get smooth skin temporarily. With this, you can get smooth skin for several days to several weeks. Epilation includes waxing, tweezers, electrology, Laser treatment, epilator, etc.

These are two major categories all the hair removal methods will fall into one of the categories and epilator is one of them.

What is an epilator?

Epilator is a mechanical device, consists of a rotating disc, tweezers embedded in it that rapidly grasp hairs and pull them out from the root.

It is an extended version of the tweezers, tweezers can pull just one hair at a time but epilators consist of multiple tweezers (30 to 40 in general and in some cases 72) that pull out lots of hair at once.

Pulling out hair from the root may sound very painful, but lots of women are using epilators for a long time. Definitely, an epilator may cause some difficulty, especially for those who are using it for the first time.

There are two options that include wet and dry epilators. If you are feeling too much pain then you should try wet epilation. Wet epilation is less painful but a little bit inconvenient.

What does an epilator look like?

There are different designs of the epilators. But, the basic design of the epilator is similar to an electric razor that specifically looks like foils shavers. Instead of the foil and blades, it consists of several tiny tiny tweezers.

Most of the time you will get an epilator head and shaver head for the same device. Now, you can see how similar they look.

how does an epilator look like
how does an epilator look like
how does an epilator look like

What is an epilator used for?

An epilator is used to remove hair from the root. It works the same as waxing does. But instead of chemicals, epilators use mechanical power to pull hair from the root.

Epilators grab hair and pull it off from the root. It can grab 4 times shorter hair than waxing.

How does an epilator work?

Epilator works by pulling hair from the root with the help of tweezers that are embedded on its head.

Epilator is a mechanical device that uses springs or discs. These disc plates move sideways close to each other and apart from each other.

When they move close to each other they can easily grasp small hair. It is happening while it is rotating. When these discs are closer to each other, they grasp the hair and due to rotating motion, it pulls them out. This phenomenon happens many times per second. So it can grab lots of hairs at once.

Epilators also work best for men, not just women.

What are the Different Types of Epilators?

There are three types of Epilator – spring type, rotating disc type, and tweezer type.

1. Spring Epilator

Spring type of epilator is the oldest version of the Epilator which was first manufactured in Israel. In 1986

This type of epilator consists of a coil spring that is bowed and curved such that one end is tight or squeezed and the other end is loose. 

The motor rotates spring causing it to squeeze and loose motion alternatively.

This way tight end grab hair and loose end release grabbed hair which was caught when it was tight.

Cons of spring type of epilator

  • They are less durable.
  • Spring needs to change often.
  • More passes needed
  • Higher chances of skin getting caught

Although, this type of epilator loses its popularity quickly and its newer manual version gets its place.

But, the spring type of epilator is not the best one, these are not popular.

2. Rotating disc epilator

This is a little more advanced version of the spring-type Epilator.

It has been modified by Remington. It works the same as spring-type epilator work.

This spring is replaced by the disc.

Now, instead of the spring, discs move in a vertical motion. Discs come close to each other and then move apart, when these discs are closer they pull hair and release it when it moves apart.

Pros

  • Spring is replaced by discs.
  • Discs are stronger and last longer than spring.

Cons 

  • It has more moving parts so it could break easily.
  • After some time the disc may loosen, so the hair may slip.
  • More passes are needed.
  • Sometimes, it snaps hair from the surface of the skin.

3. Tweezer type epilator

This is the refined version of the rotating disc Epilator.

This is the most popular type of epilator. Every brand is selling this tweezers type Epilator.

In this, metal plates are embedded in a plastic housing head. These plates are exposed from one or both sides.

As the head rotates these head plates move toward and apart once per revolution.

When they touch each other they also grab hair and pull it apart as it moves, this works like tweezers and creates a tweezer-like effect.

Pros

  • Durable, some epilators may serve for decades.
  • Fewer chances of breaking hair from the surface of the skin.
  • Can grab very small hair
  • Overall better than spring and disc type epilator.

Cons

  • A little bit expensive

What type of epilator is best?

If we select from the above 3 types then the tweezers type of epilator is the best epilator for you. 

Although, manual spring epilators are also good for eyebrows and thin facial hair. But if you have dark coarse hair on your face then only a tweezer type of epilator is best for you.

For the bikini line, arms, legs, and Brazilian, disc or spring type are not suitable because they have more moving parts which have the potential risk of skin getting caught.

Although, there are other types of epilators that are not basic such as corded or cordless, wet and dry, body and facial hair epilators. But, it is not a base of the epilator. I consider it more of a feature than a type.

  • For facial thin hair – Manual spring type
  • For Dark hair – tweezer or rotating disc
  • For Bikini area, armpit, and Brazilian area – tweezer type epilator
  • For legs and arms – tweezers type or rotating disc. Mostly prefer the tweezer type.

Tweezer type epilator is very easy to maintain and clean than spring and disc type epilator.

Epilator Before and After

These are some screenshots of the skin before and after using the epilator. Now, you can clearly see the difference between how would skin look like after using an epilator.

After the epilator, the skin may turn red or irritate a little bit but, it will go away with time, mostly it disappears overnight.

image of before and after using epilator
image of before and after using epilator
image of before and after using epilator

Epilation sidewise comparison

Epilator vs waxing vs shaving – Which is better?

Here we are not going to cover this in detail. We have made a complete article about epilator vs waxing vs shaving. So, you should check this out.

1. Convenience 

Shaving is clearly the winner in terms of ease. But if we compare epilator and waxing then epilator is clearly the winner. Most people prefer epilators over waxing just because it is more convenient.

2. Cost 

Epilator is a winner. Epilator is a lot cheaper than waxing. But, between shaving and epilator, people get confused. Shaving needs a disposable razor, shaving gels, aftershave, etc. But an epilator is just a one-time investment after you don’t need to buy anything. So, the epilator is cheaper than shaving.

3. Results

Epilator and waxing both are winners because they remove hair from the root. Shaving is the worst if you want to get smooth skin. Don’t even think that shaving can give you smooth skin for even two days.

4. Hair length before reusing

Epilator is the winner if we compare Epilator and waxing because you need to wait a little shorter before epilating again than waxing. Shaving is out of the competition because you can shave whenever you want. You can shave every day regardless of your hair length.

Overall shaving is a winner.

5. Pain 

Undoubtedly shaving is the winner. But, if we compare Epilator and waxing then waxing is less painful than Epilator. That is why it is recommended to first wax off all the hair if you use depilatory creams and shaving. After that, you can use an epilator on regrown hair. This way it hurts a lot less.

6. Skin irritation

Shaving is much safer than Epilator and waxing if you want to prevent skin irritation. But if we compare Epilator and waxing then waxing is the winner.

7. Hair regrowth

In this case, waxing and Epilator are both winners. Shaving has no effect at all on hair regrowth.

8. Ingrown hair

Shaving is the winner. You can prevent ingrown hair completely with shaving. But, if we compare Epilator and waxing then waxing is a winner because ingrown hairs are more common with Epilator.

Conclusion

An overall epilator is a winner because the epilator can give smooth skin for 4 to 6 weeks at minimum cost. You might think why I didn’t choose to shave although shaving is less painful, does not irritate the skin much, does not cause ingrown hair, and is convenient. Because we want to remove hair for as long as possible at minimum cost. This is what the epilator provides.

Epilators give results that last long as waxing results at shaving cost.

Women avoid waxing because it is costly, women also avoid shaving because it can’t give smooth skin even for two days. If you have both problems then the middle solution is epilators.

Is the epilator painful?

Yes, the epilator is very painful for the first few times but after a few uses, the epilator can become virtually painless.

It is a common problem with epilators that it hurts too much. But, over time you get used to this pain and learn to use the epilator properly. You will also learn tips to make epilation less painful.

Eventually, Epilation becomes virtually painless for you.

I have seen many times that women say epilators hurt too much, so they will shift back to shaving or waxing. I told them to use it at least 3 times and after epilating three times they shifted permanently to the epilator.

Is epilator painful? – Yes, an epilator is painful but it is worth the pain it gives. In my opinion, the epilator is the best hair removal method – it is cheap, convenient, and its results last as long as 4 weeks.

How much does the epilator hurt?

Epilators can be very painful. 

Just pull one hair from your arms, an epilator is that painful.

Pain tolerance varies from person to person. Some may have high pain tolerance, they will feel less pain and some people may have low pain tolerance, they will feel extreme pain.

Start pulling 3 or 5 hair from your arm, that pain you will feel all the time when you epilate.

You may scream so badly for the first 2 or 3 times after that it becomes virtually painless.

Epilators hurt 1.5 times to 2 times more than waxing for the first few times. After that pain with an epilator decreases because with an epilator you can epilate 2 times shorter hair than waxing. So after 2 to 3 times use of epilator, epilating hurts less than waxing.

How to choose the best epilator for you?

There are a few things to look for if you want to choose the best epilator for you.

1. Look for your need

The first thing you should keep in mind before buying any Epilator is what is your need. Do you want it for your face, body, or pubic hair?

For all these places there are different types of epilators. For example, eyebrow epilators are not good for the arms or legs. Also, keep in mind what kind of hair you have thin or coarse and how hairy are you.

2. Multifunctions

Before epilation, you need to exfoliate your skin, and most of the time you need to shave that area or at least trim it. For this, choose a multi-function epilator that comes with a shaver head, trimmer head, and exfoliation brush. These epilators may cost you a couple of extra dollars but they also save lots of time and money in the long run.

If you are choosing a multifunction epilator make sure you are buying good quality. Sometimes shaver heads or trimmer heads are not of good quality with these epilators.

3. Number of tweezers

A number of tweezers play the most important role in making epilating painless.

More tweezers the better. Tweezers should be of good quality, hair should not slip through it and it should capture maximum hair at once.

The more passes you do, the more painful it becomes.

Nowadays you can easily find an epilator with 60, 70, or more tweezers.

More tweezers mean it captures more hair in one pass means more hair comes out with the same pain.

4. Wet and dry

Epilation is very painful. To reduce the pain you can epilate wet. For the first-time user, it is recommended to do wet epilation because it is less painful.

So, always check whether your epilator is wet or dry.

If the epilator is wet it is also dry, but a dry epilator doesn’t mean it could be used wet. For example, all the corded epilators are only dry epilators.

5. Corded or cordless

Cordless epilators are battery-powered epilators. Although, they are not as powerful as corded ones. But there is one advantage with cordless epilators is that you can use it anywhere and you can also use it wet and dry.

Corded epilators are most of the time only dry epilators because it is not safe to do wet epilation with a continuous supply.

6. Light

LED light is for extra comfort.

It reveals the thin and fine hair. You will not get this feature with all the epilators.

But, this feature becomes extremely useful when you epilate pubic hair and legs.

7. Design

The design of the epilator can make the epilation process comfortable.

You can get ergonomic handles in different shapes and designs.

For example, if you want an epilator for the pubic region its handle should be slim and for the eyebrow, the whole epilator should be slim so you can get maximum precision.

8. Speed setting

Speed setting can be very useful if you have only one Epilator for the whole body. For sensitive regions and thin hair, speed should be at a low-speed setting, and for dark hair and tough skin speed setting should be high. 

9. User reviews

Last but not least, you should also look at the user reviews.  User reviews should be good. User rating is the true mirror of the product. If a product can satisfy hundreds of people then it is a good product and chances are it will also satisfy you.

Do epilators work?

Yes, epilators work very well. It is the combination of 40 or more tweezers. If tweezers work for you, the epilator will definitely work.

Epilator even works better than waxing, it can grab 4 times shorter hair than waxing which causes little to no pain and you can epilate quite frequently at a very low cost.

So if you want smooth skin at home then an epilator is the best hair removal method for you.

If the epilator is not working for you there could be a couple of reasons.

Such as you are using a less powerful epilator on thick and dark hair. Because of this hair get a slip and you need more passes in order to get smooth skin.

The other reason the epilator is not working for you – you are using too much power on thin hair which causes hair breakage from the surface of the skin which grows into stubble after 2 or 3 days.

If you have branded epilators it does work well at the fraction cost of waxing. Although, if you are not careful enough it can also cause ingrown hair. But, if you use an epilator properly it can reduce hair growth and stop at all.

Should you use an epilator on sensitive skin?

Epilators are best for larger areas with tough skin such as for arms, legs, chest, etc.

It is also safe to use an epilator on more sensitive regions such as armpits, bikini lines, or Brazilian, but it is a little bit more painful.

It also depends on individual pain tolerance and can be more painful for a first-time user with low pain tolerance.

You can make epilating painless to some extent by using an epilator the right way and applying some tricks, but whatever you do it will hurt very badly when you epilate for the first few times.

Yes, you should epilate sensitive skin but first use an epilator on legs and arms for a period of time. After that, if you think you have good experience handling the epilator pain and after learning epilating techniques you can epilate sensitive regions too.

Who should avoid epilators?

People with very low pain tolerance should avoid epilators.

Epilators can also cause redness or bumpiness although these types of after-effects settle down after some time. But, for some, it can cause acne on the face. So the person who is prone to acne should avoid an epilator on the face 

Women during hormone change should also avoid epilators. During hormonal changes, epilators can be very painful.

If you are on hormonal replacement therapy, pregnancy, or in periods should avoid epilators or at least consult your doctor first.

Although it is totally safe to use an epilator during this time, it is going to be more painful than usual. 

Epilator is usually painful, during this hormonal change time it is going to be extremely painful.

So, women should avoid epilators during this time.


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