Braun 5270 X'elle Body System Epilator
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Customer Reviews of Braun 5270 X'elle Body System Epilator
Customer Review: I just had my last wax and you wouldn't believe what this baby picked up!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this product on Thursday and immediately plugged it in to try. I used it on my chin hairs, upper lip, and a spot test on my leg just above my ankle and OMG it was awesome!! So awesome in fact, that I had to show my mom. I used it on her chin and her day old shaved legs, she couldn't believe it either!!! Our chins, her legs, my spot test were so smooth. I couldn't really get into my upper lip because it hurt too much, but I have a plan for that which I'll explain at the end!
I'm a regular waxer, which is why I only did a spot test on my legs. I decided not to skip my last regular wax because of Mark Twain's advice below. And I would recommend everyone follow it to a T!!!! It is better if you get use to the device on raw skin before using it on actual hair growth. If you are tolerant to pain then you can probably start as my mom did with day old shaved skin with slight stubble. But the rest of you, shave/wax/pluck for your final time and then use this product immediately after. You'll get use to the pulling of the machine without very much pain (because this thing WILL pick up what you missed and didn't even realize) and get the feel of how to glide it over your skin to get all the areas you need to reach.
Now back to my story. My last wax appointment was on the following Saturday. My regular package consists of full legs, full bikini, underarms and ... my backside nether region. When I got home I set this thing to work. The light was amazing; I could immediately see all the blonde hairs my waxer missed!!! I glided over them and pulled them out. I cleaned the head a few times and let the hairs lay in the sink just to get an idea of how many were really missed, but even I wasn't prepared for the results. By the time I was done the sink looked like my brother had just shaved his 5 o'clock shadow and left me the mess to clean up. I couldn't believe it! I was able to reach every crevasse of the waxed portions of my body without a problem. The only time I had pain was when I attempted to epilate my not so well waxed female gouch area. I think the hairs that were there were just too long and well rooted since they've probably never been touched before in their existence. So when they were caught by the machine it pulled hard, hurt like a b**** and made me bleed. But I think that it will be better the next time, I'll give it time to heal and make sure I not neglect that area again.
Now, about my upper lip, this is the most sensitive part of the body and I'm sure somewhere in the manual, that I didn't read, it says to not use this on your face. But, if you do, then here's some advice. Wax it before you use it for the first time and then practice up and down strokes, straight down from the nose to the lip to remove the hairs. If you go side to side it will hurt more because you are pulling the hairs out in an unnatural direction. I believe this was the main cause of my pain because I was trying to go straight across my lip, side to side, as is done when the wax is applied to the area. I was pulling real hairs (I had not waxed as I have recommended) and had not used to the machine prior to this.
Also, I would recommend that if you have ingrown hair problems you get this product and use it every day, hair or no. I have ingrown hair problems and this is a really good exfoliator with the massaging rollers attached.
I hope this helped someone. And if you still aren't convinced to buy this product let me put it in perspective: 700+ reviews and STILL 4+ stars!!! Come on! The ones that are 1 stars are either complaining about pain and were too early to read Mark Twain's advice or got a DOA product that you can RMA for a working one (I didn't read any 1 star articles, just Mark Twain and W. Tong. Then I saw 700+ reviews and still 4+ stars and said "what the heck"). This is well worth the money because (if you are a regular waxer) you will get back your money the first time you use it AND NEVER LOOK BACK!!!!
Customer Review: The Hair Vacuum! (A MAN REVIEW)
Summary: 5 Stars
First things first, let me mention that I'm a dude and I love this machine! My hair is probably thicker than the women out there, and probably more prominent, but the Braun Epilator sucks it up wonderfully, with some pain I admit - but if you continue to use this thing the pain eventually goes away - because so does your hair!
Okay, so if you're like me and never heard of an epilator before let me tell you what this does - a bunch of rotating pluckers revolve at a fast pace and essentially rip out your hair at root level. As you can imagine this can be a very painful experience, BUT it doesn't have to be! There are a thousand ways to prevent (or ease) the pain and here are my ways:
1. Shave with the epilator's attachment or with regular razor first! The epilator can grab onto tiny, tiny hair follicles! If you can see the hair you waited too long to epilate.
2. Epilate EVERY day! You will always have hair growing, but after you pluck one out by the root it takes that individual hair about a week or two to grow back. You will have other hairs appearing the next day after you use your epilator though. It will take a couple of weeks of everyday use, but eventually all your hairs will be taking so long to grow back that you will have beautiful baby-bare skin. ALSO - since shaving with a razor doesn't take out the root, the hair you've had since puberty has had a Long time to set up shop in your skin - this means that the root is going to be fixated in place a lot better than hair that's had to regrow after plucking. This is why the first time users are going to have a lot more pain than the people that use it all the time.
*the red bumps first time users have will also get less and less with each use
3. Go with the growth - if you start the epilator in the same direction your hair is growing there will be significantly less pain. The problem with this method is that you won't be able to get all the hairs this way, but if you start this way you will remove some hairs and your biggest goal is to have as few hairs at one time going through the epilator's pluckers. It doesn't hurt at all if you're plucking 1 hair, but it starts to feel pretty intense if there's a ton going through it!
4. Epilate right after bath or shower - a body that's just been steamed will let loose its hair follicles much easier than a dry, hard body.
5. For sensitive areas, pluck with tweezers first - I tried to epilate my "Bikini" area without plucking first and it was a bad idea. Even though I shaved myself nearly bald before epilating, the hair follicles in my groin were so firmly rooted it was torture to mass pluck them. So, I plucked hairs one at a time with tweezers until I'd taken out over half the growth. After that the epilating was a breeze, and now that the hair growing there is new and not so firmly in place, I can epilate them all without much pain.
6. Develop your own technique! Everybody's hair is different and everybody has a different tolerance for this kind of pain. Experiment with the epilator, but don't give up on it. It can truly be your best friend in the battle against unwanted hair.
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Overall I can't be more excited enough about this product! I use it for my legs, arms, nipples, and groin and have the long-lasting smooth, hairless skin I've always wanted without ever using razors or wax. The only downside to using this is that your skin will for sure have red bumps for a few hours after you it in some areas. I've noticed this decrease significantly as I continue using it though (probably because my new hair growth is less rooted) but I still see them occasionally, especially on my arms but almost never on my legs. They can also be avoided by using some of my pain-decreasing steps, too.
Try it, boys and girls!
Customer Review: Hair and skin type, not pain threshold, determine success.
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, this is the best epilator currently on the market. If you're here at Amazon, you've probably done your research. But if there was a magic bullet to remove all unwanted hair, then we would all be walking around smooth, sleek, bald goddesses.
I could write the book on what the review "pros" and "cons" are, from the 1,000 plus reviews on Amazon, but here's the reality: The success of this epilator does not depend as much on your pain tolerance as it does on your natural individual hair shaft density and your skin type.
The reality is that 40 fast-spinning tweezers running across your skin not only can hurt, but it can be unsuccessful. I am a frequent at-salon waxer, and also use a GiGi professional wax warmer and Brazilian hard wax on myself regularly. It is expensive and time consuming, and I am not at all afraid of pain, so I decided that if "it hurts" and "it seems to cut hairs off and leave stubble" were the two biggest complaints, my pain threshold (I laughed at reviews) and my skill would put me in the "it's a winner!" category.
Turns out, I was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Not a winner. Despite changing techniques, following directions obsessively, and sparing no expense when it came to discomfort I felt, this simply doesn't work for my "genetics."
I have dark hair, but it is very fine. The tips of the tweezers are rather sharp, so when they grab my hair, they clip the tender hairs and are unable to rip it out at the roots. The result is the appearance of "no hair," but it leaves my legs feeling stubbly.
In some areas, where my hair is slightly thicker, the tweezers are able to grasp the hairs and remove them from the root, but it leaves tiny red pinpricks all up and down the area epilated. Tend Skin, and other post epilating/waxing products would sooth the sting, but could not reduce the appearance of marks. This is not a design flaw in the machine. This epilator has a bright light that highlights every last speck of even lightly colored hair. The grip is comfortable. The epilator has to be plugged into an outlet, but it is via a generous power cord that I found I adapted to easily. The product runs smoothly, functions well, and has a nice quality to it.
I tested it on a few friends, my fiancé's arm, and a few volunteer male legs and chests. It works well on men because of the thickness of their hair (trimmed first). It worked well on friends with denser individual hairs than mine. It worked beautifully for some of them. So the truth is, just like the latest "Must HAVE Allure Magazine Beauty Product of the YEAR"...one size just doesn't fit all. Sometimes, today's "best" beauty product just is not your shade. Sometimes, the latest clothing trend just isn't the right cut for you. And sometimes, the best epilator on the market just won't leave you baby soft.
This product will be your best friend, if:
You have coarse or thick hair.
You have firm, tone, well-exfoliated skin in all of the areas intending to be epilated.
This will be your enemy, if:
You have fine hair, or soft blonde hair. The hairs will be cut off, rather than epilated.
You have areas of thin skin, loose skin, dry skin, or skin that needs vigorous exfoliation. (If you are prone to ingrown hairs, I am talking to you.) This product is likely to make you bleed and leave tiny red bloody spots.
With that in mind, this is absolutely worth trying out. For those it works for, it's an utter miracle machine. And if it doesn't work for you? Well, at least you'll stop having that burning, tingling, "what if?" anymore. I'm keeping mine. Just in case.
Customer Review: A complete analysis after using this for a month
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased the Braun Silk-epil X'elle at the end of June after reading many of the reviews on Amazon for this product for about 3 weeks. I decided to take the plunge and buy it, since it got such high ratings. Now, had I reviewed this product within the first week of using it, I probably would have rated it 4 stars, but I figured that in the effort of fairness, I would try it out for a full month. I have rated it a total of 3 stars -- here is a breakdown of the positives and negatives I've encountered thus far. Keep in mind that this is the first time I have ever epilated. I am not a waxer and while I occasionally plucked with tweezers, this is the first time I have removed hair by the roots a lot at a time.
The positives:
- The light! It was not a major selling point at the time I purchased it, but it is extremely handy. Even when I have the bathroom lights on, it can be hard to see the hairs on my legs (and I'm brunette) so this came in really handy.
- It's not painful on the legs. Even the bikini line is tolerable, but after trying out my underarms, I know that I'll just stick to my legs.
- It lasts about 1.5 weeks. I LOVE that I don't have to shave every couple of days.
So even though I have a long list of negatives, I probably would still buy this (but just barely) for the price I paid of $58.43. I wish I knew if some of the cheaper epilators would have gotten the job done for less, but it's too late for that now... so here is my list of negatives:
The negatives:
- It is very loud. I have two young kids and it is so loud that I would only consider epilating when they are not sleeping or taking naps.
- The massaging roller clip. To me it is awkward and doesn't prevent any more pain than the efficiency clip.
- The shaver attachment. I am really disappointed with this one. Before I purchased this item, I justified my purchase by thinking that if I couldn't handle epilating, at least I would have an electric shaver which I had been thinking about getting anyway. When I found that epilating my underarms was a little too painful for me, I tried using the shaver attachment. It doesn't shave as quickly or effortlessly like I had hoped. In order to shave my underarms closely, I really had to press the shaver attachment onto the skin in quick, repetitive movements. It is SO much easier to just use a disposable razor for my underarms.
- Ingrown hairs. At first, I didn't see any, but after 1.5 weeks, I started noticing that quite a few hairs were becoming ingrown. When I used to shave with a disposable razor, I never had this problem. In order to get the ingrown hairs out, I have had to break my skin and pluck them out. This then tends to leave a tiny scab that takes about a week to heal. This means that although my legs are mostly hairless, I have little scabs on them that make it look like I was attacked by mosquitos.
- The need to go over the same area more than once. I read the directions and held the epilator as it recommended, but I still find myself going over the same area usually at least twice. This doesn't annoy me too much.
- I wish this was cordless. I knew it was corded, but realized that it would be so much nicer if this could be cordless with a rechargable battery. That would allow the flexibility of shaving wherever, and not necessarily where there is a power outlet.
- I also wish that there was a way of it storing the hair that it pulls out so that I could then clean the unit easily. Instead, the hairs it pulls out end up wherever -- the floor, my legs, or the unit itself.
Customer Review: At last, a solution for the hairy!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am of German descent. If I shave with a razor, in 5-8 hours (or if I get a chill), I will have a "five 'o'clock shadow" on my legs. I can normally go maybe 2 days, tops, before the new growth is obvious enough that I can't get away with wearing a skirt to work. Let me say this - I am NOT a waxer. I was genuinely terrified of the potential pain of systematically ripping out every hair on my leg.
The Braun epilator is absolutely awesome!
First, the scary. I won't lie. The first time you use it, it will hurt. Try to keep the roller perfectly perpendicular to the surface area you are rolling across. It helps if you roll backwards and forwards across each area a couple of times. If you have worked on one area of your leg for too long, try giving that area a "break" for awhile and move on to your other leg. Using the included freezer bag thing helped to numb the areas a little at first, but after a while I figured it was easier without. Mostly, you'll just have to grin and bear it the first time you epilate. But you can get through it! A note: I've found that it helps to pull your skin taut as you epilate. The areas that are easiest for me are those areas where the skin is closer to the bone, contrary to what you might think. It's the more "fleshy" areas, like my thighs, that are awful. I still don't epilate my thighs, for that reason. Not only is my skin there more sensitive, but the hair tends to be softer and have a tougher time ripping out up there, which probably contributes to the pain. But, that being said, I am not a terribly athletic person. I suspect that if you're toned, you'll do fine.
Once you're through the initial trial run, the next times you use it, it will just get easier and easier. Now it's like using an electric razor, with an only slightly annoying plucking.
Don't set your expectations too high. Keep in mind that your hair is constantly growing in cycles, yadda yadda. So don't expect your legs to feel smooth as a baby's behind after your epilate. There's always going to be some stickery growth that is too short to yank out just yet.... but the good news is that it's too short to see at all. I don't care so much about feeling perfectly smooth, I just want to be able to wear a skirt to work, or go to the pool, etc. without having to shave every single day. Goal accomplished!
Here are all the reasons I love my Braun epilator (wow, I should really do an infomercial....) :
1. I epilated on Monday night. It's now Friday night, and I still can't see the growth!!! I wore short shorts today.
2. The light is quite helpful. It's nearly impossible to miss any hairs.
3. Once you're used to it, it goes pretty quickly.
4. No razor burn! If you have pasty white skin like me, you might have a little redness. This is why I use the epilator at night. Then I put a little lotion with aloe on my legs. In the morning - good as new for a week!
5. No more buying razors, except for my armpits and very sensitive areas (using the epilator there would just be masochistic, in my opinion). I have effectively gone from buying razors once a week to once every 3-4 months.
6. I can appreciate a well-designed product. Fits into your hand very well and is comfortable. And the sparklies are preeeetty! ^_^
7. Well worth the price, when you consider that a really good electric razor will cost you around $80, and if you're like me, you'd have to use that every single day.