Braun 5270 X'elle Body System Epilator
|
List Price: Category: Health Care See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Customer Reviews of Braun 5270 X'elle Body System Epilator
Customer Review: This beginner quickly became an epilator devotee!
Summary: 5 Stars
At only $50, more women ought to give this great little epilator a try! I'm sure it's not right for everyone, but only a few weeks in it's hard to imagine ever going back.
I read a LOT of reviews here and elsewhere before buying this, my first epilator. Everything pointed to this being the best value. I'm very happy with my purchase so far. Ouch factor dropped off pretty quickly. Be sure to hold the skin taught if you notice it pulling - it makes a huge difference. I'd read the best way to get started was to shave as usual, then use the epilator every day for a week, then every other day for 2 weeks, then less and less. I'm in week 3 right now. Do NOT "grow out" and then start. The more hairs you have to pull in each pass, the more it will hurt! I found my legs were much less painful than the reviews I read made it sound. A few weeks into "the schedule" I barely feel it - plucking my eyebrows is definitely worse. But my leg hair has never been thick.
The included trimmer/shaver work pretty well, though I find the device's shape rather awkward and bulky for use in that mode. I guess the idea is to be "all-in-one" and offer you alternatives for any areas you chicken out of epilating.
Personally, I was most interested in getting this for my underarms and I'm extremely happy with the result. That area always grew a lot faster, darker, and thicker than my legs, and tended to get very irritated by shaving. By the time the razor burn went away, the ugly prickles would be back! First day after shaving, epilator could only find a couple strays at the edge to yank out. The second day was, I admit, painful enough to make my eyes water. But the results were fantastic. I've continued "on schedule" to minimize pain but could easily be going more days in between already. Going in, I was hoping I could work my way down to a once per week grooming regimen, but I'm confident at this point I'll get to the 2-4 weeks between sessions people talk about.
I'm working on the bikini area very, very slowly. It is much more painful than legs or underarms (not surprising - waxing there is a lot more painful, too). I think I may have to get waxed and restart "the schedule" down there. That should get me past the worst of it (pulling the firmly rooted existing hairs) all in one go so I can skip straight to the maintenance phase. Fewer hairs with younger roots will be a lot more manageable.
If I successfully keep this up, I may buy one of the cordless, water-proof versions next year (for easier cleaning and travel). But I'm glad I got this first. When I'm down to using it every other week or so the minor inconveniences of the cord and the alcohol/brush cleaning procedure may not be worth upgrading to avoid.
Customer Review: solid purchase
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a reviewer but I had to write a bit on this product. I have been a waxer for years. I am dark haired and of mediterranean descent. I would consider the hair on my lower legs to be thick/course, as well as the hair on the back of my thighs, my arm hairs are plentiful but fine. Generally when I wax I would have my upper lip ($15), full leg ($75), and bikini (brazilian) ($40), and on occasion my arms ($40) done. The bill would total out to $170 dollars w/o the tip (um...NYC is pricey, no?). I had been growing out my last wax job to have another when a friend recommended this product. I thought there was no way it would do a job that would compete with my professional waxer. I was mistaken. I did my legs while watching TV. Good job, it got all the hairs! So I decided to do my arms which I would wax on occasion but would always get pimples here and there because of the wax, so stopped. It did my arms and I woke up this morning with no red inflamed little bumps anywhere! woot woot! I didn't think it would be possible that this machine could possibly get the finer hairs on my upper lip but it did, PERFECTLY, and I don't have to worry about the inevitable zits there either, where historically the wax would clog my pores, or the bright red swath of irritated skin where the wax was applied!!! I couldn't bring myself to do the nooks of the bikini area but was able to get a bit off the sides and top, after using the trimmer. Good enough until I get around to fully waxing the lady bits. It was time consuming but I could do it at home and, again, I saved a total of $130.00. And I love that I can get all the little hairs that will pop up in 3 to four days when I feel like it, so I can stay smooth. As for the pain, I followed the same regimen that my waxer has recommended for years. Hot bath, loofah, no moisturizing or oil based product beforehand, and two pain killers of your choice, before you start. Also never wax/epilate right before or during your period because (she says) you feel more pain. Whether this is true, I don't know, but it sounded reasonable so I followed her advice. (clearly not a concern for the men folk...) I would recommend this little marvel to any waxers out there or anyone that is super busy and just doesn't want to deal with the salon, specially for the upper lip and arms! Love this purchase, love a beauty product that ACTUALLY WORKS! Love the convenience of never having to wax my upper lip again and LOVE the hundreds of dollars I will be saving! (all the positives outweigh that this little guy is kinda loud and for a second I was paranoid that my 3 male neighbors might think I had some kind of industrial 'vibrating device' going for two hours...;) so be warned, its not soundless!)Customer Review: The most intense pain you will ever experience in your life.
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a metrosexual straight male who hates body hair. I have shaved various parts of my body for years, but my legs take too long and always rash up, so I generally end up leaving them alone. This caused me to turn to the epilator.
I have never experienced pain like this in my entire life. I have had my knee cut open with a broken bottle, my shoulder dislocated, and I've been beaten to the point of vomiting. This is worse. The only thing I can think of that separates my experience from that of other reviewers is that my leg hair hasn't been cut in a long time, and as it belongs to a man, is very thick and deep rooted.
I got my epilator in the mail earlier today. The packaging was professional, and I eagerly put it to use within the hour of its receipt. It has taken three hours, with breaks, to complete the hair removal of my lower left leg. I have gotten light headed from a cross between the hyperventilation and pain more than once, and my roommate expressed general amusement at the howls of pain and flurry of curse words echoing from my bathroom. When my cat brushes up against that leg, it causes me to yelp aloud and draw it back.
As far as the functionality of the device, I was a little disappointed to find that the hairs need to be a good centimeter long before it will catch on to them. Each strip of skin must be passed over three times at the minimum before all hair is removed, regardless of how slow and thorough you are. Given that these conditions are met, however, I found that it seems to work excellently -- once I had managed to focus pass the torrents of pain that swept through my lower body. The discordant, cacophonous whine generated by the device is a little intimidating, but it was soon completely drowned out by the torturous destruction of my follicles. The light is helpful. It reminds me of a holocaustic jew-furnace or the pale glow that follows a nuclear strike.
Did I mention that this thing hurts?
My roommate finally inquired as to what was the matter, and after much deliberation, I confessed to him the cause of my distress and showed him the device which had been at the root of my troubles. He tried it. My roommate tries to make a point of being manly and being bothered little by pain. The only comment he could offer on the epilator's use was, "Oh my god, oh my god."
If beauty is pain, then I expect I shall be more beautiful than anyone in a matter of hours. I won't be able to complete my legs tonight, simply because the pain is too overwhelming. I'll need to continue performing this masochistic act of self-betterment in shifts.
I wish you all the best of luck.
Customer Review: Sometimes it snaps hair at the base
Summary: 3 Stars
This was my very first epilator. My sister-in-law suggested it as an alternative to waxing and shaving. I chose this one because it seemed less expensive than other models and had fairly positive reviews.
I found there to be nearly no pain with this epilator especially when you use the massaging head but how much pain you feel will depend on your own pain tolerance and where you are using it. My husband attempted to use this on a small patch of hair on his upper arms and found the process to be pure agony. The item instructions do state that it can be used on your bikini area. I highly advise against it. I tried it and I had very poor results. I found it easy to clean and use. I use it on both legs and both my lower arms.
The very first time I used it I thought to myself, "Where has this thing been all my life?!?!" My skin was left silky and buttery smooth. The gloss of the first use wore off quickly.
Most of the hair on my lower arms and thighs is the "peach fuzz" sort of hair that is not really visible to the eye but can still be felt. This product does not do well with this sort of hair. Yes, it grabs the small fine hairs but it doesn't rip them out, it snaps them close to the skin. With the peach fuzz hair you don't get the stubble feeling when it grows back but it doesn't stay silky smooth for weeks the way the product claims.
Unfortunately, I am also having this snapping problem on my lower legs where the hair is more coarse and it is creating a stubble feel in some areas. I've minimized this problem by going very slow and being very careful to maintain the 90 degree angle recommended in the instructions. The drawback with that is that it takes a very long time. Whether or not I'd have this problem with a different epilator, I don't know. It may just be the way my hair is but I have not had breakage problems with traditional waxing. This breakage did happen even with the first usage when the hairs were the ideal 2-5mm length stated in the instruction manual. Another problem I have is that even with going very slowly, this product still misses hairs here and there.
Overall I think this product is just okay. I'd say that the amount of time I spend with the epilator is probably a little less than how much time I was spending shaving. I'm also using it on areas I wouldn't normally shave (like my forearms). The bonus is that I'm at no risk of accidentally cutting myself and my husband doesn't complain about me using his razors. I still have the product. I still use it but when it gives out I will probably purchase a different model from a different company and maybe spend a little more money.
Customer Review: Didn't work as expected
Summary: 3 Stars
Let me start this by giving my stats: I have very fair skin and very dark hair (dark brown/black hair). I also have sensitive skin. I bought this for the same reason everyone else did: to never shave again. I was intrigued by the promise of being hair-free for weeks at a time. And also thought the idea of this being less and less painful was a plus. Well, sadly, I didn't get the results I expected. I have have been using this product for three weeks now (every day at first, then every other day), and here's what's happened (from top to bottom):
Underarms - I suffer from "the shadow" and thought this would be a good way to get rid of that. Wrong. The first time I used this it was way more painful than waxing and caused my underarms to bleed in every spot the hair was pulled from. Needless to say, I have gone back to waxing.
Forearms - I also suffer from dark hair here. The removal is painful and causes red spots where the hair has been pulled out. But it does remove that "shadow" that shaving left behind. I do have to use it daily, and I have been using it for 3 weeks. Apparently, I have hair growing constantly. But, on the plus side, I do not have ingrown hairs.
Legs - this was the major disappointment. The first time I used this, I only used it on my lower legs and knees. It was so painful, but it did pull out hairs. My legs were so splotchy from where the hair had been removed. So, I decided to only use the epilator on my lower legs for one week, then move onto the thighs. (Never intended to use it on the bikini line...ouch!). So, I used it everyday for a week, and still hair kept growing. It has been three weeks now and hair is still growing everyday like I had never epilated the day before. I tried using it on my thighs but it was too painful for me to handle. The one thing that was nice at first is my legs didn't have that dark undergrowth that shaving can leave. However, I have noticed this past week that half of each of my lower legs are covered in ingrown hairs. It's really bad. Even my husband couldn't believe it. I do exfoliate in the shower, so I can only assume the epilation has caused it. (I did some research and found out that epliation does cause more ingrown hairs than shaving or waxing.) So, I will go back to shaving my legs.
Feet and toes - No problem here. Minor pain and the hair actually stays gone!
Overall, not worth the money. I will continue to use it on my forearms and feet/toes. The pain has never improved and is just as painful as the first day I used it. I can say if you epilate at night, the splotches are gone by morning. I hope this product works better for others.