Braun SE3170 Silk-épil 3 SoftPerfection Epilator
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List Price: Our Price: $43.69 You Save: $6.30 (13%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Braun SE3170 Silk-épil 3 SoftPerfection Epilator
Customer Review: Caution: Using this gadget can be addicting!
Summary: 5 Stars
(3/04) Now, I am not some weirdo who lives for pain or anything, but I admit, I find myself looking for places other than my legs to use this thing. Legs, armpits, bikini line, big toes... It's just so satisfying to use, knowing that the two hours you may have to put into the process (as one reviewer claimed) is worth it for not having to worry about nicks and cuts at ALL or stubble for at least another two weeks.
A few things from my own experience for those of you considering:
I bought this intending to use it on my legs and bikini line only. I was thrilled that it is AC powered, because I feared batteries would become a real budget-killer.
YES, I did use the attachment thing with the rolling beads the first time I used it. I also used the slowest speed. Decided it wasn't so bad, so I sped it up, then removed the attachment. No problem. I may have even thrown the attachment away...
YES, you should exfoliate your skin before use. The directions tell you it wouldn't hurt to take a hot shower and exfoliate, then when dry, use the gizmo. Your pores are open, your skin fresh, and the little hairs should be more willing to let go.
YES, it DOES hurt to use on your underarm. Doing so took a bit of acrobatics, because I found I had to try to pull my skin taught while using it. I also found I got a few ingrown hairs there from use. Decided that using a razor on this area isn't that bad after all.
NO, it is NOT impossible to use on your bikini area. Just be prepared to sit in some funny, yoga-like positions to get to the areas you want. Also, make sure you keep up on exfoliating here: I find I have the worst problems with ingrowns in this area.
YES, you can get stubble. If this becomes a problem, wait a few days for the stubble to grow long enough to grab. Before you use it again, shower, exfoliate, dry and try again. I'll bet you'll end up with less stubble that way.
YES, it CAN take a while. I even found that if I don't soak and scrub before using, I'll miss a few hairs and have to go over an area again days later. No big deal if you have the time to spare.
As for the pain level: If you have a tattoo, then why are you even bothering worrying about pain? You should be able to handle this baby toy. If you, like the average person, can handle things like paper cuts, needles, and insect stings, you can probably handle the pain level of this thing. Or, if you've had professional waxings done before, you probably won't have a problem. If you can't stand pulling an adhesive bandage off of an area with hair on it, then perhaps this isn't the choice for you. Note: I've never had a professional waxing done, just those messy at-home kits. To me, the kits hurt more than this thing! Probably my fault, though -- can't ever get the mix at the right temp or work quickly enough before the stuff cools again!
Soooo... if you're fed up with the blade and want an alternative to wax, smelly hair dissolvers, or sanding disks, try this. I felt it was definitely worth the money! (Bought & have used since September, 2003)
(UPDATE 10/04) STILL use and love this thing! I'm even considering buying another to have on hand for when the inevitable happens and the first one dies on me. Couldn't even guess how much I've saved on replacement blades & shave gels... this thing has definitely paid for itself many times over.
(UPDATE 11/07) Mine (the original one) is still running great, and I still love it. Bought one for my sister, but she doesn't like it because she's apparently more of a wimp than I thought, even though she's got 2 tattoos! I may just steal hers back to keep in reserve for when mine DOES decide to die on me.
(UPDATE 6/10) Original Silk-epil still running perfectly. It sure did come in handy while pregnant last year! Still love this thing!
Customer Review: First time epilating...Not 4 everyone, but I like it
Summary: 4 Stars
I love the idea of not having to shave every day, so I've been on the search to achieve this without having to spend tons of $$ on waxing. My pain tolerance is somewhat high, so I wouldn't bother trying to convince the average person to start using this. I did a bunch of research and wanted to find an epilator that wasn't too expensive but wouldn't be too cheap to do the job correctly and ruin my experience with them. This one seemed like a solid product that wasn't the greatest but would get the job done.
When I received this, my brother (16) and I played around with it... when he turned the crazy gadget on, it was one of the most menacing and scary sounding things ever! Like a little torture device. It scared the crap out of me. I made him epilate the back of his hand, and at first he kept pulling away but eventually it bothered him less. I even heard him continuing to use it (without the older sister forcing him) while I was out of the room for a while lol (to make everything even I guess.)
My experience doing my legs: I did this today after my shower, with about 4 days of no shaving. I've been avoiding my "first time" ever since my brother tried it out the other day. Starting out, I think it was hard to actually keep the thing consistently touching my skin so I did quick swipes up my leg. I put it on the faster speed since people said it is actually less painful that way. This was a pretty slow process but probably because I wasn't in a hurry...and I was trying to give myself the least amount of pain to start off. The pain (for your first time) made me feel like I was ripping my skin off kind of, but when I went at it for a while and got most of the hair, I realized that the pain was only from ripping the hair out; When I went over hairless skin with the epilator, it didn't hurt or anything. That was a good feeling to get confirmation that the pain was from hair only.
I can see this getting addicting. When I was closer to finishing the first leg, I got more and more confident with doing this and determined to get all of the hairs--I went back to the previous areas and didn't hold back. The pain was a lot less annoying when there were less hairs to pull. When I tried the next fresh leg, I was too confident from the first so I didn't hold back--Ouch! I learned why the first time epilating is def. the hardest, but will definitely get easier following the initial session. I became a baby again and quickly brushed the machine over my hairy leg. I tried to slowly apply the thing directly to the skin, but that was WAY too painful to do with a first time leg. Eventually I thinned the hair out and was able to go back to the areas not done well.
I ran out of time and decided to continue in a day or two after I was less busy, and not shave my legs yet. Epilating takes a long time for the first time but so far it seems like it will be worth it. My legs weren't super smooth after this session (mixture of goosebumps cuz I'm cold, dry skin and little bumps from epilating) and I'm not sure if a lot of my hairs were just trimmed really short-- I can still see little ones. But the pain definitely came from many of the hairs being ripped out so I will try again.
I used to tell my friends about epilators before I bought one but now I will only joke about it with them; I think the average person would not think the benefits outweigh the initial pain factor. I have plucked/waxed my underarm hair before, which is something most people wouldn't ever attempt--so I kind of hoped the pain wasn't as bad as everyone said and that I would enjoy using this. My thoughts now are that it is quite painful, but only at first...it isn't unbearable, but is definitely not simply "annoying". I will continue to use this though.
Customer Review: 4.5 rating - Love it - takes a little practice
Summary: 5 Stars
Hello,
I have been using this product for over a year and love it! It's not perfect, but I am very happy with the results. After reading a few of the other reviews, I'd like to share some things I learned along the way (and wish someone had told me about when I just started using this product).
- When you just start using this product you will have stubble for the first 1-3 months. This is because hair grows in cycles you need to wait for all the hairs you ever shaved to get long enough for the epilator to pull out. But stick with it and eventually you will have lovely smooth skin.
- Hair growth becomes very sparse/thinner with time. This means it is not as painful to remove the hair and you won't need to use the product as often.
- Ingrown Hairs - I've read that some people experience ingrown hair with this product even though they exfoliate. I too experienced this in the beginning, but after some research and trial and error, I discovered that moisturizing is the key to preventing this! Applying regular lotion is NOT sufficient at keeping your skin and hair soft enough to prevent ingrown hairs. I recommend heavy duty moisturizing with petroleum jelly, baby oil, coco butter, or something similar. I usually apply a heavy duty moisturizer to myself (everywhere I use the epilator) at bedtime a few times a week. You should apply just enough for it to be effective, no need to turn yourself into a greasy mess. For areas that are particularly susceptible to ingrown hairs (i.e. bikini area) I also apply a heavy moisturizer after every shower (right after I apply a salicylic acid product like Clinique Clarifying Lotion solution - link below) . I've never had a problem with ingrown hairs since I started doing this and my skin is super soft! And when I did get an ingrown hair (very very rare), it was very easy to remove and there was only minimal bruising which healed in about a day or two.
- Using this in the underarm area is still very painful, but there are ways of reducing the discomfort. Initially, I recommend following the advice of other reviewers who suggested shaving your armpits and then epilating everyday for the first 2 weeks. You'll need to do some creative yoga-like poses in order to pull the skin tight, but this extra effort will reduce discomfort. This will also prevent the skin from getting caught in the tweezer things. I usually do two runs when with the epilator when I'm removing underarm hair...the first with the roller attachment and the second without. After the first two weeks, keep an eye on the underarm hair and epilate as soon as you notice any growth. This maintenance is quick, results in minimal to no pain, and the results are great.
- I also recommend the above approach for your bikini area. Except I always use the roller attachment, otherwise my skin gets caught in the tweezers and that hurts/bruises. Be prepared to get into some strange positions in order to reach everywhere you want to get to. Similar to the underarm area, epilate as soon as you notice hair growth to reduce discomfort.
- Apply a salicylic acid product like Clinique Clarifying Lotion solution to effected areas after you epilate. This stimulates cell turnover and prevents blocked pores which helps reduce ingrown hairs.
http://www.amazon.com/Clinique-Clarifying-Lotion-3-6oz/dp/B000R8KEIS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1273444100&sr=8-3
- Be patient and stick with it. Good luck!
Customer Review: I think it breaks more off than it pulls out
Summary: 2 Stars
Update - Here is what I think is the best way to use this type of epilator. After you've used it for a while your hair grows in softer and softer. Eventually the hairs are so soft they get broken off instead of pulled out. If you return to shaving for a few weeks the hairs will grow in stiffer and stiffer. At that point you can go back to using the epilator because it will grab and pluck out the new stiff growth. The only downside is that you will experience something close to the original first time use pain when you start up with the epilator again. But after two or three sessions the pain is not longer an issue.
Original review: I've owned two Emjoi epilators, one was corded and one was cordless. Neither lasted more than a couple of years so when my last one quit I thought I'd try a different brand. For me this Braun works much better on my legs than the Emjoi models. I have fine hair and the Emjoi missed most of it so I had to go back over and over an area many times to get all the hairs out. This Braun gets more hair with each pass and I think it has to do with the guard - it has tiny teeth that must lift the hairs up so the tweezers can grab them. It comes with two guards - one, for sensitive skin or beginners, has a row of tiny wheels along each edge that supposedly massage the skin making the process more comfortable. I've been using this method of hair removal for years so did not bother trying the wheelie guard on my legs but I did try it for my underarms to see if it might hurt less. Well just as with the Emjoi I am disappointed with the results I get on my underarm area. The wheelie guard was of no use at all, it seems to me that it prevents the tweezers from reaching most of the hairs. With the regular guard it works about the same as the Emjoi but the guard falls off during the process so that's a big nuisance. The looser skin and the concave shape of an armpit makes this type of hair removal very tedious. I need to find a model just for underarms, something much smaller that would reach up in there better. Anyway, that's the only reason I withhold one star from this Braun epilator - that it didn't work great on my underarms. Otherwise it is much better than the Emjoi for my legs and unless it breaks soon I'll stay with this brand from now on. Noise factor is about the same for both brands. I always wear soft foam ear plugs when I use anything with a noisy motor.
UPDATE - the guard, the one with the ridges, will not stay in place so I've begun to leave it off. I can do my legs just fine without a guard but found out the hard way that I can not do my underarms without a guard. Yeee-ouch! So for underarms I put the guard on and have to try to hold it with one finger to keep it from coming off. This makes doing underarms ever more difficult but with patience I do get the job done.
Another update - I have noticed that hair on my legs grows back much faster with this epilator than it did with the Emjoi and I think it's because this epilator mostly breaks the hairs off rather than pull them out. So instead of the hair having to totally grow back in it only has to return to its previous length.
Customer Review: sold it on ebay 2mos. later...
Summary: 3 Stars
great product, if you have 2 hrs...i excitedly opened this gadget the first few minutes after it arrived. i had read all the reviews on amazon and being that i have been a life-long sufferer of unwanted hair, needless to say, i was excited to start yanking those suckers out.
i had about 3 or 4 days growth on my legs and all the areas i epilated had the same. my hair is thick, dark and coarse. i did my legs, underarms, bikini line and face. keep in mind, this is only day one, and i have never epilated before and have never waxed either. my legs were dry and flaky and i have not showered in the three hours since i did this.
this does seem to take out most of the hairs. i saw it all over the place - on my legs and in the device. it does seem to take it out by the root, too. however, my legs still felt stubbly after using this product for nearly TWO HOURS (on all areas). you need to go over most areas numerous times. the bikini area was impossible to get to, probably because of the angle or something. the underarms hurt like HELL (and even ripped a mole i had there - gross, but true), but i have to say, the results were impressive on my pits. i am leary of going there again due to the mole, but i was most impressed with the results in this area.
areas that were more painful: knees, ankles, underarms (the worst, but had the best results!) and bikini area. least painful: the face and the tops of my legs.
i did my legs all the way up to the underwear line and that took FOREVER. it does take some time to get used to the plucking sensation and whether or not you can tolerate this product really depends on your pain threshold, how coarse your hair is and how badly you want to not shave. when i got done with my legs there were little red bumps all over the place and many areas around my bikini line were bleeding (only a little). i have yet to know what the results will be like in a few days, but for right now, i can't say i'm overly impressed. shaving takes a lot less time and my legs are far smoother with a gillette sensor. the process DID hurt at first, but seems to lessen a tad once you get used to it. it's NOT painless and i consider myself to have a high tolerance for pain. i have plucked hair on my face for years and never has it hurt a bit. this HURT (not on the face though), but maybe i'll get used to it with more use.
overall, i don't know whether or not i am going to keep this product. i don't know if amazon would take something like this back anyhow. i do like the results on my underarms, and some of the parts i did on my face (feels like i am a man shaving though!), but the legs are far more trouble than it's worth. shaving is quicker, your legs are smoother and i don't get little red bumps all over the place. this is definitely an activity you do at night, not something you do right before you slip on a tank top and go outside.
i am conflicted. i'll report back in a few days.
ok, it's been sold on ebay! on to the next product...