Braun 5270 X'elle Body System Epilator
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Customer Reviews of Braun 5270 X'elle Body System Epilator
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.
Customer Review: LOVE IT! And, a caveat: if you start epilating, for your own sake, DON'T STOP!
Summary: 5 Stars
UPDATE, May 17: I LOVE THIS THING! It's SO much better than my older model Braun epilator! The process is MUCH less painful (even in the most SENSITIVE of areas), and with double the tweezer heads of my old Braun epilator, it truly IS faster and MUCH more efficient to use this one! The light feature is GREAT, too, and very helpful for ensuring that you get every little hair that you're trying to remove! I think I'm in love!
; )
A few extra notes and suggestions: if you have issues with ingrown hairs, try exfoliating every day or every other day to help the hair shaft make it past the epidermis. I had initial trouble with ingrown hairs, but have found that exfoliating scrubs, like sugar scrubs and similar products, really help make a difference. In order to keep the progressively softer hairs from getting trapped below the skin's surface, you have to help things along by scrubbing the area that you're epilating with an exfoliant.
Additionally, Braun epilators DO remove the entire hair shaft, as opposed to just cutting at the skin's surface layer, like razors do. Since your hair follicles are constantly producing new hairs, the hairs that resurface WILL be straight at the end, as if they were cut, but epilators as a rule pluck the hairs out to the root, which is why your skin stays soft and smooth for more than just a day. Give these things a try - they're SO worth the time and effort!
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I've had an older model Braun Silk Epil Eversoft for easily five years. I'd seen it the last time I was in France (they had them in every Geant store we visited), and wanted one desperately. Got back home to the U.S., picked one up, and have loved it ever since. I use my epilator on almost every surface that visible hair grows on, except my eyebrows and my scalp. If I can reach it, and I can see dark hair there, I epilate it. The upper lip area is very sensitive, but the bikini area is the MOST sensitive, as you might imagine (I have no problem using mine on my underarms, though). Pull the skin that you're epilating taut, go full speed ahead, and you'll be done in no time!
If you've got no experience with epilators outside of the antiquated Epilady of the 80s, Braun's epilators are SO much better! One caveat, though, if you don't mind my suggesting one: once you've acclimated to using this, and you experience less pain using an epilator on your body than you did when you first started (especially in the oh-so-sensitive bikini area), for the love of all that's Holy, don't stop using it! If you wait too long (like I obviously had), you'll be right back to square one with the level of pain you experience when epilating (IF you're like me, and I wouldn't expect my experience to vary from anyone else's). Epilators are GREAT tools for removal of unsightly hair, but if you stop using them, from my experience, the hair returns to its pre-epilation thickness, and your skin returns to pre-epilation sensitivity levels. It DOES get less painful over the course of the months after you begin using these; just make sure you stick with it!
When you consider that the purchase of one of these is going to be, on average, less than the cost of ONE bikini waxing session at the salon, is there really any question? You take care of YOU in the privacy of your own home, and the effects are just as pleasant! Yes, it'll hurt, but it's SO worth it when you're done! Go for it!
Customer Review: Finally no more daily shaving, in-grown hairs, or sticky legs!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this epliator! I was a teen in the 80's when the epilators back then were horrible medieval coiled devices--I never could bear the pain. The grip and the light make it so comfortable and user-friendly.
To deal with the pain for newbies: I saw another reviewer's suggestions and used them--they worked. Soak in hot water for your first time or two, dry thoroughly, then use the massage head. Believe me, after you do it a few times, the pain goes away. (Think: plucking eyebrows. Hurts at first, but after a few times not at all anymore.) So run through with the massage head a few times, then you can upgrade to the faster attachment when the pain lessens.
To deal with ingrown hairs (A MUST TO READ!!): when you epilate, if you don't do anything to your skin to prevent ingrown hairs, expect ALMOST EVERY hair to become ingrown! I have dark, thick hair and was having to shave daily. When I first became smooth with the epilator, I loved it! I didn't think anything could be worse than the 5:00 shadow I routinely got on my legs every day with shaving. I WAS WRONG! After my first epilation, I tried using Prince Reigns a few times, but it was so gross and sticky that I did not use it regularly. When the first new batch of hair grew in, it was a horror! I was covered in in-growns! The thing about Prince Reigns is, it's pretty expensive, you have to use a lot of it, so the $25 bottle goes really quickly, and it leaves this gross sticky goo on your legs that doesn't get better throughout the day...it stays sticky until your next shower--and you put on more after each shower. I felt like my skin couldn't breath and was suffocating, plus I had to be careful not to rest my hands on my legs as I sat in shorts or a skirt or I'd have to go wash them again to get the sticky residue off. And it wasn't fun for my boyfriend.
In-grown solution: a good, course body brush. You know, natural bristles on a stick like at the health food store? I recently discovered body brushing (which, by the way, makes your skin feel FABULOUS!), and decided to see if it could help prevent the in-growns, and it does. My hair is super thick and grows in very quickly, and I have to epilate at least a few days every week (versus others who can make it 3-4 weeks). I've been using a body brush for a month on my legs, and the results are just as good, if not better, than Prince Reigns. My skin is also super soft and feels buttery (boyfriend LOVES IT!), no in-grown hairs, and no more sticky, gooey legs. My skin can rock and still breathe! It's better for you, natural, and way more cost-effective.
How to use body brush: Do it dry! Don't get the bristles wet. Every day before you shower, brush down your body from chin to toe. The bristles are course and it's another thing you get used to, but you'll crave it after you start. Make sure you really go over the epilated areas well. The brush removes dead surface layers, improves circulation, and polishes and smooths the skin. Easy, takes about 3 minutes. If you love your skin and like feeling beautiful, also look into getting a Clarisonic Pro facial brush. Trust me, you'll feel like a million bucks and look like it, too!
Customer Review: Handy little device that really does work...and it's pretty too!
Summary: 5 Stars
Way back in the dark ages otherwise known as the 1980's, I tried the original epi-lady (not sure what it was called exactly) and found it to be a horrid device that was surely created for nothing more than torture. After 20 seconds, I gave up and vowed "never again!". Luckily, I changed my mind and decided to give this one a try.
The X'elle really does work and the feeling is tolerable, if not exactly comfortable. In fact, in some areas it really doesn't hurt at all and the only sensation is that of a pulling. I know, that doesn't sound good but I find it quite satisfying because it lets me know that the thing is working. And as others have said, it does get easier to tolerate the more you do it. The first time was definatly the most difficult. Of course, after you do it a time or two, the amount of hair that you have that needs to be removed is actually less and therefore, the process takes far less time and is less painful.
An interesting tidbit for those who really want something by which to judge the pain. I suffer from a condition called Fibromyalgia. The symptoms are numerous but one thing FMS causes is extreme hypersensitivity of the skin. There are days that even a slight touch feels like a blow torch on my skin. Granted, I avoid epilating on those days. ;) But even on "good" days, my skin is very sensitive. Because of this, I was even more hesitant to try this device but I hated shaving enough to give it a go. Surprisingly, I am able to tolerate the feeling. Now, if a person with FMS can use it....;)
Also I'd like to refer to something another poster said. She claimed that all of the advertised accessories don't really come with the X'elle. I have to disagree with that.
She said that the "gentle start head" is not included. Well, it is included. In fact, it's the only head for epilating included.
"Gentle start" refers to a feature, not an entirely separate head as that reviewer apparently believes. There are two speeds on the X'elle. The first and slower one is what Braun calls the "gentle start mode". They claim that this mode is less painful and easier to start with until a person has grown accustomed to the sensation. Personally, I don't agree and find the slower speed to actually be harder to take the faster one. But it's there if you prefer it.
The X'elle does come with a second head but that head is a shaving and trimming head. I have found the shaver to be quite effective as well. Obviously, there are parts that a woman just can't bring herself to use an epilator on. The shaver/trimmer takes care of these parts quite nicely.
Second, the other reviewer says that the advertised "cooling glove" is absent. I don't see anything mentioned about a cooling glove. Perhaps the description has changed since she purchased it. (?)
I've had the X'elle for at least a year and have had no problem with function at all. The cord could be a little longer but besides that, I've loved using this. The results are well worth the small amount of pain involved.
Customer Review: If you needed this like I do, you'll love it like I do!
Summary: 5 Stars
Another review here put it best: "If you want results badly" you will love this product.
I've only been using this for a week now, but I believe a lot of the people who have given up on using an epilator simply have never had to deal with the awful difficulties some of us do with shaving. Starting out with this is time and pain intensive, but for people who want long-lasting relief from the futility and demoralizing effects of shaving, this is an unbelievable invention.
I have very dark, coarse, fast-growing hair, paired with very sensitive skin. With shaving, I got ingrown hairs along with painful razor burn all over my thighs and bikini line when i shaved. On top of that, I'd have visible regrowth by the end of the day. Yet, I wouldn't be able to shave again for at least 48 hours because my skin was still so damaged. In the summer, I could only wear shorter skirts or shorts once a week, and even then I would usually have to put foundation on the areas that broke out. I say this in the past tense, because I am so thrilled to have found a method of hair removal that will free me from constant worry over having to cover my legs!
As I said, I've only recently begun epilating, so I can't compare this model to others or talk about longterm results, but for me what's already happened is amazing. I did it initially four days ago on my legs and bikini line, and it was painful and tedious, but also gratifying to see all that thick dark hair be done away with. I've done waxing before, so I understand how hair grows in cycles and that there will be some irritation that will resolve quickly, so I was not put off by the red bumps or the fact that there was stubble.
The second time I did it, two days later (my hair grows very fast, so the next cycle comes in quickly), it was still rather painful and, but much better and took much less time. I then waited another two days (today), and it was fast and totally bearable to touch up. I think I've gotten at least 75% of my growth by now (I see what I haven't gotten yet because my hair is so dark, I can see it before it grows above the skin), and hopefully after another four days and two more attempts will have had a chance to nab them all. Because of my waxing experience, I have high hopes that when the hairs grow in again, they will be much less dark and coarse. Some ingrown hairs (I got those shaving and waxing anyway) and soft, invisible stubble seem like blessings, knowing that I won't be constantly hairy and having to mangle my skin with that razor anymore if I ever want to show it!
Maybe people who don't have thick hair growing quickly on them all the time aren't thrilled by the idea of being able to look at your own legs everyday without having to cringe, because they already can, but to me, it is a wonderful, novel experience. I don't have the money to wax, and I really like not having to wait for a full cycle to grow in before getting it taken care of!
This product is just what I've been looking for all my life!!