Braun Silk-épil 7 SensoSmart™ Review

Removes hair by pulling them out from the roots. Not messy so easier than waxing but quite painful when first used especially around the ankles. I didn't use it for bikini line as thought it might be too painful. Better result than shaving as lasts longer and grows back softer. Once you have used it a few times you get used to it. Not as quick as shaving because I found I had to go over the same area a number of times to get all the hairs.

Tried waxing my bikini line a couple of times, found I could tolerate the pain quite well, so bought this epilator. After doing a load of research online over a couple of weeks I understood that I should get the best I could afford, and this has the most good reviews of the medium to upper range variety. As it happened, Farmers had these at 30% off and Braun offered a 60 day refund so I figured I couldn't lose.

Day 1 Nov 28 - first try. Decided to go for in shower epilation as the warmth would soften my skin and apparently make it less painful. Before that though, I used the shaver on one of my armpits. That was a little scarey as there is a skin tag under there and I didn't want to nick it. Will have to go get that removed. Shaver got nice and close and wasn't as rough on the skin as shaving. Left the other armpit for tomorrow, when I will pluck the courage to pluck. Used the exfoliating head on my arms and decolletage, seemed ok. Next up - the lower legs. Well, after not being able to tolerate the pain of waxing my legs, this was OK. The sensation was of lots of pinpricks and stinging, along with a sort of roughish buffing. It sent shivers up my spine and got my heckles up a bit but I got used to it. Didn't get all my legs done, and found the front of my shins more painful than the rest. Overall it was quite a bit less painful than waxing and I am going to have another go tomorrow. This will get better with practice, I'm sure.RIP leg hairs, I see your little red gravestones all over my legs :-)

Day 2 - Nov 29 - legs again Today I used it dry on my legs and it was overall more successful. Less painful, no heckles or shivers up my spine. Hair graves went down in a few hours. Legs are pretty much done now. Legs feel like the day after a shave - smooth with a few small prickles only. Still not quite brave enough to try underarms.

Day 3 - Dec 2.... the rest Today was the day to epilate bikini line and underarms. First off, underarms was too sore. If you take the massage head off and use the smaller cap, it doesn't glide over the skin as easily and I was afraid of it catching my skin. The curvy underarm makes it all pretty hard for a noob. So I opted to use the shaver instead, which should have been easy but I managed to shave a couple of small skin tags which was unpleasant. Eventually I got a close enough shave. I still think it's gentler on the skin than a razor. Bikini line was OK. Less painful than waxing but a little more care required to make sure the hairs are short enough. I used the trimmer first, in order to make room for the epilator head, and then it went pretty smoothly.

So overall I'm giving this a 5 out of 5 all round.

More practise down below will improve that result and I'll probably have another go at underarms at a later date. My legs are still quite smooth and the machine otherwise does everything on the label.

I brought this with the expectation that I would use it to do legs and armpits and save on waxing costs. To begin with I did this and it did the trick however it was painful and took so long! Like forever! I soon gave up, now I have gone back to shaving my legs, this is something I really didn't want to go back to. I still use it to do my underarms and the battery seems to be slowly getting a shorter lifespan. It will now only last just enough for my underarms. One thing I don't like is that you cannot use it when it's plugged in so once the battery is dead that's it. I have had it about 4 years now. Tried using it in the bath on my legs to see if that makes it easier but it really didn't pick up any hairs then!

I hate shaving and have been known to go months without shaving. Once I did my research I chose this one because it can be used wet and dry. Multiple heads so make different areas easier. It's loud but charges quickly. First use stings but gets easier. If the room is warm it seems easier.

My first epilator, many years ago, was the two-speed Braun Silk-epil Eversoft Deluxe (with 20 tweezers) and this year, for my birthday, my husband bought me the Silk-epil 7 (with 40 tweezers). Wow, what a difference!

I love the fact that the Silk-epil 7 is cordless and only takes about 45 minutes to charge fully. Epilating for the first few times does hurt, especially around the ankles, knees and thighs and it will take a while, but it does get easier, faster and painless the more often you do it. I find that around the 4th or 5th time, it only hurts around my ankles and behind my knees.

I tend to only epilate in spring and summer, when the weather is warmer, as I find epilating in winter when it is cold is too painful and difficult. Not only is it uncomfortable, but I find when it's cold my skin almost holds on to the hairs! I tend to shave during winter and then in spring, before I start epilating, I go to a salon for a once-off, full leg wax and then begin epilating once the hair starts to grow back. This seems to ease the initial first time pain and its not as sore once I begin epilating, about a week after the once-off wax.

I did try epilating directly after bathing or showering (as recommended by Braun), but find that when I do this, my hair is too soft and more likely to break. I prefer to epilate a few hours before I bath or shower, but this is just my personal preference, so do whatever works best for you.

The best thing I think about this is it's a shaver AND epilator. I had a separate shaver and epilator and my epilator was almost 10 years old so I got this instead (I figured surely things have advanced in that amount of time). This is available on Fly Buys so I got it through that. I was so right! I think it's far more effective than my old one (this one can grip hairs the size of a grain of sand!) and it's probably less painful as top speed is pretty fast. Don't listen to anyone that says it's not going to hurt. Of course it is. I've been epilating my legs for years and it still hurts. But it's bearable and worth it when you can do this in your own time (you can use this in the shower as it's waterproof but I do my legs outside without time constraints of a shower for example).

The battery on this lasts for 40 minutes, this one cut my time down to about 20 minutes for 2 lower legs and knees (previously it took me about 40 minutes) so is really effective. I love how it's cordless and how it comes with lots of attachments. Even the shaver attachment works really well. I don't use the so-called efficency cap, I didn't find it works that well, I just go to town on my legs full speed with the epilator attachment!

I have even tried this on my face (yes, you probably think I am crazy) just to see how painful it would be - I have never epilated my face before and tried it on my neck and chin. If you are brave this works okay and you can use it for this but bear in mind you may get angry follicles popping up in an obvious place!

I bought this to replace my mum's 20+ year old Epilady (which still works!) and I think it's definitely worth the money.

It comes with many different attachments including a massager head (perfect for newbies) , an efficiency cap, two precision caps and a shaver attachment.

The first few times using this epilator I used the massager head. It feels really nice and definitely reduces pain. Now I use the efficiency cap because it gets the job done faster. I use the larger precision cap for my underarms and the smaller one for my bikini line. I have used it on my upper lip before - it works, but is almost unbearably painful!

The shaver head is able to shave right down to the skin, or you can just trim with the comb attachment.

Battery lasts about half an hour before it needs recharging. If you haven't epilated before, or it's been a while, you may need more than half an hour.

There is a little light that helps you see the hairs, which is a nice touch. It is also waterproof so you can use it in the shower, though I've tried it before and it seemed to break more hairs.

Comes with a cleaning brush and drawstring bag.

Pros:

+ Works really well, efficiently plucks hairs from root

+ Easy to use, no mess (unlike waxing)

+ With regular use hair grows back less and finer (unlike shaving)

+ Comes with many attachments

Cons:

- Battery doesn't last long

- Can't use while plugged in (though this is for safety, since it's waterproof)

- Painful and time-consuming (though the hair doesn't grow back for a while so it's worth it)

I just got mine a month ago and so far used it twice, it’s really great and leaves you with smooth skin after a few go’s. Definitely more convenient and easy to use in comparison to waxing or shaving and makes no mess at all! The battery life was also really good, I used the Philips epilator aswell in the past and definitely will say that this one beats it by far in terms of battery life, packaging, looks and efficiency.

Quick and easy to use, removes the hair and gives me more time between treatments. There is no going back each day or every other day, instead I only need to run this over once every week or other week to maintain my grooming. I was scared it would hurt but this is far less painful than waxing.