Braun 5270 Silk-épil X'elle Body System Epilator Review.
"Say good-bye to waxing and shaving!" 2006-11-04
By Thomas Anderson (Harrisburg, IL USA)
Review updated: July 17, 2009
I don't know what to say...this is a great product! I remember back in the '80s, we had this crude epilator with a curved rubber tube with tiny slits in it that would open up on the bottom and then close as the tube rotated. Well, it didn't work worth a crap and it hurt like the devil when it did grab a hair. So a couple decades later and there's finally a epilator that works the way you'd expect it to. And the greatest thing is, is that it doesn't hurt in the long run. It'll hurt a bit at the beginning, especially when you're doing thick patches of hair, but subsequent sessions it actually feels good. Basically the density of the hairy area you're doing, the more it'll hurt. Think about it...the more hairs you're pulling out at any given time, the more pain you feel...makes sense, right? But when you're just going afetr a afew strays or the sporatic regrowth, you'll hardly feel it.
Anyway, here's the deal. Hair grows in cycles. Not all hair is above the surface at any given time. So when you epilate and you think you're smooth, don't be suprised when you find new stubble a day or so later. But don't worry, that's not hair you missed, that's NEW hair. Because when you pull it out, it's just as long as the other hair that you pulled out before. And how long is the hair under your skin? You'd be amazed. The pieces I measured were typically 5-6 mm long. And hair typically grows 1 mm per 5-7 days. So if you do the math, once your skin is totally epilated, (usually over the course of a week), expect the advertised 3-4 weeks of smooth skin. And the thing is, is that if you epilate every month or so, over time, your hair will become finer and thinner. You may even experience total hair loss if and when any given follicle gives up producting hair. EDIT: I haven't found this to be true yet, but who knows...
The epilator drum or roller is very unique. It contains 40 metal flaps (tweezers) that move against plastic edges which grabs and pulls out the hairs as the drum rotates away from your skin. It really doesn't take much of a hair above the surface for the tweezers to work either. That's probably one of the greatest thing about this epilator. ie. you don't have to wait days for hair to grow to a certain length to epilate them. You can do it with 24 hours or so.
This epilator comes with several different heads and attachements. It comes with the epilator head with two snap-on attachements that supposedly alleviate the pain for new users. I found out that the one with the rollers wasn't really necessary. The advanced user head makes you use the epilator at a 90 degree angle from your skin. It also helps keep the RPM at a high rate. But it hinders fine placement in those hard to get areas. At which point, it's just as well if you don't use an attachment and go with the bare drum. The other head is a oscilating razor with foil grill as seen in many other razors of this sort these days. However, being a Braum product, it works really well. The razor also has a leading trimmer for those long hairs that won't go into the foil. There's also an attachment that supposedly cuts long hair at the preferred length for optimal epilation.
The spotlight on the on/off switch is excellent. It's one of those little LED bulbs that are used in those multi-LED flashlights, so it is pretty bright. It is kind of necessary in non-flourescent lighting as I notice that if I go outside in sunlight I can see a bunch of hairs (stubble) that I didn't know I had.
Anyway, if you want the very best of modern epilators, get this one. It'll save you tons of money in disposable razors and/or waxing. It'll pay for itself in just one month.
EDIT: The new Emjoi AP-18 Emagine Dual Opposed 72 Tweezer Head Epilator is supposedly more efficient, but it has mixed reviews. Some say it's wonderful, but others say older models of different brands work better.
"Here are some gotchas" 2006-11-18
By Mark Twain (Seattle WA USA)
I'd give it 10 stars if I could. This device has been a lifesaver for me. I am too much of a chicken to go to a salon; however, with a little trial and error, I've learned to do the epilation everywhere, even on bikini and underarm. My smooth skin gives me so much confidence, and it does not hurt a bit anymore.
If you are a chicken like me, follow my instructions instead of the manual, provided you are willing to invest a lot of time initially. I said initially, because, after a couple of months, the pain will subside and you'll be able to do it any way you want, while watching TV or lulling your baby to sleep. (Yes, the sound does soothe the baby! Consider that an unadvertized perk.)
So here is how to start.
1) Take a long, hot bath.
2) Shave. If you are persistent, that's the last time you ever will.
3) Use SilkEpil on just shaved skin. Yes, there will be hardly any results, but there won't be any pain either, and your muscles will relax; it's important to get into the habbit or relaxing while epilating, reduces the pain greatly.
4) Repeat next day (except, of course, no shaving). Heck, repeat later same day. You will achieve the results gradually while staying within your comfort zone as far as the pain goes. Do it every day until you feel in control, then gradually reduce the time interval between epilations to up to a month.
5) When you begin feeling pain on one leg, switch to the other. Somehow that reduces the pain.
6) Use long, quick strokes until you are comfortable.
7) Holding the device so that it rotates in the direction of the hair growth makes the process much more gentle on you and more time cosuming.
8) If you feel like giving up at any point, remember the 2nd epilation will be nothing like the first; the 3rd will be a breeze.
Good luck!
As for the product, my only wish is that it was cordless.
(Oh BTW, don't let my nick fool you: I AM a woman ;-) )
"Has literally chaged my life" 2007-02-02
By Just me (Charlotte, NC United States)
For years I had been trying to figure out how to solve the problem of arm hair. I don't mean underarm hair, I mean hair on my forearms and upper arms. Being part Italian, I've been plagued with dark hair on my arms. Up until now I'd tried everything - waxing (the hair would come back after 2 weeks, so that was like $100 a month! I only did it a couple of times), shaving (I'd have to do it practically every day, otherwise I'd get this awful stubbly, prickly hair all over my arms...). I just wanted to solve that problem. I didn't care about my legs, since all women deal with leg hair, and I don't mind shaving my legs, but not everyone deals with too much arm hair (many women are lucky to have sparse arm hair). Anyway after MUCH research I decided on this great little Epilator. I was a little nervous, because some people said it didn't work well, or that it was really painful, gave them really bad ingrown hairs, etc. My pain threshold is probably slightly above average... When I got the Silk Epil in the mail, I tried it out immediately on my arms. It was somewhat painful.. I took breaks and slowly did both arms. Afterwards, and for about 12 hours afterwards, they were red and blotchy. I exfoliated right afterwords with a back scrubber on my arms (it's rough but really exfoliates well). I then applied aloe vera gel... soon after, voila, I had smooth arms (the redness went away and I did not get any ingrown hairs). For the first time ever (aside from when I waxed), I didn't feel that annoying below-the-skin stubbly feel on them. To make it even better, I didn't have to re-do them for another couple of days (to get the next stage of hair growth, I believe). After that, I didn't epilate them for about 9-10 days. Some regrowth appeared but it was actually in the form of fine hairs, ones that were not really noticeable, and that were fine to the touch (NOT prickly...!!!!). I have been really happy. I feel like this thing has really changed my life, because I no longer have to worry about shaving my arms each day (and having that gross "5 o'clock" shadow on my ARMS... and not having to worry about someone touching my arms). I also used it on the nape of my neck a little as well as on my lower stomach a bit (I was blessed with dark body hair :( ). Now, it's not PERFECT, there are some finer hairs that it doesn't really pick up, but I don't mind. I love my Silk Epil.
"SO much better than waxing!!!" 2006-09-21
By Jiffer (Southern California)
I've had my bikini area waxed three times this year. Can we just say, "OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!" I also had my arms waxed for the first time a few weeks ago, which was considerably less painful. I was highly considering plunging into waxing my legs once summer was over. I didn't want to go around all hairy in between waxing while I waited for my hair to be long enough to be waxed. I was waiting for "pants" weather. However, after talking with a friend who epilates, I decided to try it.
I spent much of today reading reviews on this site and others. I narrowed my search down to the Braun Silk-epil X'elle and the Epilady Discrette. The Epilady was rated #1 by Consumer Reports. This Silk-epil X'elle wasn't tested by them. The Braun they did test came in #3, but was since replaced by the EverSoft, which I don't even see on this site.
I pretty much read equally positive reviews on both epilators in consideration. I was 50/50 in my decision. It finally came down to the fact that I couldn't find a store nearby where I could go and buy the Epilady, yet I could drive to Bed, Bath & Beyond and use my 20% off coupon to buy the Braun. So, I did.
I can't wax my legs yet, since I just shaved them today, but I did try it on both my arms and bikini area. As for my arms, almost pain free. Little pricks here and there, but it was really quite a breeze. The bikini area ... NOT so pain free for sure, but SO much better than waxing! I'm sure it helps that I just had my bikini area waxed three times, so there was less hair to start with. With waxing, a large section comes off all at once with one big, "OUCH!" every time. With epilating, I can control how much is taken and just do a teeny bit at a time if I want.
I used the "beginner" SmartStart Head, which pulls out less at a time. It takes longer, but is easier to start with until you get used to it. I'm confident that if I can handle epilating my bikini area, I can certainly handle my legs. I would have had to wait another 3 weeks to get my bikini area waxed, by the way, because I'm suppoed to let all the hairs grow to a certain length to get optimum results. My waxing gal says 6 weeks. Yet, with epilating, I can do it whenever there are any hairs long enough, which is WAY sooner than 6 weeks so far. Also, it's free and I can do it in the privacy of my own home. Not sprawled out for a stranger to see my "privates"!
Another reviewer stated that she didn't like the SmartLight feature. I, for one, thought it was great. I have blonde hair, so having a light to show me wear all those little buggers are is wonderful.
If you've done any waxing and you know what that feels like, epilating is so much better. I can't comment on any other epilators, but this one seems to be a great one.
"Great Epilator from Beginner to Advanced!" 2006-09-23
By VSD
I have been using epilators on and off for years and lost my last one. I was never totally satisfied with it but it was good enough. I jumped on Amazon yesterday to read product reviews and I admit this wasn't my first choice. The one I really wanted is on back order so I thought I'd give this one a try. I got next day delivery and just finished using it. I am very pleased with my results. I haven't waxed or epilated for awhile so I used the starter head. Worked pretty well. Once I finished my entire leg, I went over it again with the advanced head and got a ton more hairs. Even TINY little ones! I never used my epilator on my thighs before because the hairs are so fine, it seemed like I could never get them with the epilator. I used this one on my thighs and it got almost everything. The light is not bad, not really necessary but not bad. If you really don't like it, you could just put a little piece of tape over it.
Some hair did break instead of getting plucked but that will happen with any epilator. If you are getting a lot of hair breaking off, hold the epilator so that the light is pointing down towards your ankle and the hair is being pulled in the direction it grows. Also hold your skin really tight. That helps too. I also read that if the hair breaks before it is pulled out, that the hair is too long. I am going to go over my legs again in a few days to see if I can get all the little ones that broke.
As no epilator will ever be perfect, I am rating this 5 stars becuase it is way better than my Emjoi or any other epilator I have tried. I love it! And wayyyyyy easier than waxing. And yes, the pain will get less, just push through it the first time. One tip is to get your legs waxed at a salon and then try the epilator when the hair starts growing back.
By Thomas Anderson (Harrisburg, IL USA)
Review updated: July 17, 2009
I don't know what to say...this is a great product! I remember back in the '80s, we had this crude epilator with a curved rubber tube with tiny slits in it that would open up on the bottom and then close as the tube rotated. Well, it didn't work worth a crap and it hurt like the devil when it did grab a hair. So a couple decades later and there's finally a epilator that works the way you'd expect it to. And the greatest thing is, is that it doesn't hurt in the long run. It'll hurt a bit at the beginning, especially when you're doing thick patches of hair, but subsequent sessions it actually feels good. Basically the density of the hairy area you're doing, the more it'll hurt. Think about it...the more hairs you're pulling out at any given time, the more pain you feel...makes sense, right? But when you're just going afetr a afew strays or the sporatic regrowth, you'll hardly feel it.
Anyway, here's the deal. Hair grows in cycles. Not all hair is above the surface at any given time. So when you epilate and you think you're smooth, don't be suprised when you find new stubble a day or so later. But don't worry, that's not hair you missed, that's NEW hair. Because when you pull it out, it's just as long as the other hair that you pulled out before. And how long is the hair under your skin? You'd be amazed. The pieces I measured were typically 5-6 mm long. And hair typically grows 1 mm per 5-7 days. So if you do the math, once your skin is totally epilated, (usually over the course of a week), expect the advertised 3-4 weeks of smooth skin. And the thing is, is that if you epilate every month or so, over time, your hair will become finer and thinner. You may even experience total hair loss if and when any given follicle gives up producting hair. EDIT: I haven't found this to be true yet, but who knows...
The epilator drum or roller is very unique. It contains 40 metal flaps (tweezers) that move against plastic edges which grabs and pulls out the hairs as the drum rotates away from your skin. It really doesn't take much of a hair above the surface for the tweezers to work either. That's probably one of the greatest thing about this epilator. ie. you don't have to wait days for hair to grow to a certain length to epilate them. You can do it with 24 hours or so.
This epilator comes with several different heads and attachements. It comes with the epilator head with two snap-on attachements that supposedly alleviate the pain for new users. I found out that the one with the rollers wasn't really necessary. The advanced user head makes you use the epilator at a 90 degree angle from your skin. It also helps keep the RPM at a high rate. But it hinders fine placement in those hard to get areas. At which point, it's just as well if you don't use an attachment and go with the bare drum. The other head is a oscilating razor with foil grill as seen in many other razors of this sort these days. However, being a Braum product, it works really well. The razor also has a leading trimmer for those long hairs that won't go into the foil. There's also an attachment that supposedly cuts long hair at the preferred length for optimal epilation.
The spotlight on the on/off switch is excellent. It's one of those little LED bulbs that are used in those multi-LED flashlights, so it is pretty bright. It is kind of necessary in non-flourescent lighting as I notice that if I go outside in sunlight I can see a bunch of hairs (stubble) that I didn't know I had.
Anyway, if you want the very best of modern epilators, get this one. It'll save you tons of money in disposable razors and/or waxing. It'll pay for itself in just one month.
EDIT: The new Emjoi AP-18 Emagine Dual Opposed 72 Tweezer Head Epilator is supposedly more efficient, but it has mixed reviews. Some say it's wonderful, but others say older models of different brands work better.
By Mark Twain (Seattle WA USA)
I'd give it 10 stars if I could. This device has been a lifesaver for me. I am too much of a chicken to go to a salon; however, with a little trial and error, I've learned to do the epilation everywhere, even on bikini and underarm. My smooth skin gives me so much confidence, and it does not hurt a bit anymore.
If you are a chicken like me, follow my instructions instead of the manual, provided you are willing to invest a lot of time initially. I said initially, because, after a couple of months, the pain will subside and you'll be able to do it any way you want, while watching TV or lulling your baby to sleep. (Yes, the sound does soothe the baby! Consider that an unadvertized perk.)
So here is how to start.
1) Take a long, hot bath.
2) Shave. If you are persistent, that's the last time you ever will.
3) Use SilkEpil on just shaved skin. Yes, there will be hardly any results, but there won't be any pain either, and your muscles will relax; it's important to get into the habbit or relaxing while epilating, reduces the pain greatly.
4) Repeat next day (except, of course, no shaving). Heck, repeat later same day. You will achieve the results gradually while staying within your comfort zone as far as the pain goes. Do it every day until you feel in control, then gradually reduce the time interval between epilations to up to a month.
5) When you begin feeling pain on one leg, switch to the other. Somehow that reduces the pain.
6) Use long, quick strokes until you are comfortable.
7) Holding the device so that it rotates in the direction of the hair growth makes the process much more gentle on you and more time cosuming.
8) If you feel like giving up at any point, remember the 2nd epilation will be nothing like the first; the 3rd will be a breeze.
Good luck!
As for the product, my only wish is that it was cordless.
(Oh BTW, don't let my nick fool you: I AM a woman ;-) )
By Just me (Charlotte, NC United States)
For years I had been trying to figure out how to solve the problem of arm hair. I don't mean underarm hair, I mean hair on my forearms and upper arms. Being part Italian, I've been plagued with dark hair on my arms. Up until now I'd tried everything - waxing (the hair would come back after 2 weeks, so that was like $100 a month! I only did it a couple of times), shaving (I'd have to do it practically every day, otherwise I'd get this awful stubbly, prickly hair all over my arms...). I just wanted to solve that problem. I didn't care about my legs, since all women deal with leg hair, and I don't mind shaving my legs, but not everyone deals with too much arm hair (many women are lucky to have sparse arm hair). Anyway after MUCH research I decided on this great little Epilator. I was a little nervous, because some people said it didn't work well, or that it was really painful, gave them really bad ingrown hairs, etc. My pain threshold is probably slightly above average... When I got the Silk Epil in the mail, I tried it out immediately on my arms. It was somewhat painful.. I took breaks and slowly did both arms. Afterwards, and for about 12 hours afterwards, they were red and blotchy. I exfoliated right afterwords with a back scrubber on my arms (it's rough but really exfoliates well). I then applied aloe vera gel... soon after, voila, I had smooth arms (the redness went away and I did not get any ingrown hairs). For the first time ever (aside from when I waxed), I didn't feel that annoying below-the-skin stubbly feel on them. To make it even better, I didn't have to re-do them for another couple of days (to get the next stage of hair growth, I believe). After that, I didn't epilate them for about 9-10 days. Some regrowth appeared but it was actually in the form of fine hairs, ones that were not really noticeable, and that were fine to the touch (NOT prickly...!!!!). I have been really happy. I feel like this thing has really changed my life, because I no longer have to worry about shaving my arms each day (and having that gross "5 o'clock" shadow on my ARMS... and not having to worry about someone touching my arms). I also used it on the nape of my neck a little as well as on my lower stomach a bit (I was blessed with dark body hair :( ). Now, it's not PERFECT, there are some finer hairs that it doesn't really pick up, but I don't mind. I love my Silk Epil.
By Jiffer (Southern California)
I've had my bikini area waxed three times this year. Can we just say, "OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!" I also had my arms waxed for the first time a few weeks ago, which was considerably less painful. I was highly considering plunging into waxing my legs once summer was over. I didn't want to go around all hairy in between waxing while I waited for my hair to be long enough to be waxed. I was waiting for "pants" weather. However, after talking with a friend who epilates, I decided to try it.
I spent much of today reading reviews on this site and others. I narrowed my search down to the Braun Silk-epil X'elle and the Epilady Discrette. The Epilady was rated #1 by Consumer Reports. This Silk-epil X'elle wasn't tested by them. The Braun they did test came in #3, but was since replaced by the EverSoft, which I don't even see on this site.
I pretty much read equally positive reviews on both epilators in consideration. I was 50/50 in my decision. It finally came down to the fact that I couldn't find a store nearby where I could go and buy the Epilady, yet I could drive to Bed, Bath & Beyond and use my 20% off coupon to buy the Braun. So, I did.
I can't wax my legs yet, since I just shaved them today, but I did try it on both my arms and bikini area. As for my arms, almost pain free. Little pricks here and there, but it was really quite a breeze. The bikini area ... NOT so pain free for sure, but SO much better than waxing! I'm sure it helps that I just had my bikini area waxed three times, so there was less hair to start with. With waxing, a large section comes off all at once with one big, "OUCH!" every time. With epilating, I can control how much is taken and just do a teeny bit at a time if I want.
I used the "beginner" SmartStart Head, which pulls out less at a time. It takes longer, but is easier to start with until you get used to it. I'm confident that if I can handle epilating my bikini area, I can certainly handle my legs. I would have had to wait another 3 weeks to get my bikini area waxed, by the way, because I'm suppoed to let all the hairs grow to a certain length to get optimum results. My waxing gal says 6 weeks. Yet, with epilating, I can do it whenever there are any hairs long enough, which is WAY sooner than 6 weeks so far. Also, it's free and I can do it in the privacy of my own home. Not sprawled out for a stranger to see my "privates"!
Another reviewer stated that she didn't like the SmartLight feature. I, for one, thought it was great. I have blonde hair, so having a light to show me wear all those little buggers are is wonderful.
If you've done any waxing and you know what that feels like, epilating is so much better. I can't comment on any other epilators, but this one seems to be a great one.
By VSD
I have been using epilators on and off for years and lost my last one. I was never totally satisfied with it but it was good enough. I jumped on Amazon yesterday to read product reviews and I admit this wasn't my first choice. The one I really wanted is on back order so I thought I'd give this one a try. I got next day delivery and just finished using it. I am very pleased with my results. I haven't waxed or epilated for awhile so I used the starter head. Worked pretty well. Once I finished my entire leg, I went over it again with the advanced head and got a ton more hairs. Even TINY little ones! I never used my epilator on my thighs before because the hairs are so fine, it seemed like I could never get them with the epilator. I used this one on my thighs and it got almost everything. The light is not bad, not really necessary but not bad. If you really don't like it, you could just put a little piece of tape over it.
Some hair did break instead of getting plucked but that will happen with any epilator. If you are getting a lot of hair breaking off, hold the epilator so that the light is pointing down towards your ankle and the hair is being pulled in the direction it grows. Also hold your skin really tight. That helps too. I also read that if the hair breaks before it is pulled out, that the hair is too long. I am going to go over my legs again in a few days to see if I can get all the little ones that broke.
As no epilator will ever be perfect, I am rating this 5 stars becuase it is way better than my Emjoi or any other epilator I have tried. I love it! And wayyyyyy easier than waxing. And yes, the pain will get less, just push through it the first time. One tip is to get your legs waxed at a salon and then try the epilator when the hair starts growing back.
