Think you can Epilady a beard?

[Cara Allen]

I just got my first Epilady... actually it's a Norelco Satinelle, and I LOVE it! It is so fast, and just the prospect of no stubble for a week or three is blissful!

If you haven't tried it, it is not very painful, at all. I will probably do my whole body with it (only legs sof far.)

Anyway, what do you think about using it on a beard??? Will it tear my face to shreads?

[ShannonDragon]

I have done it before. Sometimes it hurts and sometimes not. It depends on how my face is 'feeling' that day. Most folks have course beard hairs. It takes more "pull" so its slower. Also after a while your machine does not seem to be able to pick up the finer hairs like it use to.

:tongueout

[Cara Allen]

Hi, Shannon!

Do you have a heavy beard? How long did it take to grow back, and was there any after effect on your face, the first time? I am dying to try it... Are you sensitive to epilation? I think I tolerate it well. Thanks for the response. Nice legs, hon.

[TxKimberly]

Nope, I don't think you can, at least not if you have a heavy beard like mine. I tried waxing it once and my face bruised and swelled up and stayed that way for almost a week. I DO wax my chest so it is not that I can't handle the ouchies.

[Veronica Fallon]

Please girls... more input on this!! I'm very curious about the results/practicality of these devices too! :thinking:

Thanx,

Veronica

[Cara Allen]

Nope, I don't think you can, at least not if you have a heavy beard like mine. I tried waxing it once and my face bruised and swelled up and stayed that way for almost a week. I DO wax my chest so it is not that I can't handle the ouchies.

Hard to believe, Kimberly... you have such a sweet face. Guess I won't try it then... (smile)


Please girls... more input on this!! I'm very curious about the results/practicality of these devices too! :thinking:

Thanx,

Veronica

Well, it cost $63, american. It has a kind of a roller with sort of tweezers built in, and the roller spins quickly... it's almost like shaving, but the entire hair just falls off. Much faster than trying to shave any growth. I don't know how long it'll take to grow back, I will let you know, but for an average female, it takes three weeks. For me, I get stubble about 30 seconds later... like Homer Simpson (smile.)

It is a little painful, kind of like waxing, but with waxing you have some skin cells ripped off too, and a big patch of hair, all at once. This is tolerable, and there is no messy wax stuff.

I like it, alot!

[LisaDelNorte]

If you are susceptible to getting in-grown hairs, I would be cautions about tweezing the beard, which in essence is what the Epilady does. Unfortunately, I too had a heavy beard and in-growns have always been a problem. By the time I decided to get rid of my beard once and for all, too may gray hairs had come in (50%) so laser was no longer an option. I have opted for electrolysis and I am about 80% clear after one year (130hrs.). Yep... it's a commitment and as far as I see it, an investment, but I am really happy with the results. No more 5 o'clock shadow and coarse stubble all over my face, which also means that beard cover and heavy applications of foundation are no longer required... just a bit of blush and that's it. BTW, my electrologist took the picture in my avatar with her cell phone and sent it too me a few weeks ago.

[TxKimberly]

I should have added that I do own an epilator and do recommend them - just not for the face. I use mine from the knees down on my legs and from the elbows down on the arms. It keeps that area free of fur for about a week, maybe a little less, and when it does grow back, its a little thinner and not as heavy. Above the elbows and above the knees I am a whimp and can not handle the pain.


Well, it cost $63, american. It has a kind of a roller with sort of tweezers built in, and the roller spins quickly... it's almost like shaving, but the entire hair just falls off. Much faster than trying to shave any growth. I don't know how long it'll take to grow back, I will let you know, but for an average female, it takes three weeks. For me, I get stubble about 30 seconds later... like Homer Simpson (smile.)

It is a little painful, kind of like waxing, but with waxing you have some skin cells ripped off too, and a big patch of hair, all at once. This is tolerable, and there is no messy wax stuff.

I like it, alot!

[Karren H]

You can do anything you want to your face but I wouldn't do that!! The hairs on the face are not like the ones on your legs. And be prepared for many ingrown hairs and you will probably be stimulating new hair to start to grow.. Kind of like dormant grass seed. If you want a more permanent solution go electrolysy or laser...

Karren

[Zee]

I should have added that I do own an epilator and do recommend them - just not for the face. I use mine from the knees down on my legs and from the elbows down on the arms. It keeps that area free of fur for about a week, maybe a little less, and when it does grow back, its a little thinner and not as heavy. Above the elbows and above the knees I am a whimp and can not handle the pain.

I own one now too (thanks to TxKimberly's post elsewhere on this forum ;) ). I do the whole leg, stomach (OUCH), upper arms and shoulders and back (with the help of my wife). It gets most of the hairs, for the ones it can't pick up, I'll tweeze them out myself (not many get left behind). I'll then quick shave in the tub for those hard to reach places that I may or may not have gotten (I'm not as flexible as I once was) and the private parts (don't want to risk all that loose skin getting tweezed).

I don't mind pain, but I wouldn't do it on my face. The hairs are much more coarse and I don't think it will work well... I'm just not brave enough. If you don't have one yet, though, I would highly recommend it. After the first couple of times, its not so bad. Highly recommend it. No messy wax and less pain.

My wife is hesitant to let me do my forearms yet

[Veronica Fallon]

Thank you ladies!
Having coarse, fast-growing (yes, Homer-style) body hair is the only thing I truly hate about being genetically male.
Luckily I have very little on my torso & none on my back- legs & arms are quite time-consuming enough. I'm gonna check into "electric tweezers" a lil' more, but I think I just might start my Christmas list here soon!

Silky smoothness,

Veronica

[Sally24]

Anyway, what do you think about using it on a beard??? Will it tear my face to shreads?
Yes!!!!

[Kate Simmons]

Ouch!!:eek: Sorry, I'm kind of a "girl" when it comes to facial pain.:happy:

[Katie Moore]

I have been using the epilator almost a month now and am quite pleased with it. The big thing for me was stubble and most of that goes away for 5 to 6 days.

I would not try it on my face though... everywhere else is ok. The first time can be a LITTLE stimulating though....


Katie

[Rachel Morley]

Epilators are the bomb for body hair. However, my "laser nurse" (I'm having laser facial hair removal at the moment) told me that they're more suited to finer body hair not course men's beards. I guess you could try .... but it might be risky. :worried:

[Stephenie S]

I just got my first Epilady... actually it's a Norelco Satinelle, and I LOVE it! It is so fast, and just the prospect of no stubble for a week or three is blissful!

If you haven't tried it, it is not very painful, at all. I will probably do my whole body with it (only legs sof far.)

Anyway, what do you think about using it on a beard??? Will it tear my face to shreads?

Well, the short answer to this question is no. It won't work on your beard.

The long answer is a bit like what Karren said. " You can do anything you want to your face, but you might not like the results". Or something like that.

Your facial hair is not at all like the hair on your legs. Just look at it carefully. The hair on your legs is MUCH further apart and less dense than your beard. The epilator is not really pulling out the hair by the roots, it is breaking the hair off, hopefully just below the surface, like waxing. The hair on your face is just too dense for this treatment. As was metioned above, someone tried waxing and their face was swollen for a week.

The epilator needs some growth to work. Let your beard grow for a while and try it. See what happens and report back to us. There are many here who are interested in the outcome.

Electrolysis remains the one certain method of beard removal. It is painful and expensive, but it works. Laser also works well for some people, and is also expensive and painful. Short cuts abound, but so far, nothing has seemed to work consistantly and well but electro and laser.

Stephenie

[Sally2005]

I tried it with a silkepil years ago. I don't know how the new machines would do it, but I found the machine tries to take too many hairs at the same time which causes the skin to pull and the result is pain and sometimes the skin gets pinched and damaged. So I wouldn't recommend it until there is a machine that is designed to do it well. Tweezers work, it just takes a long time and make sure you disinfect your face and sometimes you can get ingrown hairs that are difficult to deal with. You get a really nice result though and no hair for about a week. It might be possible to epilate to maintain it after you pluck since the hairs are finer, but this is just a guess.

[ShannonDragon]

Hi, Shannon!

Do you have a heavy beard? How long did it take to grow back, and was there any after effect on your face, the first time? I am dying to try it... Are you sensitive to epilation? I think I tolerate it well. Thanks for the response. Nice legs, hon.


No my beard is not all that heavy. In the past I have tweezed it, waxed it and used the Epilady or other brand.

If I wax or tweeze, it stays away the longest. Waxing is quicker than tweezing. Just be sure of the wax temp unless you want to burn yourself.

More than one application may (will?) be needed to get all of those little suckers. :tongueout

[Cara Allen]

Well, the short answer to this question is no. It won't work on your beard.

The epilator needs some growth to work. Let your beard grow for a while and try it. See what happens and report back to us. There are many here who are interested in the outcome.

Stephenie

Well, darlings, I, for the first time, cleared my chest and tummy. The tummy, as someone reported, was the worst! I took two extra strength Migrane Tylenols a half an hour before, as I expected I wouldn't exactly like this... (smile)

Anyway, it was painful, but tolerable. I would do a patch, work elsewhere, come back.. I found that rubbing and patting helped quite a bit for the aftershock.

My Norelco has this sleeve with a metal plate at the business end, which one is supposed to put in the freezer for four hours.. It's like a cold gell pack. I guess the idea is that the extreme cold will help numb the pain. I have no patience, so I didn't try it, yet. I think I will, when I do my underarms.

Anyway, while I had the thing running, I had a two day beard growth. My face is coarse. I went at the throat for a second, and while it worked, it was more pain than I could handle. The spot went rashy, immediately. I decided that it was out of the question. My face hair is just too thick.

So.... I did some exploring on the internet. It seems that there has been a product on the market for many years. It is made for people who get ingrown facial hairs from shaving. It's Called Miracle Face Powder. You put it on for about 5-7 minutes, and wipe off the beard. It works on coarse beards. It does recommend that you do a test area for only five minutes to see if your skin can tolerate it. It reports that you don't shave it off (in fact warns that you should NOT razor for 36 hours before use.) You "spatula" the beard off! It removes the beard for 2 days, because it is a dipilatory, and disolves hair below the skin.

For me, going out pretty, I get a blue face in a couple of hours. If this works, I can be good for the entire evening!

Also, a site recommended trying the Aveeno Positively Smooth Facial Moisturizer. It is supposed to slow growth down, after a couple of weeks use. Since I moisturize anyway, this sounds great!

I am thinking about using the two together... Whatcha think?

[Cara Allen]

Oh... one more thing about the face powder that I didn't mention... If you don't get them all, the first time, you're stuck that way for two days... You cannot immediately retreat the area. I think I will experiment first.

[Veronica Fallon]

Awesome Cara! I await your results with trembling follicles!!

Hopefully Smooth,

Veronica

[Cara Allen]

Awesome Cara! I await your results with trembling follicles!!

Hopefully Smooth,

Veronica

Promise to poist back on it, Veronica.

BTW, love your web site!

[KimberlyS]

Cara, I have begun using a epilator on my chest. I have found the thicker and the coarser the hairs the more pain and harder to get them out. I am looking forward down the road with less coarse hairs. As for using on the face I do not think I would try that. But I do tweeze stray hairs on my face to keep things a bit cleanner looking and easer to shave cleanly when going out.

KimberlyS-CD

[Angie G]

I don't want to know :hugs:
Angie

[Julogden]

I have a Braun epilator, works great for hands and arms, used to use an Epilady on my legs. I have tried the Braun on my face and chest, but the pain was so impressive that I instantly stopped and will NEVER try that again.

Of course, your mileage may vary, some people can do that, some can't.

Carol

[Cara Allen]

Cara, I have begun using a epilator on my chest. I have found the thicker and the coarser the hairs the more pain and harder to get them out. I am looking forward down the road with less coarse hairs. As for using on the face I do not think I would try that. But I do tweeze stray hairs on my face to keep things a bit cleanner looking and easer to shave cleanly when going out.

KimberlyS-CD

I had a bad initial reaction to the epilator on my chest (my legs were fine...) after about 4 hours, i broke out in this HUGE rash, all over my front. I began to do some research on the net, and read that some said that this would not go away, and I was freakin'!

Turns out it was just a traumatic reaction to hairs being ripped out. It took two days for it to clear up, but it's completely gone now but for a few tiny spots.

Through reading, I did see that some people get ingrown hairs... any of your girls have this experience with it?

[Rita Knight]

Hi Everyone,
I have been epilating my arms and legs for at least 7 years. I have been doing my chest for about a year. So long as you do these areas at least once a week, I do not feel any major pain.

However, I myself would not consider doing this to my beard or underarms. I know other gurlz have said they have done it in these areas.

[Veronica Fallon]

Hmmm... I reckon ah wanna git me one a dem der gadgets. Any advice on which brand iz da bestest???

[sorry... ain't not hed mah coffee yet!]

Veronica

[erickka]

Epilators feel like a zillion pair of tweezers pulling hair at the same time. I think I'll stick to my razor.

[Marcie Sexton]

Good luck and God Bless !!!

Maybe it will be different for you, but I nearly ripped my face off...

Let me know...unless something changes, then I'll stick to shaving for the time being...

[StephanieH]

I have a Braun Silkepil and I firmly believe it was invented by satan himself, thus I am surprised at the epilator success stories. I have relatively little body hair anyway, so I figured this thing would be great. I've used it only a few times with nothing I would consider success. It hurts like the blazes, it takes forever, and on top of that, it doesn't get rid of my leg hair, it just breaks them off right at the skin, leaving me to then shave my pulverized legs anyway.

My wife tried it too and had pretty much the same results. I can't imagine using this thing on my face! :eek:

[KimberlyS]

Cara, I get the red spots that look like a rash also for about 2 days. I use a good aftershave product and lotion after the pores close. I also exfoliate the area every time in the shower.

As for ingrown hairs, I have them also. I seem to get some hairs that want to grow under the skin. It is usually not a fun process getting them out. But most given time show the point they need to be dealt with. A needle point tweezers is helpful getting them out so they can be pulled. Use alcohol often to keep tweezers clean and germ free.

[Cara Allen]

Hmmm... I reckon ah wanna git me one a dem der gadgets. Any advice on which brand iz da bestest???

[sorry... ain't not hed mah coffee yet!]

Veronica

Hi, Sis!
I don't know which is the best, but I bought a Norelco Satinelle Ice. It also comes with a shaver head too, which I was really inpressed with on my face. It also has that ice sleeve, which I will try to use this weekend. See if it helps.

I read lots of reports before buying (informed shopper, you know?) and the brand I originally went for was an Epilady... had the best reports, but they didn't have it, and I was in too much a hurry to shop any more.

Incidentally, I went to Walgreens and Rite Aid, and neither knew what I was talking about. One lady said, "Do they even make those, anymore???"

I bough mine at Target.

[Cara Allen]

Cara, I get the red spots that look like a rash also for about 2 days. I use a good aftershave product and lotion after the pores close. I also exfoliate the area every time in the shower.

As for ingrown hairs, I have them also. I seem to get some hairs that want to grow under the skin. It is usually not a fun process getting them out. But most given time show the point they need to be dealt with. A needle point tweezers is helpful getting them out so they can be pulled. Use alcohol often to keep tweezers clean and germ free.

Thanks, Kimberly! My epilator came with a exfoliating buff! I use it, as well. Probably why the redness went away. I also used a Bactine like product to wash all areas, when I first saw my skin explode...

[Veronica Fallon]

Hi, Sis!
I don't know which is the best, but I bought a Norelco Satinelle Ice. It also comes with a shaver head too, which I was really inpressed with on my face. It also has that ice sleeve, which I will try to use this weekend. See if it helps.

I read lots of reports before buying (informed shopper, you know?) and the brand I originally went for was an Epilady... had the best reports, but they didn't have it, and I was in too much a hurry to shop any more.

Incidentally, I went to Walgreens and Rite Aid, and neither knew what I was talking about. One lady said, "Do they even make those, anymore???"

I bough mine at Target.

Thank you sis! :hugs:

I think I'll ponder which brand to get a lil' longer since it's not "shaving season" here just yet (can't wait 'till it is!! :daydreaming:).
Please lemme know if you still like your Norelco after this weekend, once you've tried out it's bells & whistles. Have yourself a silky-smooth day!

Luv,

Veronica

[Cara Allen]

Some ladies have asked about how the epilator was working out, so I wanted to respond.

First of all, there is no better way to do your legs! I have discovered that I can go almost 3 weeks without having to do anything at all, besides epilating! No reaction, no problem at all! Hairs seem to come back lighter. Some ingrowns, the first time...

As for the tummy, chest, and armpits... this is very painful. The chest and tummy is a very sensitive area, and had a rashy reaction that went away after a couple of days. Having said that, it did not rash the second time! It is also prone to ingrowns, at least the first time. It stayed clear for about a week to ten days, and the second time I epilated my chest hurt almost as much as the first time. The advantage over shaving is that it stays clear for that week, and the hair is softer, and thinner when it comes back. I can't say for sure that there is less, but it less noticeable.

Armpits HURT THE WORST. But it stayed clear for weeks, too. So far, no ingrowns. I had more ingrowns when I didn't touch it, at all!

Arms were and continue to be excellent. It had more of a burning feeling, after I was done, for a few hours. The really nice thing is that it's been a week, no regrowth, no stubble, no ingrown hairs (except for the underarms... some ingrowns.)

I briefly tried to epilate my beard... NOT a good idea. I didn't get far, and immediately got a rash.

So... here is a rating system, from my experience.

REGROWTH REDUCTION and REDUCED TIME TO REGROW
(10 being excellent results, 1 being lousy results...)

Legs 10
Armpits 8
Arms 10, but still early
Tummy 5
Chest 5
Face 1

PAIN (10 HIGHEST, ETC.)

Legs 7 at first, 3 next time
Armpits 10 first time...have not tried 2nd yet
Arms 9, and longer duration
Tummy 8 first time, 7 second time
Chest 8 first time, 6 second time
Face 12. Don't do it!

INGROWN HAIRS

Legs 4
Armpits Not yet known, but none after one week
Arms 0 on the top, 5 on the underarms
Tummy 7
Chest 8
Face None, but don't do it!

SATISFACTION LEVEL
Legs 10
Armpits 10
Arms 10 on the top, 8 on the underarms
Tummy 6
Chest 6
Face -1

I also tried the Miracle Face Powder, and I am not sure that it works on a caucasian face... I left it on, as recommended, and nothing happened. I do know that it works for black ladies faces, because I saw it on a TG special, a couple of weeks ago. I might experiment again, and I will post the result, but for now, I can't give you a realistic update.

Cara

[renee k]

If you are susceptible to getting in-grown hairs, I would be cautions about tweezing the beard, which in essence is what the Epilady does. Unfortunately, I too had a heavy beard and in-growns have always been a problem. By the time I decided to get rid of my beard once and for all, too may gray hairs had come in (50%) so laser was no longer an option. I have opted for electrolysis and I am about 80% clear after one year (130hrs.). Yep... it's a commitment and as far as I see it, an investment, but I am really happy with the results. No more 5 o'clock shadow and coarse stubble all over my face, which also means that beard cover and heavy applications of foundation are no longer required... just a bit of blush and that's it. BTW, my electrologist took the picture in my avatar with her cell phone and sent it too me a few weeks ago.

I'll agree with Lisa, on this one. I've been going to electrolysis for three years now and my beard is gone! I just go for monthly maintenance appointments. if you want to clear your beard electrolysis is the way.And I've tried everything prior to committing to electrolysis.
Huggs, Renee

[susan howard]

No - I've never used an Epilady - although reading your thread I might just try.

Thanks,

Luv always.

Susan.:hugs: