Just bought an epilator. OUCH!

[Hana22]

So I went out and bought a braun Silk Epil epilator yesterday and the results are terrible. I tried it on my chest first because I alwyas have trouble removing hairs from there. It removed the hair but it broke alot of the shafts and made me bleed in several places. I have red bumps and tons of irritation. I realized it wasn't gonna feel good but this thing is like torture. Anyone have any tips on how to make it less harmful? I heard getting drunk helps but I don't drink. I heard the shower thing helps but I tried it and it helped a little but not enough to avoid the blood. Anyone have any other tips or hints? It's been almost 24 hours since I used it and the bumps are still not gone. Will trimming the hair short make it hurt less?

[Tasha T]

Don't use it on your chest if it hurts that bad. When I first got mine I tried it on my chest and experienced excruciating pain and red welts that took a long time to go away. Now I only use it on my arms and legs and the results are great.

[KayHenderson]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear about the unpleasant results you've experienced.

I've used the Braun for quite a while. There's a certain degree of pain involved, but I've never had the problems you describe. It's most difficult for me on the stomach and abdomen areas, but it's certainly tolerable.

Maybe, in your case, the answer lies in surface preparation. I can't give you specifics, but I know the hair shafts shouldn't be breaking. And there must be a way to prevent your skin from breaking out.

[Hana22]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear about the unpleasant results you've experienced.

I've used the Braun for quite a while. There's a certain degree of pain involved, but I've never had the problems you describe. It's most difficult for me on the stomach and abdomen areas, but it's certainly tolerable.

Maybe, in your case, the answer lies in surface preparation. I can't give you specifics, but I know the hair shafts shouldn't be breaking. And there must be a way to prevent your skin from breaking out.

I have shaved my chest hairs for a long time now and the hairs are extremely corse. I bleed if even if I use regular tweezers to pull them out. I hope maybe when the hair comes back it will be easier to pull out. If not I won't do it a third time. The red marks are getting better but it isn't going as fast as the instructions say. I'd say about half of the shafts broke and half of them didn't. Next time I may go through with the tweezers first and pull the worst looking ones. Defenitly gonna soak in a hot tub first. My legs and arms don't seem to have the same issue. I wonder does anyone make some sort of cream that softens the root? I recall seeing a commercial for some kind of a product like that a long time ago. I wanna say it was called epil stop plus but I'm not sure. I also recall hearing it didn't work too well but if it loosened the root at all it would help alot.

[Michelia]

I soak in warm water first. I trim the hair to no more than 1/4 in. long. I get some bleeding and bumps for the first day, but no broken hair. If I put it on slow speed it hurts less but it does not work as well. I also do my legs and bikini line. This last one is what really hurts.

Michelia

[michellecam]

Hi,

I've never use an epilator, I use Nair..not even a razor..just the Nair.
If it hurts or causes that much pain i'd stop using it and chalk the money spent as an education

I would like to explore using electrolosis....explore first

[AudreyII]

I had similar issues with epilators on my chest, not the bleeding, just the pain and bumps and well you get the picture
I now own an 'intimate' shaver made by seiko, while it does not remove the hair it gives the closest shave ever.
As the name implies its great for other areas too, but I have since discovered hot wax down there :o)

[Rachel Morley]

I sometimes need to use an eplilator between my shoulder blades and on my butt. The rest of my body has had so much waxing at professional salons over the years that I find I only need to shave these areas once a week.

But the meaning of pain? ..... yep, that's using an epilator on long fine hairs. :sad:

[tvbeckytv]

i like epilators...nothing else seems to work well for me...but it is an individual thing.
id never use it anywhere other than legs and bum though.
good news is it hurts much less as your hair gets used to it. my tip is to ignor all the tips the brochure tells you eases the pain...certainly not using the ice packs. only thing that really makes noticable difference to me is pulling the skin tight.
when just used on legs, after a few trys it goes from near intolerable to barely noticable

[Hana22]

I realized that I did one thing wrong that the directions said. They said go with the grain of the hair but I went against the grain. Good news is the bumps are almost gone now. The results do look nice now that the bumos are going. I'll try it again with some of the tips listed above and I'm thinking it may be time to take up drinking. My best friend said some rum with coke does wonders for him.

[tvbeckytv]

I realized that I did one thing wrong that the directions said. They said go with the grain of the hair but I went against the grain. Good news is the bumps are almost gone now. The results do look nice now that the bumos are going. I'll try it again with some of the tips listed above and I'm thinking it may be time to take up drinking. My best friend said some rum with coke does wonders for him.

go in all dirrections hunni...cos hair does

[Siobhan]

It works quite well for me-prduces a smooth skin much better than shaving!
A couple of things I learnt. The first time out is worst. Plucking as many long hairs as possible helps-these hairs tend to get tied up in the machine-it then works badly-and hurts more and breaks more hairs.It takes extensive dismantling to fix it. I suppose an initial waxing would do the same thing.Repeat use when you first feel hairs is no problem.little discomfort and a slight redness over each hair follicle lasting about an hour. I can use it everywhere except beard area- Keep skin stretched-Needs only light pressure.
Happy Christmas
Siobhan

[Rebecca Jackson]

I've had mine about a month now and it works great on my legs and arms, but my lower back got very irritated and felt like a pin cushion for several days. But it's definitley better than shaving for my legs!

Rebecca

[AstraJupiter]

Hi there Hanna

Best wishes for Christmas and New Year

I have used an epilator for over 3 years now but I only use it on the "private" area the results are great after the initial pain were of. The softer tissue around the scrotum and shaft are harder to do,as the skin gets caught in the machine.OUCH !!!

Its interesting to hear that some of us use them on our backs and butts. Unless they are contortionist, how do they avoid having patches that have been missed ?

I have had full a body waxing about 12 months and I intend to go and have another one next year .I might try to use the epilator afterwards just to see how ot goes.


Best wishes Hugs and kisses

Astra

[Denise Barrett]

Hi Hana, :hugs:

I found this information during a review of the Braun 5270 while searching for an epilator.

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!

Been thinking about trying one myself, only one problem; when it comes to pain, I'm a devout coward. Maybe in place of the hot bath, do what several of the ladies suggested, several glasses of your favorite alcoholic beverages.

Hope this helps, it's worth a try. With all my love and respect, :love:
Denise

P.S. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Years.

[Hana22]

Hey thanks for the good advice everyone! Merry Christmas!

[Pamela Julie]

I used an epillator for the first time 5 days ago on my chest, a Braun with a starter head. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! I was putting up with pain all the way through, spread over two hours. I ended up with numerous infected hair follicals. They are clearing up but will take another couple of days to clear up fully. Next time, after my shower, I will do an alcohol rub over the area first as a disinfectant. Fortunately there was no pain except during the actual epillation, and after 5 days no sign of hair growth yet. I think things will go much better next time, in about another week or ten days.

[KimberlyS]

Hana, like myself, you also picked one of the most sensitive places to epilate. My first time took two days and 3 sittings to get it done. If you really want it done keep it up it gets much better quickly with each time you do it. Switching sides back and forth helps me.

Like others have said a warm shower first helps. Always wash before doing and allow to dry well. Read the instruction manual. The hair should not be too long or too short.

Wash and exfoliate the chest area twice a day like you should be washing your face twice a day. Invest in a good aftershave product and use it for several days first after epilating and then after each washing. Also use a good moisturizer after allowing the pores to close.

Now after a few months I can do my chest in 10-15 minutes with minor discomfort followed with the tenderness and a bit of redness for a day.

Keep up the washing, exfoliating, moisturizing even after you think everything is looking good. When I am lax that is when I get more and worse ingrown hairs.

If you have a furry chest also, the results are very nice.