As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am 1 of 10 Canadian Beauty Bloggers chosen to be part of the 30 Day #PhilipsDaretoBare Challenge. I’ve had the Philips SatinPerfect Epilator for over 2 months now, and I’m ready to share my findings! The zones I targeted for testing the Philips SatinPerfect Epilator were: underarms, arms & legs. Here are my thoughts on using the Epilator versus my previous hair removal methods:
Emjoi Travel Epilator (old method) versus Philips SatinPerfect Epilator
Who wins? Philips SatinPerfect Epilator
Why? The Philips’ Epilation surface area is MUCH bigger than the Emjoi – so hair removal was lightening fast (5 seconds rather than 20 seconds per side). Also, the Philips is cordless and rechargeable so its more powerful than the Emjoi (which uses pencil batteries).
Veet Easy to Use Wax Strips (old method) versus Philips SatinPerfect Epilator
Who Wins? Philips SatinPerfect Epilator
Why? Waxing is messy and sticky and leaves your skin feeling gummy. You also have to use a lot of strips to cover the whole arm area, so it can get expensive (around $8 per box). My arm hair is light and fine, the epilator is easily able to pick up the hair – leaving my arms soft and smooth. I probably need to go over each area 2-3 times to capture each hair, but it’s a quick and simple process.
Venus Razor (old method) versus Philips SatinPerfect Epilator
Who Wins? Venus Razor
Why? My leg hairs are coarse and don’t come out easily with the epilator – I went over my shins 5-6 times and STILL didn’t manage to remove all the hairs. Also, epilating a large area (lower legs, knees, thighs) is SUCH a time-consuming process! I much prefer quickly going over my legs twice a week with a razor in the shower – it’s fast, effective and I never have to worry about stubble!
General Thoughts
- How do you use it? One shortfall I noticed (and mentioned in my feedback to Philips) was the inadequacy of the manual provided (lots of labeled technical drawings with only a few sentences, written in a multitude of languages). Luckily, the website features clear instructions and videos (view here). Rather than a vague “one-size fits all” insert for global distribution, Philips should consider producing a more detailed insert per country, as it may not occur to everyone that they should search for instructions online
- Does it hurt? The
pain or discomfort you feel during epilation is dependent on factors
such as your personal sensitivity level, coarseness of hair being
removed, and speed at which hair is removed. I personally don’t find the
SatinPerfect Epilator painful because it is powerful and has a
large epilation head which is able to cover large areas in a short
amount of time. I feel a prickling at first, but after I’ve gone over an area once, it doesn’t hurt at all. - Time it takes? This also depends on the coarseness of your hair as well as the zone you’re covering. As posted above, epilating my arms and underarms was super-fast, but epilating my legs takes too much time and effort.
- How long do you have to grow your hair before you can remove it? The rotating discs can remove hairs as small as 0.5mm – so you don’t have to wait for much visible growth before you can epilate again.
- Would I purchase it myself? Yes – 100%! I was in the market for something to replace my Emjoi underarm epilator – and am so pleased to have found something cordless yet so much more powerful and fast. Am also relieved that I no longer need to purchase cold wax strips for my arms…my hair removal process has gotten a lot more streamlined now!
Have you used an epilator before? Do you find it easy to use?
DISCLAIMER: Philips sent me the epilator to review so that I
could share my experience with my readers. As always, the provision of
products doesn’t affect my reviews – my opinions are 100% my own!
I've been using one of these since I moved to England ages ago, I was always shocked that Canadians didn't use them as much. It's nice to see your post! I'm impressed you used yours under your arms, I'm too scared to use mine there! http://sandyleestyle.blogspot.ca
SandyLee – underarms are one of the easiest places to use an epilator – I find shaving irritates my underarms and hate the "shadowy" look it can give. Don't be scared to use yours under your arms – it will zip the hair off in no time 🙂 An added benefit is that over time the hair growth becomes less too – win win!However, when it comes to epilating the bikini line – I'm definitely too scared to ever do that LOL 🙂
I've never used an epilator but I've always wondered about them- interesting post! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who removes their arm hair!
I think if you've ever waxed, then an epilator is a natural next step to try…and it's honestly not as scary or painful as people may think 🙂 For arm hair – I definitely think removing it makes my arms look softer and smoother – so I probably wax it a couple of times in the summer (I don't bother in the winter!). Now that I can use the epilator, I'll probably remove it more frequently – as it's much easier and fuss free than getting out the wax strips!
Very interesting review! I use a razor for my underarms but they are so oddly shaped that I just can't reach some of the hairs with it, so I end up tweezing them, which is also annoying and difficult. I have been experimenting with using hair removal creams in my underarms. It's made for bikini area/sensitive skin so…seemed like a good idea? Let me tell you, BAD idea. Fire of a thousand suns burning. I tried it twice just to be sure. Anyway, I've thought about an epilator so that may be my next step. And I'm sorry my first comment on your blog is so detailed about my arm pits!! On the Daily Express
If you can handle tweezing stray hairs after shaving – epilating your underarms will be such a piece of cake 🙂 ow – the hair removal cream process sounds super painful. I have easily irritated skin and I find using the Epilator leaves my underarm skin problem free – while shaving makes it feel itchy (however, shaving my legs doesn't irritate my skin at all!) Thanks for commenting on my post 🙂
Great Post!!! I hate shaving with a passion…. So I've always either waxed or use hair removal creams!!! I can't say I'm very excited to try using Epilators… but I think I may give it a shot after this!!!xoxo, KerynnMangoRabbitRabbi.blogspot.comFall Outfit: 3 tips to elongate your legs
Thanks Kerynn – so glad my post encouraged you to give epilators a try – it's definitely a convenient hair removal method 🙂
I love using my epilator on my underarms and I've started to use it on my legs but the hairs on my arms are too fine and I find my epilator breaks the hairs instead of pulling them out. =[
I've always been so scared of epilators since my cousin used one on me when I was 12. Now I think I'm just being silly because it would be less painful than waxing which I do regularly :-)http://www.thewritegirl.co.uk/