The Ultimate Guide to Epilators

There are different ways to remove body hair. You may do shaving, tweezing, or even waxing, but some of these methods may have undesirable effects on your skin. If you want to try a new hair removal method, epilation is another great method that might change your life. 

a woman wearing a white towel epilates her leg while sitting on the toilet

What is Epilation?

Epilation uses a hair removal electrical device, an epilator, which removes body hair straight from the roots. It comes in two options – dry and wet epilator. You may use the dry epilator as it is. On the other hand, a wet epilating device is ideal to use whenever you want to remove your hair in the bath or while showering. 

When you’re new to epilation, you might think that epilation is quite intimidating. You’ll probably think that the process may be painful. Yes, it may cause a bit of discomfort, especially if you’re a first-time user of epilators since other parts of the body are more sensitive than other parts.

However, do not be discouraged from using this device, as epilators are great investments and give your body a smooth finish. 

If you’re still figuring out your way through epilation, here is an ultimate guide to epilators.

a woman exfoliating her legs with a brown exfoliating scrub

Before you epilate

Before you epilate, it is necessary that you are prepared. It would be better to epilate a day or a night before you want to go out of your house to ensure that you’ll not suffer instead of enjoying your day out in case you experience redness and irritation. However, it is ideal to do your epilation during the evening since that’s when your body is more relaxed. Plus, you are sure that the small bumps on your skin will be gone the next morning. 

It is also important to take time and examine how long your body hairs are. Ensure you are working with hairs at most five millimeters long. If your body hairs are longer than five millimeters, you may trim them before using your epilator. It is always better to epilate shorter hairs to experience less pain or discomfort. 

After ensuring that the hair is the right length, you may exfoliate your skin. To exfoliate, you can shower with warm water and exfoliate using an exfoliating mitt or scrub, or you may also exfoliate using a dry towel. If you use an epilator for your facial hair, you must also ensure that you exfoliate your face. Scrub your skin gently and ensure no makeup and skin care products are left on your skin before you start to epilate. 

Exfoliating ensures that all the dead skin cells are gone before you epilate. Removing them will give you a smoother finish and ensure you won’t suffer from ingrown hairs when your body hair starts growing back. 

a woman removes her armpit hair using an epilator

During Epilation

It is important that you feel calm and relaxed while you epilate. Staying relaxed means being gentle on your skin and will ensure you avoid hurting yourself. Also, if you want extra comfort during the process, you may purchase massage rollers or cooling gloves, which would help ease the pain and discomfort you might experience while epilating for the first time. 

If you have a wet epilator, you may also remove your hair in the bath or while showering. Just remember to apply a shower gel to your skin before you epilate. Epilating with water is very convenient as it helps lessen the pain you’ll feel during the process since water helps stimulate the release of endorphins, the natural painkillers inside your body. However, ensure your skin is completely dried if you want to epilate with a dry epilator. 

While using epilators, start with the hairiest areas of your body. You may start with your legs since they are usually the hairiest and the least sensitive. Start slow and allow time for your body to become familiar with the sensation caused by the epilators. After allowing your body to adjust, you can now work on the sensitive parts of your body. 

Always relax, and don’t be bothered by the epilator. Hold it as lightly as possible to ensure the process is smooth and painless. Hold your device at a 90-degree angle and move it in the opposite direction of your hair growth to completely remove your body hair. 

Epilate in an upward motion and against your hair growth to ensure that it will remove even the short body hairs. You may also move your epilator in circles to get a hold of the hairs in different directions. Always make sure not to miss an area of your body and that both the long and short hairs get removed to achieve a smoother finish. 

To make the experience more comfortable, you may stretch your skin so the device can glide over your skin easily. Just pull your skintight and gently move the epilator. Remember not to press down on the device too hard, as it might cause pain or scarring. 

It is really important to go slow when using epilators to avoid breaking your body hair and make sure your hair gets removed from the roots. Moving too fast, especially if you are new to epilating, may cause your hair to break and would most likely cause ingrown hairs. 

a woman wearing a white bathrobe applies lotion on her legs

After epilating

After you epilate, expect your skin to get a little red, and expect to see a few tiny red dots on the areas of your skin where you epilate. These things are normal, so don’t be scared and give them a few hours until they subside. 

Nevertheless, it is important to do some aftercare on your skin after epilating. You could exfoliate your skin to avoid any ingrown hairs. However, ensure not to exfoliate too hard and use a gentle exfoliating cream or scrub to avoid irritating your skin. 

After exfoliation, apply a body moisturizer or a lotion to soothe your skin to keep it soft and smooth. If you have sensitive skin, a moisturizer with an aloe vera or witch hazel ingredient will help ease the redness and irritation.

Disassemble and lean your epilator after use and store it properly so that it won’t wear out so easily. To clean a dry epilator, give the device a light tap and clean it using the brush that comes with the device. Meanwhile, wet epilators must be rinsed with water and dried using a towel. 

Epilators are very convenient to use and so easy to figure out. The more frequently you use an epilator, the finer and smoother your hair grows. Plus, it would take you two to three weeks before your hair needs epilating again. However, if you’re new to epilating, you may try it once a week to get used to the sensation while the discomfort lessens over time. 

After using epilators several times, you will not want to return to other hair removal methods.