Background:
Like many women, I am in search of the perfect hair removal device. I want something that lasts longer than shaving or depilatories and is less expensive than waxing or laser hair removal.

At $60, this device costs about the same as one salon leg waxing and it would seem to fit the bill, but this is a tricky area. Remembering the Epilady of my high school days, I was hesitant to buy the Silk-epil, but decided that a decade can make a big difference. I received an Epilady as a gift when I was in 9th grade and it didn’t rip 4 hairs out of my leg before I decided that the pain wasn’t worth it.

The Silk-epil promises less painful hair removal than the Epilady because of a different movement pattern. Supposedly, the Epilady tweezed in a circular pattern using coils and this device is less painful because it tweezes in one direction. They LIE!

The device:
I bought the higher end Silk-epil device that allows you to switch between the epilator and an electric shaver. I figured that if the epilator was a bust, at least I could use the shaver. This product is only marketed for use on the legs and forearms; bikini line and underarms are off limits. Of course, I don’t know that anyone in their right mind would put this thing anywhere near their bikini line.

The package included a base that is interchangeable with the epilator and shaving attachments, a tiny tube of soothing lotion (not sure why they bothered), an attachment that works with the epilator to supposedly make it less painful, a tiny brush for cleaning hair out of the attachments, a cord and a purple “case” in which to keep it all.

The epilator attachment looks like a wheel with a couple rows of tweezers embedded into it. As it spins, the tweezers open and close to grasp and remove the hair...basically, it's mass plucking!

The shaver attachment looks like any other electric shaver with a “foil” surface.

The torture of epilating:
There is nothing comfortable about mass plucking! The Silk-epil feels like I'm being poked with a really hot pin, or snapped with a rubber band. If you have a tattoo or have had one removed via laser, it feels like both of those things, too. The attachment that comes with it has 2 bars of rubber “fingers” that “frame” the epilator wheel, the theory is that if you keep them in contact with your skin while epilating, they will make contact with the skin just before and just after the hair is plucked, making it less painful. This is nothing but a sad marketing ploy!

This probably doesn’t hurt more than waxing, but waxing is quick, this takes forever. It doesn't get all of the hair on one pass and I have to keep running it over the same spot to even get most of the hair. Because it's so painful to use, it is impossible to epilate my legs in one sitting, so I end up with different stages of hair growth as I wait for it to be long enough to do again. I have to wait until the hair is very visible and pokes through my pantyhose before it is long enough to remove. It’s hard to say how long it lasts because I haven’t been able to finish a whole area at once.

Generally, I epilate what I can and use the shaver attachment to remove the rest. I can’t use the epilator around my knees and ankles because it is difficult not pinch the skin with the tweezers. The epilator is very loud which I find to be unnerving and I’m sure that the sound of it getting ready to pluck makes the actual plucking seem worse than it is.

When I’m successful at removing a significant amount of hair, I’m usually left with tiny red bumps where the hair follicles are. This usually goes away overnight and after the plucking I don’t have any discomfort in the plucked area.

The shaver:
I’m not a big fan of electric shavers. I’ve been shaving in the shower with a razor for long enough that cutting myself isn’t much of an issue and in my opinion, one of the biggest advantages of electric shavers is that you can’t cut yourself. Generally, I think that electric shavers don’t give a close enough shave and I prefer to do it the “old fashioned” way so that I get a silky smooth finish.

The Silk-epil shaver attachment is no exception. It doesn’t give a razor smooth shave, nor is it any worse than the other electric shavers that I’ve tried over the years in college because others had them. One of the things that I worry about in a “multi-tasker” like this is sometimes when something is designed to do more than one thing, it fails at some of the things. I didn’t find that to be the case here.

It’s a decent electric shaver if you like them, but you can buy a plain electric shaver for less.

The verdict:
Overall, I found the Silk-epil to be an ineffective hair removal device with a hefty pricetag. I don’t use it on a regular basis because it is time consuming, painful and inconvenient. Sometimes I dust it off and decide to give it the old “college try” but it isn’t long before it’s again buried in the closet. If I’m in a rush and I notice that I missed a spot shaving, I use the shaver attachment for a quick touch-up. It’s easy to switch between attachments, but who cares? They’re both awful!

I much prefer shaving cream and a razor in the shower because it’s more effective, less painful and takes less time than a Silk-epil session. I’ve also had good luck with the salon waxing kit that I bought from Sally Beauty Supply.

Save your money! Either budget for salon leg waxing or buy yourself a kit and do it yourself.


Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 60
Battery Life: N/A
Noise Level: An intolerable racket