If you’ve heard about epilators before, but you’re not quite sure how they work then make sure to keep reading. In this article, I am going to show you how to use an epilator for the first time and give you my best tips for keeping your skin looking at its best.
You might be thinking, there are so many different hair removal options out there, why would I want to use an epilator?
Well, to put it simply an epilator is similar to an electric razor but instead of cutting the hairs, it pulls them out of your skin, like a bunch of little tweezers all at once.
One of the things I love about using an epilator is that it prevents hair regrowth for up to 4 weeks, which means that you can enjoy that hair free feeling for a longer period of time!
Best time to epilate
If you are going to use an epilator for the very first time, set aside at least an hour out of your busy day. The best time to use an epilator is at night, as your skin will experience some redness after epilating. When you wake up in the morning, your skin will be back to normal.
Choosing the right epilator
There are many different types of epilators available in the market, out of which the most widely used are cordless and come with a rechargeable battery, which makes them really portable and great for travel. When choosing an epilator, it is important to consider what areas of the body you will be using it on, as different epilators will come with different caps and accessories.
Check out our Epilator Buying Guide here for more information on choosing the right epilator.
Trim the hair
Epilators work better on shorter hair so trim your hair down to 1/8 inch or wait for two days of regrowth after shaving.
The shorter the hairs, the more comfortable your epilating experience will be. If you’re looking for more ways to reduce epilator pain check out our expert guide here.
Prepare your skin
Before epilating it’s best to take a shower first. This helps your pores to open up and it helps to reduce the pain. Make sure to exfoliate the skin the day before, with a body scrub or loofah to get rid of any dry skin. Some people may also take a painkiller beforehand to help with the pain, however, it is not necessary.
Wet or dry?
Whether you should go for wet or dry is totally based on your personal preference or taste. Some women find it convenient to epilate under the shower however there are others who prefer dry epilating because they find that the hairs are not as slippery.
How to use an epilator
Most epilators come with two different speed settings, a low and high speed. The low speed is good for first-time users and helps you to get used to the pain. Some people with coarser hair also prefer to stick with the lower speed, because sometimes if the speed is too high, it will cause the hair to break off instead of pulling it out from the root.
Hold the skin taut
Hold the skin taut with one hand as you softly glide against the grain with your epilator in the other hand. Make sure to take your time and try to go as slow as possible to make sure that you are getting all the hairs.
Epilate every other day
When you first start epilating you will need to do it more frequently. Marie from Epilator Central recommends epilating every other day for the first two weeks to build up your pain tolerance and touch up any stray hairs that you’ve missed. After the first two weeks, you will only need to epilate once a week, depending on your hair growth. As you continue to epilate you’ll find that the hair grows back thinner and finer and your skin will feel smoother for longer.
Moisturize
After you’ve finished epilating make sure you use a really good lotion, something that’s not going to irritate your skin. Moisturizer helps to soothe your skin while at the same time reduces redness and inflammation.
Exfoliate
Sometimes when you epilate for the first time you might get some ingrown hairs. In order to prevent ingrown hairs make sure to exfoliate before and after epilating to keep your skin smooth and bump free.
Clean your epilator
For best results always clean your epilator after each use. First, make sure to brush away any loose hair with the cleaning brush provided. If you epilator is waterproof you can also rinse the tweezer head under running water. Use rubbing alcohol with cotton wool to disinfect the tweezers and kill any germs.
So there you have it! My best tips for using an epilator.
If you have any more epilator tips, let me know in the comments below!