The Best Epilators For Longer-Lasting Hair Removal At Home
Hair removal is, of course, entirely optional. But if removing body hair is something you choose to do, the list of available methods is surprisingly long: shaving, waxing, threading, sugaring, IPL, laser – and then there’s epilation. The latter may not have the shiny newness of an at-home IPL device, but epilators have stood the test of time for a reason.
Think of epilation as somewhere between shaving and waxing. Rather than slicing hair off at skin level, an epilator uses dozens of tiny mechanical tweezers to grip individual hairs and pull them out from the root. The obvious advantage? You don’t find yourself reaching for your razor again two days later. Depending on your individual hair-growth cycle, results can last for several weeks.
But there are compromises. Epilation isn’t painless – particularly the first few times you do it – and covering two entire legs requires rather more patience than running a razor over them in the shower. Because you’re physically plucking hair from its follicle, temporary redness and irritation can follow, too, while anyone prone to ingrown hairs will need to be particularly diligent with their bodycare routine. But once you get the hang of it – at-home epilation can be a great, long-lasting hair removal option. And after the first couple of eye-watering uses, it generally becomes a lot more comfortable to do too (promise!)
Plus, the latest generation of epilators makes things much easier. Flexible heads navigate knees and ankles more easily; lights illuminate those frustratingly fine hairs; wet-and-dry models can be taken into the shower or bath; and increasingly sophisticated tweezer systems can grab hairs when they’re barely beyond stubble. There’s no salon appointment to schedule, no wax to heat and, once you’ve bought the device, no blades or strips to continually replace. For those who want longer-lasting smoothness without graduating to laser or IPL, these are the epilators worth knowing about.
Silk-épil 9 Flex SkinSpa 9-481 3D epilator Wet & Dry
- Why it’s -approved: If you’re committed to epilation and want a device that makes the process as seamless as possible, Braun’s Silk-épil 9 Flex is difficult to beat. The defining feature is its fully flexible head, which moves with the contours of the body rather than requiring you to awkwardly manoeuvre the device around ankles, knees and underarms. Its 40 tweezers can catch hairs as short as 0.5mm, meaning you don’t have to endure the frustrating grow-out period required before a wax. A built-in Smart Light helps expose particularly fine hairs, while Smart Touch allows you to switch between gentler and more powerful epilation depending on the pressure you apply. It’s cordless, has up to 50 minutes of battery life and can be used wet or dry – useful if you find warm water makes epilation more tolerable. Depending on the bundle you choose, you’ll also find shaving, trimming and exfoliating attachments included, making the significant initial investment easier to justify.
- Wet & Dry cordless epilator
- Hair length: Captures hairs as short as 0.5 mm
- Fully flexible Flex 3D head and Smart Touch pressure control — automatically switches between power and gentle modes
- Legs, arms, underarms and bikini area
- : Mini body trimmer, shaver head, trimmer comb, exfoliation brush, massage/skin-contact cap, pouch and cleaning brush
- Why it’s -approved: If the thought of dry epilation makes your toes curl, take this one into the bath or shower instead. Philips’ Series 8000 is cordless and designed specifically for wet and dry use, and its long ceramic tweezers are able to catch and remove hairs down to 0.5mm, while the generously sized head means you can cover larger areas without spending your entire evening doing your legs.
- Hair length: Captures hairs as short as 0.5 mm
- Mains-powered – no battery
- Why it’s -approved: You don’t necessarily need a £300-plus device to find out whether epilation works for you. Philips’ Series 2000 strips the concept back to its essentials, making it a sensible choice if you’re new to epilating or simply don’t need an extensive collection of attachments.
- What you sacrifice in bells and whistles, you gain in simplicity: this is the sort of straightforward device that earns its place in the bathroom cupboard because it does one job without requiring much thought. At under £50, it’s also a much easier entry point into root-level hair removal than many of the premium cordless models – particularly if you’re predominantly interested in epilating larger, less fiddly areas such as the legs.
- Hair length: Short
- Mains-powered – no battery
- Why it’s -approved: Facial epilation requires precision rather than power, which is why using a dedicated device makes sense. Panasonic’s compact ES-EF10 is designed specifically for the much smaller areas around the face and eyebrows, making it better suited to dealing with individual unwanted hairs than trying to navigate a full-sized body epilator around the upper lip or chin.
- Its petite proportions also make it a useful addition to a travel beauty bag. As with any method that removes facial hair from the root, we’d avoid repeatedly passing over already irritated skin, and take particular care if your complexion is sensitive or reactive. But for anyone who ordinarily reaches for tweezers to deal with facial hair, an epilator can make tackling multiple hairs considerably quicker.
- Why it’s -approved: Epilation has a reputation for being something of an endurance sport, which makes Braun’s more accessible Silk-épil 5 a good place to begin. It can be used wet or dry, allowing first-timers to experiment with epilating in the bath or shower rather than immediately committing to dry skin. If your main priority is simply removing leg or body hair from the root and extending the gap between hair-removal sessions, this offers the core benefits of epilation without the flagship price. If you become a convert, the wider, flexible heads and extra attachments on more expensive models may eventually prove tempting; until then, this is a very good place to start.
- Hair length: Captures hairs as short as 0.5 mm
- Wet or dry, including in the bath/shower
- Epilator, massage roller cap and cleaning brush
How do epilators work?
Imagine a set of tiny, extremely fast tweezers, and you’ve essentially understood the principle. As you move an epilator over the skin, a rotating head containing multiple tweezers catches the hairs and pulls them from their follicles. Whereas a razor cuts the visible hair shaft at the surface, epilation removes the hair from the root, in much the same way as waxing or conventional tweezing.
Which explains why the results last longer – the follicle has to produce another hair before you’ll see regrowth, rather than an existing hair simply continuing to emerge above the skin.
What areas are best for epilation?
Legs and underarms are arguably the easiest areas to navigate and less sensitive than areas such as the bikini line. Depending on the device and its attachments, epilators can also be used on the arms, bikini area and face.
The important caveat is to follow the manufacturer’s guidance. A large body epilator isn’t automatically suitable for your face, and areas with loose or particularly delicate skin require more care. Avoid going over broken, inflamed or already irritated skin.
Does your hair grow back thicker after epilating?
No. Removing hair doesn’t suddenly instruct the follicle to produce a thicker strand. Hair thickness and growth are determined by factors including genetics and hormones, rather than your chosen method of hair removal. Even shaving – despite the enduring myth – doesn’t alter the thickness, colour or rate of hair growth.
If anything, epilation can feel different from shaving as the hair returns. A razor cuts through the shaft and leaves a blunt end, which can make emerging stubble feel particularly coarse. Epilation removes the whole hair, so a new strand has to grow through.
Does epilating hurt?
We won’t lie: it can. An epilator is pulling multiple hairs from their roots in quick succession, so some discomfort comes with the territory. How much you feel varies massively according to your pain threshold, the area you’re treating and how coarse or dense your hair is.
The first few sessions tend to be the most painstaking, and some areas can feel significantly more sensitive than others. Keeping hair relatively short can help prevent the epilator from tugging unnecessarily, while a wet-and-dry model allows you to experiment with using it in a warm bath or shower. Holding the skin taut can also make navigating smaller areas easier.
Temporary redness after epilation isn’t unusual. And because tweezing and other root-level hair-removal methods can contribute to ingrown hairs, anyone susceptible to them should factor gentle regular exfoliation into their routine rather than repeatedly going over bumps with the device.
How long does epilated hair last?
Around three to four weeks is a useful rule of thumb, although everybody’s hair-growth cycle is different. Don’t be surprised if you notice some hairs before then, particularly when you first start. Individual hairs aren’t all operating on precisely the same growth cycle, so you may remove one group only for others to emerge later. With a regular epilation routine, it becomes easier to catch those different growth cycles – and, crucially, without returning to the daily maintenance that shaving can demand.
