7 of the Best Epilators if You Want to Ditch Ingrown Hairs and Razors for Good

I’ve been on a quest for years now to find the best method of hair removal that doesn’t give me ingrown hairs and razor bumps like shaving does, nor cost me an arm and a leg like constant laser and waxing appointments do — which is why lo and behold, I decided to try an epilator.

Truth be told, I was sceptical at first — would this be another useless gadget? Would my thick body hair be too much for it to handle? Would it be as painful as everyone says it is? The short answer to all these questions is no, and I’m now a proud epilator convert.

What is an epilator?

An epilator is essentially an electronically-powered version of a good ol’ tweezer, except there’s not just one tweezer, but multiple of them rotating on a spinning wheel designed to grab your hairs and pull them out at the root.

Unlike shaving, which slices off your hair at a surface level, an epilator will remove the hair right from the root, making the time it takes for it to grow back much longer.

Does using an epilator hurt?

I won’t lie to you, some areas of your body may be more sensitive than others. For example, my facial hair (think upper lip and the like) really hurt for me, whereas my legs and my pubic area were painful but much more bearable.

Personally, I’d liken the pain to waxing, so if you’re a seasoned waxer — epilating will be child’s play for you.

As with many other things, the more you epilate as well, the less painful it’ll be each time. So, don’t let your first foray into the epilating world turn you off.

Are they worth it?

Out of all the hair removal methods I have tried and tested in my time, epilating has by far come to be my favourite (especially now that I’ve gotten used to the pain). No more ingrown hairs, no more rescheduling plans around laser appointments, and no more dropping hundreds on wax after wax every few weeks? Life’s good.

Before we jump into the top epilator recommendations, though, this is probably a great time to mention that hair removal is by no means a necessity, and your preference for the existence or absence of body hair is completely your choice.

The best epilators for super smooth skin 

Braun FaceSpa Pro, All-in-One Beauty Face Epilator device, $142.95

This Face Spa Pro is designed specifically for facial hair removal, from your upper lips to peach fuzz. This baby also comes with a cleansing brush that removes makeup and a MicroVibration head that works with your serum or cream for skin-toning effects — the full facial experience from home if you ask me.

You can buy the Braun FaceSpa Pro ($142.95) from Amazon here.

Braun Epilator for Women with Flexible Head was $376.71, now $259 (save $117.81)

With micro-grip tweezer technology (AKA 40 tweezers), this game-changing Braun epilator provides smooth skin for weeks, not days. Its ergonomic handle with anti-slip grip and flexible head also makes it perfect for epilating those tough to reach places (AKA your pubes). It’s also totally waterproof for use in the shower and even comes with a brush head if you want to exfoliate your skin before you go in with your epilating device.

You can buy the Braun Epilator for Women with Flexible Head ($259) from Amazon here.

Braun Epilator for Women, Silk-Epil 9, $249

If you like the sound of the facial hair epilator and the full body epilator and can’t choose which one you want more, this Braun set provides you with the best of both worlds. It also comes with a trimmer attachment to cut down any longer body hair before epilating, as using the device on shorter hair reduces the pain a lil’. The exfoliating and cleansing brush head accessories are included, too.

You can buy the Braun Epilator for Women ($249) from Amazon here.

Braun Epilator Silk-epil 3 Shaver & Trimmer, $76.72

This pocket-sized shaver and trimmer looks small but sure does pack a punch, providing the same results as its bigger counterparts. Unfortunately, the only difference is that this baby doesn’t come with the massage and exfoliating heads. On the plus side, however, it is super compact and lightweight, making it great to fit in hand luggage and mini toiletry bags if you need to epilate on the go.

You can buy the Braun Epilator Silk-epil 3 Shaver & Trimmer ($76.72) from Amazon here.

Epilady Speed Corded Epilator, $49.63

If you’re still sceptical about the whole epilating thing and aren’t sure if it’ll work for you — this affordable but still highly-rated speed-corded option might be the one for you. Boasting 31,000 tweezes a minute, it can be used on your arms, legs, underarms, bikini area, and face.

It also offers two different operating speeds and an angle guide cap that keeps the epilator at an optimal angle for the removal of even the shortest and finest of hair. Win-win on price and efficiency.

The only downside is that because it’s corded — you can’t use it in the shower.

You can buy the Epilady Speed Corded Epilator ($49.63) from Amazon here. 

Philips Epilator Series 8000 Cordless Wet & Dry Epilator, $119

This Philips Epilator boasts a powerful yet gentle epilation with improved tweezers and over 70,000 hair-catching actions per minute. This means it covers much more skin in much less time. Lower legs in a matter of ten minutes, anyone?

For extra gentleness in the areas you need it most, a delicate area cap is also included to easily remove unwanted hairs from your face, underarm and bikini if you’re more worried about the pain than anything else.

You can buy the Philips Epilator Series 8000 Cordless Wet & Dry Epilator ($119) from Amazon here.