Braun 7781 Xpressive EASY Start Body&face

...opportunity to try out a Braun Silk Epil Xpressive epilator. At the time it was branded the 7681 but it is now branded as the 7781 despite being exactly the same product - a fact Amazon backs up.

I will not lie when I say I had to think long and hard about trying this one out. I love a freebie but its no use to anyone if its something you don't really want to try, akin to buying a bright orange balaclava because its 50p, as opposed to ...
...40 minutes.

Braun recommend you use the epilator for the first time in the evening, so you have plenty of time overnight for any redness to calm down.

You need to epilate when your skin is dry, so don't jump straight from the shower to do it - it might be better to epilate before you shower.

The epilator comes with 5 caps which have 5 different purposes. There is a "beginner" cap which is obviously ... more

I cannot believe I am writing a review for an epilator. Really - I cannot.

I am the biggest wuss out there when it comes to pain, so that has ruled out waxing, and I also detest the smell of depilatory creams, meaning I have been shaving for years.

That changed last year when I was given the opportunity to try out a Braun Silk Epil Xpressive epilator. At the time it was branded the 7681 but it is now branded as the 7781 despite being exactly the same product - a fact Amazon backs up.

I will not lie when I say I had to think long and hard about trying this one out. I love a freebie but its no use to anyone if its something you don't really want to try, akin to buying a bright orange balaclava because its 50p, as opposed to something you actually want or need. However as time goes on it gets annoying having to shave every time I shower and something that might cut that chore out of my life surely had to be worth a try, so I went for it.

What's In The Box

The box contains the epilator itself, an electrical adaptor to charge it, several different heads to use with it, brush to clean, bag to store the epilator and heads and instruction manual. One thing however is missing from the box - a UK adaptor as it comes with a two-pin European style plug. So beware of this when purchasing and pick up a shaver adaptor too if you can.

Using the Epilator – My Thoughts

You can use the appliance immediately if you plug it into the mains, however if you want to use it wherever you want, you need to charge it up first. Charging takes about an hour and a full charge will allow the epilator to work for 40 minutes.

Braun recommend you use the epilator for the first time in the evening, so you have plenty of time overnight for any redness to calm down.

You need to epilate when your skin is dry, so don't jump straight from the shower to do it - it might be better to epilate before you shower.

The epilator comes with 5 caps which have 5 different purposes. There is a "beginner" cap which is obviously for novices like me, a "massage" cap which supposedly soothes your skin both before and after the cap removes the hair, thereby reducing pain, and an "efficiency" cap which enables fast epilation through maximum skin contact. There is also a special cap for underarm and bikini areas and lastly a precision head which is designed for use on the face and other sensitive areas.

I chose what I thought was the beginner cap and found it easily attached onto the unit.

I turned the epilator on - it has two speeds and a "Smartlight" to enable you to see better when using it. I applied it on to the skin and will not lie to you - it hurt. Only a little, but it still hurt!

However as I continued the pain lessened as the epilator pulled the hairs out from my leg.

I did feel I had to use the epilator several times in the one area to ensure full hair removal and by the time I had finished my legs were pretty red but heeding what the instruction manual had told me, I decided not to pass judgement until the next morning.

Next day the redness had gone and I was delighted with the fact my legs were smooth with none of that "stubbly" feel you get after shaving.

It is suggested that you only need to epilate every 4 weeks but I would say regrowth took about 2-3 weeks and I needed to use the epilator again then, but I found the regrowth to be downier hair, meaning it wasn’t as obvious as what had gone before.

It was when I used the epilator a second time I realised I had actually used the massage cap on my first attempt. So this time I used the beginner cap but have to say I wasn't particularly impressed with it. Clearly the first attempt had toughened me up because I found hairs being missed when I used the beginner cap but when I switched to the massager cap they came out easily. I also didn't notice much in the difference in the way of pain alternating between caps.

I have tried the underarm cap but really struggled - I have a mole in my armpit and inadvertently it got nicked by the epilator, causing a bit of a mess, and as a result I have stuck to shaving my pits ever since.

When you have finished using your epilator it is imperative you clean it. You need to thoroughly rinse out the head and clean the epilator head with the brush and some alcohol or disinfectant. You also cannot share the epilator with anyone else.

After all my trials with this there is one final adaptor within the box that you can always fall back on or use as preparation - and that is the shave/trimmer head. Needless to say I used this after my failed underarm attempt and it is also ideal for getting hair to the optimum length for epilating.

Finally

I have to say I have been converted to epilators having used this product. It seems to be one of the best epilators on the market and as a result, it doesn't come cheap – it currently retails on Amazon for £58.65

You also have to bear in mind that whilst you don’t have to epilate as often as you shave, it does take longer to epilate your legs than to shave them. You can find yourself going over the same part of your leg several times before you have removed all hair, unlike shaving which yields results far quicker. Having the Smartlight really helps you see all the hairs however and is a great design feature.

However the proof is in the pudding and I have found the regrowth to be slower and softer, making it easier to epilate too.

Overall this is a versatile and effective epilator and one I would highly recommend.
 

...less