Yes, it is uncomfortable at first - but it really does work!

Let me just say, I hate shaving! I am one of those people who has to shave every day, so, being a good ol' New England girl, I looked forward to winter, when, like many, I just put on pants and shaved once a week to once a month (depending on the boyfriend situation)! But, of course, palm trees, surf and warm(ish) weather lured me to Southern California. What's a girl to do when you can go to the beach all year long? I tried home waxing kits, but it takes me two weeks to grow the hair long enough, and it is messy. I remembered a high school friend had the older version of the Epilady (apparently, not sold anymore). She said it was painful, but it did work, and you get used to it after a while. I had the same experience with waxing (got less painful the more I did it) so I figured, it can't be that much different, since it's the same general process, so, after much research, I settled on this model.

First things first, you will see two versions of this model on the Epinions web site. The other model comes with extra heads - this one only has the epilation head. The other heads are a shaving head and an exfoliating head, and generally sells for $10 more. I debated getting the other kit, since I don't have an electric razor, but since I like my traditional razor better (closer shave, I think), and a loofah or pouf works fine for exfoliating, I just got the epilator version. This model comes with the base, epilator head, charger cord, cleaning brush and carrying case.

I bought this model from Goodmans.com, and paid $49.95 + $8.02 for shipping (no tax) = $57.97. They took a few days to get the order out, and then UPS delayed things a little more, but it took me about 1.5 weeks to get it (it got sent out from Florida). So, not too bad. On the bright side, it is more than enough time to get some good growth going! I spent a few hours trying to find a better deal, but everywhere was selling it for about the same price, if not quite a bit higher.

Since I got the box after coming home very late from work, I was fine with letting it charge up so I wouldn't have to deal with the cord (there is no convenient outlet where I wanted to use it). I charged it up for over 20 hours, but the minimum it needs is 10 hours. The batteries lasted with me using it at the slower speed for two hours of nearly constant use. According to the instructions, after the first charge-up, you need to charge for 5 hours for 50 minutes of use.

Okay, now for the moment of truth! Let me just say, when you first turn it on it is scary! I thought the grippers would just turn kind of slow, but they whip around! So, honestly, it is scary to first use it, and I was only brave enough to try the slow speed. Other reviewers said they went right for the second speed, which is supposedly for course hair, but that is not what I would recommend. The difference seems to just be speed, and it really is a weird sensation, and sometimes quite painful, so the faster speed really does mean much more discomfort. Depending on the area, the sensation ranges from very weird to quite painful. So, after trying it on pretty much every area of my body, here is my general technique. No matter how you do it, you need to block of a long time, since this process is not at all quick!

Turn the machine on, to the first setting, and "test" the area by lightly applying the epilator to the skin, in a kind of swiping motion. If it really hurts, keep doing this, trying to stay down longer each time. If the skin is naturally looser (like your thigh vs lower leg) or if you are over bone (like your shin), hold the skin taut with the other hand, and move it away from the bony parts as much as you can. When it becomes more comfortable, keep the machine down, and move in a small circle, staying in one area, like the directions say. Once that is totally comfortable, that means most (probably not all) the hair is gone. Then, keep moving in a circle to the areas surrounding the clear area you just made, until you have a bigger patch of treated area. I found that the problem areas when shaving (like knees) are also a problem here. The underarms are also difficult, because you can't usually use your other hand to hold the skin taut.

When you get a largish amount of treated area, you will see that there are quite a few hairs left behind. Turn it up to the fast setting, and move in a small circle, staying in one place for quite a while - keep checking the area until you see that all of the hairs are gone. If there is a stubborn hair or two, you may just want to use tweezers. If you use the slower setting, you will find you have to stay in the same area for longer, and there will be more of those hairs-or-two that won't go away. But, it won't hurt much at all, because a lot of hair was taken away already.

Okay, now you have some nice, treated skin, but AAAH! It's all red and bumpy - it looks like a rash! Okay, lots of people made a big deal about this in the other reviews, but it really isn't that big a deal. If you have waxed, you know what it looks like, but I noticed at the end of my two hours using the machine that the areas I had treated an hour ago were just fine. Some more sensitive areas (usually the more painful ones) take a little longer than that, but if you do this at night (as I did), your skin will be fine the next morning. I don't know how long some areas take, since I was asleep. But, this effect was not as bad for me as it is after waxing (where the bumps can last in some areas for a day or more). I had some after-waxing cream (cortisone with analgesic), but I didn't need any of it, and I have sensitive, Irish skin, so I think I am a good test! Also, because of the skin irritation, you should only do the underarm area before you go to bed, because if you put deodorant on when the skin is irritated, it will further irritate the skin, and you will pay for it the whole day! Like I said before, if you do it before bed, the skin will be just fine the next morning.

One last note: I went to a different area of the house to try the machine plugged in. The cord is plenty long enough, and there was no difference, as far as difficulty, using this plugged in or not. The only issue with the cord is if the outlet restricts where you want to use this, as it did for me. Also, as this takes a long time, you will probably want to watch TV or listen to music at the same time. It is somewhat loud, so only do this when watching something for which you don't need to hear each word of dialogue (I was watching a soap opera whose story lines have been totally repetitive and boring lately, so just hearing a few words and watching the screen was okay), or perhaps, watch a movie you have already seen. I tried turning up the sound, but the dialogue was still not always clear. Of course, you might want to opt for music, which should be fine.

Bottom line: I was afraid to drop $50+ on this product if it didn't work. It really does seem to work, though you will probably need to combine this with shaving, in order to really be perfectly smooth. I found the same problem with waxing, so it's not a big deal to me. I'd rather have to shave once a week or less, but still be perfectly smooth, than have to do it every day. It is sometimes painful at first, but once you get going in an area, it really isn't bad at all - the only annoyance then will be the noise. This will probably make people unhappy, but, the results for me lasted 2 weeks (added another week for regrowth before trying again). BUT - I was always on the short end of the regrowth scale when waxing, so I think that's probably some of it. And, I tried this again, and it was much faster this time, and I was able to get spots really smooth that I hadn't been able to the first time. And, it did hurt less this time. In fact, I use it on the fast setting for most areas, the whole time. So, I'm even happier now! I am really glad I bought this! Seriously, if you could shave once every two weeks vs. once a day, wouldn't you think it was worth it? And, I can now get some areas really smooth that I was always unhappy with when shaving (knees and pits). Hooray!

I know this is a long review, but if you are like me, I couldn't know enough ahead of time. With this product, be brave, and you will be rewarded!