Types of epilators

August 20, 2019

An epilator is one of the essential items in a woman's beauty arsenal. But how does it work, and what are the differences? We will try to answer these questions in this blog post.

Epilators ( including facial epilators ) work on the same principle. Don't be confused by brands, for example, a Phillips epilator and a Braun epilator are two devices that work on the same system.

An epilator is an electrical device whose main purpose is to remove hair mechanically by gripping and pulling out individual hairs. The general working principle of epilators is similar to that of waxing, with the difference that the upper layer of the epidermis (i.e. skin) - the epithelium - is damaged during the waxing process. The next generation of spring-based epilators do not have any parts that require regular replacement.

Types can be versatile - with a cord, with or without a battery charging function. Can be used on wet or dry surfaces. Can also come with heads for epilating hard-to-reach areas, or for removing oil from the skin before or after epilation.

Epilation can be painful because, like waxing, it involves pulling out the hair. The first epilation session can be especially painful, which is why some women use waxing as their first session and then move on to using an epilator.

If the pain is too strong, you can apply a numbing cream beforehand, which will significantly reduce the pain. Epilation on wet skin is also generally associated with less pain. Reducing the speed of the epilator can also reduce the intensity of the pain.

Spring-type epilators

This type of epilator was first created by the Jewish company Epilady in 1986. The device consisted of two springs, the surfaces of which, when moving, came so close to each other that they dragged the object in between (hair in our case). As a result of this movement, the hair got caught in the springs and was pulled away from the skin.

Because the springs were constantly in motion and under pressure, they were sold separately and needed to be replaced quite often.

Today, one version of the spring-type epilators exists in the form of facial epilators. These devices are no longer electric, but operate mechanically. The person brings the tool to the part of the face where they want to remove hair, and manually moves the handle, which causes the springs to move and remove the hair.

Tweezer-type epilators

After the spring-type epilators, the next generation was the disc-type epilators. Due to its similarity to the previous version and patent issues, this version was soon replaced and moved on to the tweezer-type epilators (the ones that are so actively used by the population today).

This type of epilator has incomplete discs built into the plastic head, and with each rotation, these discs come into contact with each other and then separate again. As a result, at the moment of contact of the discs, the hair gets stuck in it and gets entangled, and then at the moment of release, the hair moves away from the discs. As a result, it is possible to permanently capture, pluck and release hair during the entire process, while moving the epilator over the skin.

If the hair is very strong, it may break off instead of being pulled out. Hairs that are cut in the middle close to the skin's surface may feel like shaving, but their placement on the skin is much smaller because other hairs are pulled out around them. Like waxing, the hair removed by epilation has a shorter growth cycle, and epilating regrowth is also much easier, and the proportion of hairs that are cut off is also much lower.

Most Philips and Braun epilators fall into this category, although in many cases they can be used on wet surfaces (e.g. Phillips HP6420, HP6422, HP6428 00, HP 6549 00, HP6422/01, GP6553 00)

Wet use epilators

Wet-use epilators are standard tweezer-type epilators that are designed to prevent water from getting into important electrical parts, making them suitable for use even when wet (e.g. Braun Silk-Epil). Some can even be used in the shower.

We offer a special category where epilators are sold at the cheapest prices .

If you wish, you can also check out the blog about how to buy epilators at a discount on Isuruve.

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