Customer Reviews

Braun 7681 Silk-Epil 7 Xpressive Pro Epilator

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am not a Vine reviewer.
I purchased this epilator because it is able to be used in the shower and my current $20 shaver left alot to be desired. I have purchased several Braun epilators over the years and they have all delivered on their promise to rip your hair out by the roots.
Why epilate? I finally got tired of having to shave regularly and after a particularly painful bout of razor burn, I decided enough is enough. Something good about epilating, it hurts, yes it hurts but after a few minutes it goes away. Razor burn can last for days. And you don't have to epilate daily, you can wait several days, I have heard of people waiting weeks. Also it is a more inexpensive and private alternative to waxing.
This epilator is the most complete groomer that I have seen available in the US. It has the "massaging" cap that is supposed to help relax your skin. It may work, but regardless of what you do epilating for the first time is going to hurt. It also comes with a underarm cap and a facial cap. I have used the underarm cap, and I do believe it helped for my underarm hair. My underarm hair is thick and spaced close together, using the standard attachment it was just too much all at once. The cap is designed to lessen the area of hair exposed to the epilator, because of this I plan on finally epilating somewhere that so far I have been to scared to attempt ... the bikini area. I have not used the facial cap yet, it has an even thinner exposed area, I'm assuming so you can use it on your eyebrows without removing them entirely. You also get the efficiency cap which is supposed to be more efficient in removing hair than the massaging cap, I have not used it. Another attachment is the shaver, it works, actually better than my $20 shaver. So if you end up not using this product for its original purpose it is still useful. I believe it is also designed so you can use it in areas that may personally be too painful for epilation (underarms and bikini). The shaver also has a clip on cap so you can cut your hair to a shorter length instead of removing it.
Now why did I give this 4 stars? I seem to love it. Well I gave it 4 stars because I have had several Braun epilators over the years. The last one I had was $100+ and just stopped working one day. I had it for about 6 months before it died, which I think is pitiful for a $100 purchase. Unfortunately I had thrown away the box, this epilator has a 1 year limited warranty, so I recommend you keep your box. Also this epilator works fine wet but works better dry, this is pretty standard for the epilators available currently.
I bought this item from another retailer that was priced slightly less than Amazon, otherwise I would have purchased from them since I appreciate their customer service.
If this was helpful please vote me up. Thanks.

This is a review of the Braun 7681. Other models don't include some of the accessories, specifically, the 5681 does not have accessories like the shaving head and the shields that are not for leg shaving. The 7681 has everything I mention here.

I had offered to order my wife an electric shaver from Amazon before, but she had always resisted. When I pressed her, she admitted to using an electric shaver to poor, painful results in the past. But Vines gives out products in exchange for honest reviews, so the question is, why not try? I ordered this this device for my wife when it came up. At first, her attitude was, "Well, it has a regular shaver head, so it won't be a total loss." She had tried one of the early Brauns, with the spring, and had given up on it.

"You expect hair plucking systems to hurt a little bit," she said, "but those early Braun systems just plain hurt too much for me."

But she tried the new plucking system, first the massaging head, then the regular head, on her legs, and she said, "It does not hurt anywhere as much as it used to, with either the massager head or the regular head. The pain level is really acceptable. They have really improved things. Now that I have this, I'll probably be using it instead of shaving in the shower from now on."

She appreciated all the heads, the multiple levels of power. She said that the speed of use would be comparable to careful shaving, but, "people rush through shaving and take the risk of nicking themselves. You can't rush through this. But it doesn't take any longer than shaving properly."

She thought the light was well engineered. "I set up a light so I could see what I was doing, but as you move your hand around, there will always be shadows. The light fills in the shadows perfectly, and you can always see what you are doing."

About appearance, "The sparkly accents make it look girly and cute, and I really appreciate that. It fits well into my hand and there is no question that this is a woman's shaver."

Facial hair: "Only my first time moving the thing around and I got most of the hair. First time I've used it, so it is hard for me to say what will be happening in the future. It hurt much worse when plucking facial hair, but not as much as the original spring epilators. Where the process was able to get the hair, it plucked it all, and left my skin smooth."

She then switched to the regular shaver head and, "It did a really good job of smoothing out a couple patches on my face that had been missed by the tweezing."

Armpits: "Plucking hurts worse in your armpit than on your legs, even worse than on your face. It would only be worth doing if the hair grows out without sharp stubble so that you don't have those days of irritation. I tried one side in shaver mode, one in plucking mode. The shaver gets all the hairs, the plucker misses a few that are arguably hidden by some structure. Immediate application of deodorant does not sting, but then it begins to sting after a few minutes, so I wouldn't pluck and plan on leaving the house immediately, because I wouldn't want to have to deodorize with the sting. The advantage to epilation is that the hair should grow out softer, not like the stubble you get after you shave."

"I found that epilating your armpits means that applying deodorant immediately will sting, a lot. If you epilated regularly, you could do it on a schedule where you didn't apply deodorant until the morning. But that does not matter, if you had to shave suddenly, you still could do so, just use the shaver head. The shaver head shaves really close."

Included in the box:
The waterproof power unit (once off the charging cord, the unit is waterproof and can be used wet or dry)
1 standard foil type electric shaving head with edge trimmer.
A clear plastic cap for the shaving head that protects it when it is stored and which allows you to trim hair to an appropriate length for plucking, of to thin hair for grooming.
1 rotary epilating head that plucks hair.
Caps for the rotary head to include:
Massage cap for legs
Speed cap for legs
Underarm Cap
Facial Cap
Charging Cord
Cleaning Brush
A sample of 16 moisturizing packettes.
A cloth bag that easily fits everything that came with it.

The razor came charged. It normally charges in one hour.


Overall: "The results compare to waxing without the cost. I'll tell my friends about this. The only problems were in plucking my face and my armpits, the device seemed to miss some spots. This may be something that I will be able to overcome as I use the device more. But it was not enough of a deficiency to charge the device a star."

In discussing the device with my wife, it seemed that it was a device that was well designed for depilitating legs. They then extended the engineering to make it suitable for faces and armpits, by reducing the size of the tweezer area that could come in contact with the more sensitive areas of the body.

This was a very minimal change, and in particular, legs are convex, almost uniformly, while faces and armpits are intermittently concave. Because of that, there are parts you just can't reach with the broad rotating tweezers. If the device had a third head, a narrow rotating tweezer that you could maneuver into these narrow concave areas, that might be a better solution than just shielding the leg roto-tweezer.

I want to make it clear: This is a one use, first day opinion. If our opinion chances after multiple use, I will edit this review to add a supplement.

I just got it today and was eager to use it. I immediately opened it up and charged it. While it was charging I read the instructions thoroughly. Once it was ready to use, I used it on my underarms. I have a high pain tolerance (I've plucked my own underarm hair with tweezers!) and found the pain tolerable. It's not as bad as I initially thought it would be. I did have bleeding but after I was done going through the underarm area, it was completely smooth! Keep in mind that I am hispanic and have dark thick hair! It's red but that is normal and should go away soon. I used it on my face with the right attachment but had to stop since it was too painful. I think I have to work my way up to that one! :) I really like the product. I used to wax and hated having all the hair in between waxing. So, with this product, I am expecting to have smooth skin all the time!!!

I am over 60 and have used various methods of hair removal for over 40 years, beginning with electrolysis for facial hair, and progressing through waxing and laser hair removal for facial and body hair. I can't believe I was not aware of epilators until now. I received my product yesterday and am very pleased with the results. Of course, after all these years of hair removal, my hair is not as thick and heavy as when I was young, but still obvious enough to require attention. The pain factor was negligible compared to the other methods I have used, even on underarms and face. I will definitely be recommending this product.

This is an amazing product. I have the Braun SE 5280 Silk Epil 5, but this one blows that one out of the water! And you can use it in the water, as well!

I love the Epilator because I hate to shave, waxing has always been messy and inexpensive, and going anywhere and paying some crazy price is clearly out of the question for me; leg hair removal just isn't that high on my priorities list. My skin is very dry, so I really spending time in the hot shower. I've read reviews where people complain about the pain of using an Epilator, but it really isn't that bad. Although the initial discomfort is surprising, I get used to it very quickly. I may have a higher pain tolerance than others but it hurts a lot less than child birth OR waxing, in my opinion!

Unlike older models (we have an even older Epilator from about 2.5 years ago), the new ones come with a light, adn this one is really well aimed, truly a must for those with fine blonde hair, for sure. This one is also cordless, fully charges very quickly(less than 1 hour), stays powerful and you can get it wet! I love the fact that I can rinse it off, the little brush is still supplied for "cleaning" but there is nothing like rinsing it under the tap to get rid of that hair. It also comes with several different "heads" and a razor as well.

I found this to be a very efficient little machine. It didn't take half the amount of passes to get a very clean feeling leg, as with the previous model mentioned. It also claims to be able to grab hairs "the size of a grain of sand" which may not be quite true, but it definitely seemed to have better grabbing power than before. I also felt like there was less breaking off of hairs (more stubble much faster), and more actual "yanking" out of them! A few days later and my legs still feel pretty smooth.

My biggest complaint is that it is very loud. It had two speeds (both very loud), and sounds like a mini-jet engine starting up. You really couldn't use this with someone trying to sleep on the same floor as you (like children), and my dog was definitely frightened. If the noise could be reduced, it would be dang near perfect. This one claims to be safe for underarm use, but I'm not really brave enough to use it there, even I'm too sensitve for that!

I received the Braun 7681 two days ago, so I cannot speak to the fineness of the new hair growth. But let's start with the basics.
The 7681 model comes with attachments for various hirsute body parts. Reading the earlier reviews settled my mind that I am not going to use this device for underarms.
The instructions are mainly pictographs. Think Ikea instructions. If you have low blood sugar, these look like a jumble. Fortunately real written instructions are included. After I ate dinner, the pictographs made more sense.
The box included a pack of Olay wipes to be used 30 seconds before epilating one's legs. It contains no alcohol but plenty of other chemicals to clean your skin.
I charged the Braun for an hour or so and then sat with it for half an hour before having the courage to try it. They recommend starting with a small section so that you can adjust to how it feels. So I started with my calves. It tingled more than hurt. But as I moved higher to softer skin and longer hair, it became too intense to continue. The instructions say to pull the skin tight, however there's only so much tightening my somewhat saggy legs can muster. If you are serious about this product, you probably don't have this issue.
Fortunately Braun includes a regular shaving head. I switched over to the shaver to finish the job. Very nice shaver.
The shaver comes with a "comb" attachment that shaves the hair to a length that works well with the epilator. I did not use that this time. However if your hair is longer that 0.2" [that's less than 1/4" in human terms], then you should use that shaver attachment before using the epilator.
The parts are easy to switch and easy to clean with the included brush.
The quality seems to be worthy of Braun.
There are many systems for hair removal out there. This is definitely better than creams, wax and/or scrapping away with a Bic razor. But it is expensive compared to those products and to the Panasonic cordless razor I normally use. If your lifestyle requires smooth skin, and you can afford it, then this system could be right for you.

UPDATE: I like this product. It is working. I am used to the way it feels. I need to shave less often. Unlike other vine products I have picked, this one is a winner.

NOTE: If you have varicose veins, do not use any epilator directly over the veins.

I bought this product about a month ago and I have to say the first time I used it, i thought I was going to have to return it. I have course dark hair and had to just do a little at a time. I followed everyone's advice and exfoliated in addition to using the olay wipes that came with the product. The package is mis-leading as you think you're getting all the attachments and there is no attachment for the face. At first I used it every other day to get used to it and only did a few spots at a time. Then slowly I started using it less and less and completing the entire leg. I used it on my arms (the hair is finer there) and it was no problem at all. I managed to do the spots on my face also with no pain and it worked great! I still seem to have to shave for the spots that it doesn't grab but, very little at all. I am now using the epilator maybe 2 times a week but, again not doing a complete thorough job on my legs. The hair is getting finer and my legs are getting smoother each time. I think the bottom line is that this is a good product but, if you have course hair you just have to be patient and keep working with it. It does get less painful the more you do it and I think over time I will only have to do it once a month. I think you'll always have to touch up with a razor for those hard to get spots but, over all I think it's a great product.

I was a little disappointed to be honest.

From all the reviews I had read I was expecting a great low pain epilator, but it's not that much different (pain wise) from the very old braun epilator that I normally use. But on the plus side it's cordless, you can use it wet or dry and it comes with a special vibrating head.

Pro's
You can use it in the bath or shower
It comes with a special vibrating head
It's cordless and rechargeable

Con's
Pain is very similar to that of an older braun epilator

The price was ok for what I got! :)

Overall = 3/5

Braun makes quality products, some of my favorites for several decades. The Braun 7681 Silk-Epil 7 Xpressive Pro Epilator is a fabulous little product that can save the expense of waxing supplies, provides great results, and is less painless than waxing when done properly. A little trick learned from waxing, namely stretching the skin, also works for preventing excess discomfort while using the epilator, and this is less messy to boot. The epilator arrives with various heads and some additional little moist towelettes which I don't think I'll be purchasing from Braun. The grooming device can be used on either wet or dry skin and because it must be charged (takes about an hour) and unplugged in order to power on, there's no fear of electrocution. The power cord can be removed, so you have only the epilator in your hand with nothing extra interfering as you move the device along the part of the body being groomed. This product is definitely worthy of a 5 star review!

I acquired this little device in the hope that it might provide a viable alternative to tweezing those unwelcome little sprouts on my chin. And it has done exactly that, though it doesn't always get all the offending hairs, no matter how much I stretch the skin or how many ways I direct the unit. And despite the product claims, it doesn't result in finer hairs growing back in place of those it has removed. But it does a fast, good enough job that I only break out the tweezers occasionally, so I do recommend it for removing facial hair efficiently and with minimal discomfort.

In order to do a fair review, however, I decided to try it on my legs. All I can say is "Ouch!" After torturing myself for a few seconds, I broke out the shaver head for it, and proceeded with that instead. I see no benefit to epilating over shaving in this region, and based on this experience (and not being a masochist or especially vain), I'm not even remotely tempted to try it on my underarms or bikini area.

But the unit seems to hold a charge well, and it comes with a number of attachments for different applications. If you're looking for something to replace tweezing, this is a reasonable solution.