Customer Reviews

Braun SE3170 Silk-épil 3 SoftPerfection Epilator

5 star:		(163)
4 star:		(92)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

(3/04) Now, I am not some weirdo who lives for pain or anything, but I admit, I find myself looking for places other than my legs to use this thing. Legs, armpits, bikini line, big toes... It's just so satisfying to use, knowing that the two hours you may have to put into the process (as one reviewer claimed) is worth it for not having to worry about nicks and cuts at ALL or stubble for at least another two weeks.

A few things from my own experience for those of you considering:

I bought this intending to use it on my legs and bikini line only. I was thrilled that it is AC powered, because I feared batteries would become a real budget-killer.

YES, I did use the attachment thing with the rolling beads the first time I used it. I also used the slowest speed. Decided it wasn't so bad, so I sped it up, then removed the attachment. No problem. I may have even thrown the attachment away...

YES, you should exfoliate your skin before use. The directions tell you it wouldn't hurt to take a hot shower and exfoliate, then when dry, use the gizmo. Your pores are open, your skin fresh, and the little hairs should be more willing to let go.

YES, it DOES hurt to use on your underarm. Doing so took a bit of acrobatics, because I found I had to try to pull my skin taught while using it. I also found I got a few ingrown hairs there from use. Decided that using a razor on this area isn't that bad after all.

NO, it is NOT impossible to use on your bikini area. Just be prepared to sit in some funny, yoga-like positions to get to the areas you want. Also, make sure you keep up on exfoliating here: I find I have the worst problems with ingrowns in this area.

YES, you can get stubble. If this becomes a problem, wait a few days for the stubble to grow long enough to grab. Before you use it again, shower, exfoliate, dry and try again. I'll bet you'll end up with less stubble that way.

YES, it CAN take a while. I even found that if I don't soak and scrub before using, I'll miss a few hairs and have to go over an area again days later. No big deal if you have the time to spare.

As for the pain level: If you have a tattoo, then why are you even bothering worrying about pain? You should be able to handle this baby toy. If you, like the average person, can handle things like paper cuts, needles, and insect stings, you can probably handle the pain level of this thing. Or, if you've had professional waxings done before, you probably won't have a problem. If you can't stand pulling an adhesive bandage off of an area with hair on it, then perhaps this isn't the choice for you. Note: I've never had a professional waxing done, just those messy at-home kits. To me, the kits hurt more than this thing! Probably my fault, though -- can't ever get the mix at the right temp or work quickly enough before the stuff cools again!

Soooo... if you're fed up with the blade and want an alternative to wax, smelly hair dissolvers, or sanding disks, try this. I felt it was definitely worth the money! (Bought & have used since September, 2003)

(UPDATE 10/04) STILL use and love this thing! I'm even considering buying another to have on hand for when the inevitable happens and the first one dies on me. Couldn't even guess how much I've saved on replacement blades & shave gels... this thing has definitely paid for itself many times over.

(UPDATE 11/07) Mine (the original one) is still running great, and I still love it. Bought one for my sister, but she doesn't like it because she's apparently more of a wimp than I thought, even though she's got 2 tattoos! I may just steal hers back to keep in reserve for when mine DOES decide to die on me.

(UPDATE 6/10) Original Silk-epil still running perfectly. It sure did come in handy while pregnant last year! Still love this thing!

This is the best product I have tried for hair removal in a long time. I had purchased an Epilady and used it till its recent demise and never thought anything could replace it. Although it was VERY painful to use, the hair grew back very fine and scarce, the longer you used it, improving the hair texture over time. I then used shavers, cremes, lotions, epil-stop and all were worthless products.

Now that I have the Braun, I am ecstatic with the results, it is much quicker and virtually painless compared to the original Epilady. I highly recommend to women who do not want to become a slave to daily razor shaving!

It was difficult to get used to at first. But after a while your skin gets used to it and it doesn't hurt at all. Do not let the hair get too long!!!

This is a tip for first timers: grow the hair out, get it waxed at a salon and only start using this when the hair starts growing back. Or shave and only use this as the stubble grows in. Do not let the hair get too long - that's when it is uncomfortable. This get's teeny tiny hairs and lasts for as long as waxing -- my legs are so smooth and pretty now.

Caution -- you can't go back to shaving or you'll get ingrown hairs. Exfoliate regularly, too.

As someone who had never waxed or epilated I was a bit leary of trying this device, but am very glad I did. I'll never shave again! It was quite uncomfortable and a bit painful the first time I used it [come on, it pulls your body hair out by the roots...] but since then it has been virtually pain free. The best reward of using this product is not having to bother with hair removal very often -- I can't say exactly how long the overall effect lasts, but I usually do touch-ups once a week on those hairs that were not long enough to pull the week before and it doesn't take but about 15-20 minutes to to a "whole body" once over. I use it on my legs, underarms and bikini line all with equal success. The only drawbacks that I have discovered are occasional problems with ingrown hairs (which has mostly been solved with the added use of a loofah) and the fact that my legs are never as smooth as when I shaved due to some hairs not being long enough to catch at the time of epilation. This has gotten better with repeated use (it appears as if less hair grows back between each use and it grows back soft), but it's still not quite smooth to the touch. However, all in all I consider this a great product that I'm really glad I took the chance on trying.

I purchased this product after reading the Amazon reviews about it. I had never used an epilator, and had never waxed anything on my body but my eyebrows (and that was only one time). Still, I have a relatively high pain threshold and my leg hair is fairly fine, so I didn't think the pain would be a problem for me.

I was pretty much right. I'm a little more sensitive in the knee area than the rest of my legs, and I don't really bother with my thighs since my leg hair there is blonde. I have no problem with pain around my bikini line, but it does hurt quite a lot to do my underarms -- and it pinches my skin there, too, which is not only quite uncomfortable, but has drawn small amounts of blood. It's fine for my legs, though -- the first time I used the product, I didn't use the "beginner's head" that comes with it. I just turned the thing on high and started epilating. It hurt, but it wasn't unbearable (and it has gotten better).

I have had a few ingrown hairs, but I think I can get rid of that problem just by purchasing a loofah and doing some exfoliating in the shower every now and then, so I'm not worried about that.

No, the reason I gave this product 2 stars is that at least for me, the darn thing doesn't actually pluck the hair out by the root most of the time. Oh, it gets much of the hair out by the root (enough for me to feel twinges of minor pain), but it also breaks a lot of hairs off right at the skin. It leaves those hairs too short to pluck with either the epilator or manually with tweezers, and there are too many of them to pluck manually anyway.

The result: my legs constantly feel as though I shaved yesterday -- they look smooth (since my hair is light), but they feel stubbly. If I shaved with a razor, I would at least have one day of smooth legs. This way, it's just a constant stubble feeling, and since much of the hair wasn't removed at the root, I certainly can't go for weeks between use of the product as some reviewers can.

...I prefer this to shaving since my skin is softer now, and since my fiance doesn't really care if my legs are silky-smooth. But really, I think I could get much better results if I waxed or used a chemical product like Nair.

I've been using this for a few months now. I purchased it because I have light skin but dark, coarse, quick growing hair so my legs look and feel stubbly 12 hours after I shave them. I tried creams but they were a mess and home waxing took forever and forced me to wait a long time between sessions so that all the hairs were long enough to pull out.

This is easy to use like an electric razor,and works on much shorter hair than home waxing so no monster legs. I had been shaving before the first use, so had dense hair growth and the first couple uses hurt a bit. After that its not painful because hair growth is thinner for each use. I'd recommend waxing once before the first use if you're worried about it hurting.

It doesn't get legs perfectly hair free like shaving, very short or very fine hair is left behind, I had this with waxing as well so was not disappointed. My legs in a week still look and feel better than they used to a day after shaving. If its important to me, I run a razor over what's left and then have super smooth legs for days. I've only felt the need to do this twice for special occasions. Usually I use it every two weeks, but sometimes once a week if I want smoother legs. I often let it go for 2 weeks because the hair is so fine and soft that I don't have scratchy legs to bug me or my husband. ;) Would have given 5 stars if legs were perfectly hairless after use, or if I could go a month between uses.

If this broke or was lost, I'd purchase another one immediatly.

I used this product for about 8 months. The pain became quickly tolerable, but did leave my pores red and inflammed for about 24hrs after each time used. Not good if you want to go bare-legged the day after use. I liked that the regrowth was not nearly as dense (visible) and scratchy as after shaving; however, this doesn't come remotely close to the silky smooth feeling of shaving. I found that I used the gadget fairly often because I didn't like all the "missed" hairs and regrowth. Thus, for me, this became very labor intensive--much more so than shaving. I really missed the silky smoothness from shaving. The biggest downfall for sure was the ingrown hairs-horrible. I use a buff on my body with every daily shower, but this did not seem to help. The bikini area was the worst for ingrown hairs-and they take weeks to work themselves out! Red, swollen, terribly unsightly bumps-NOT attractive! After about 5 months I began getting ingrown hairs on my legs-more than a dozen on each leg. I look like I've been truly eaten alive by bugs! Nasty, nasty, nasty! Unlike bug bites, these are taking WEEKS to resolve. If it weren't for the terrible ingrown hairs, I might have continued to use this product intermittently. So, if you are not prone to getting ingrown hairs then you may like this device. I had no prior history with skin problems (sensitivty, breakouts, ingrown hairs, or razor burn) before using an epilator. I can't wait for all these terrible blemishes to clear up. PS Try this in the Winter!

Disclaimer: I owned and used one of the original Epilady epilators for years. When that died, I turned to waxing. I have a pretty high pain tolerance when it comes to hair removal. If you do not have a good pain tolerance, don't read further- this review won't help you make a decision!

Pros: price, less pain than waxing, little to no redness or bumps, hair-free legs for weeks!
Cons: took a few runs to get all the hairs at first, not cord-free.

At $49.99, this beats both self-waxing and salon waxing after a couple of uses. As the price of razors continues to go up, the 3170 is a one-time investment that to me is worth the money.

For me, using this is very painless[see disclaimer above] and better yet, it does not leave behind the redness and bumps I used to experience with my old Epilady and with waxing. I did had to use it a few times at first to actually pull out the hairs when they reached the optimal length, and not just cut them off. I do wish it came in a cordless version- although the cord is pretty long.

A few tips to make the experience better: I ALWAYS exfoliate my legs and make sure they are clean before using the epilator. I stop and clean the epilator every so often to keep it running optimally. I also use Bikini Zone on my legs and bikini line after epilation to keep from getting ingrown hairs.

My sister also owns this same model and has had hers for 6 months- she says it works as good as the day she bought it- encouraging when you read about other brands that break after a few uses.

After my old faithful 10 year old Phillips Satinelle broke, I did a lot of research before buying this baby from Amazon. No shaver for me, thanks, just the epilator. When you have dark and somewhat coarse hair on your legs, shaving is the last thing to do- you get itchy stubble and have to shave daily. I must say the Silk-epil has been working admirably. The roller/massager gizmo does work to deaden the pain. My old Satinelle hurt like crazy but I kept thinking you have to suffer for beauty, right? Well, there is a LOT less suffering with the Silk-epil. But beware, if your skin is dry the massager beads will leave faint scratch marks. Exfoliating and moisturizing is important when you epilate, but it's good practice to do it anyway.

Since the epilator removes hair from the roots, even the hairiest among you should be able to go for at least 3 weeks between sessions. It takes significantly longer than shaving, but trust me that it is well worth it.

The epilator comes with a carrying case and cleaning brush. Clean everything scrupulously to protect yourself from any infections. It should last for years with good care.

Compared to the epilady of the 90's (?) this thing works so much better. The pain is no where near the epilady. Mainly because the epilady's motor slowed down when it would grab the hair tugging on it before yanking it out. This Braun yanks the hair out FAST! It stilln hurts but definitely not as bad as that old torture device that gave epilators a bad name.
The hair grows in finer and much much less noticeable. Being the hair is essentially plucked it doesn't grow back in as quickly as shaved does. It also grows back in stages so you look like you have less growth. I love this thing. I use it about 1x a week to get any stray hairs. Plus I don't have to let my legs get hairy like an ape like you do when you go waxing. So I definitely recommend this product :)