Silk-épil 5 - Corded Epilator

Just got the Braun epilator silk-epil 5. Unfortunately I was not happy with it's performance. It's doesn't pick up small hairs and even missed large hairs. I normally use an epilator, but decided to try out Braun's epilators. Unfortunately my experience with it is not good. It's not a powerful machine either.

I bought this eight months ago and it is just great! And the customer service team are so friendly and professional and work so fast to sort out any querries. Highly recomend it!

This would be a brilliant epilator if it worked all the time. There's something definitely not quite right with the one I have as it suddenly cuts out & it take a lot of wire wiggling & switching on & off to get it to restart. ( tried it in all sorts of sockets, so know it's not me!!) Braun support have been good at getting it to their service department, but they can't find a fault at present, so are sending out a new cable - fingers crossed that cures the issue as when it works, it's brilliant!

Bought this from Tescos to replace my old one. Didn't work at all. Didn't charge. Tescos exchanged it for another that works, but only when it's plugged in. This is quite inconvenient because the old one was great to take away camping. But I'll make do. Certainly won't be buying another. :(

I was pleased to be given this product as the box was quite inviting as it showed off the epilator so you were able to see how big it is, which helped to visualise if it was the right size for you and your hand. I was impressed that the epilator came with a shaving head (and guard) so that I could shave where necessary and you could trim hair prior to epilation.The epilator has two speed settings; the slower one is meant for those starting out and produces a gentler effect than the higher speed. I used both settings, but found the faster speed better as it appeared to pick up more hair. I didn’t think there was any discernible difference in pain with the speeds. I did have one problem with the on/off switch as it is the same switch that operates the speed settings and is a central, circular switch on the front (nearest your skin when operating). I found it difficult to turn it off without accidentally going too far the other way (I - 0 - II) to increase/decrease the speed. I think a separate on/off button (e.g. on the side) might work better. The light at the front is useful as it illuminates the skin, identifying shorter, finer hair while in operation.The box included several different heads/covers for use under the arms, in the bikini area and for massaging the skin during epilation. I tried all of the heads, but found I preferred the normal head (without a cover) for use under my arms and on my legs. Changing the heads and changing between shaver and epilator was very straightforward and was simply pull off/push on. Instructions were OK but could have been clearer; the images helped.In terms of how it felt and how efficient it was, I found it really good to eradicate hair under my arms. It provided a quick, painless solution to shaver burn. However, I was less impressed when using it on my legs. Despite the product brochure noting it would remove hairs of 0.5mm in length, the size of a grain of sand, I did not find this. I let the hair on my legs grow to over 1mm long (which felt awfully long to me, as I usually shave every day), but found that it did not pick many up, I was left with stubbly legs and occasional red patches where it had managed to pull out hair. I left it another day and tried again. This time it did remove more hair, but I found I had to go over sections many, many times and it still did not remove all hair, leaving my legs stubbly and not silky smooth as advertised. I found depilating my legs very painful (even trying the glove while it was cold) and I was left with sore legs that had red spots (and some blood!) over them where the hairs had been pulled out. In contrast, I didn’t have any pain under my arms; that worked like a dream. I found it look a long time and lots of passes across the same area to remove hair, so it was not a quick solution to hairy legs for me (it took approximately forty minutes to depilate my lower legs and they were not complete/silky smooth - this is versus about one minute for two entire legs when shaving).I found the shaver attachment worked well and used it to trim my bikini line and any rogue hairs left by the epilator. It was useful to have the bag with it so that all heads could be stored together, but the cooling glove was a waste of time as it melted/warmed up very quickly.One negative for me was that the product was corded and came with a 2-pin plug. I do not have a shaver point or plug in my bathroom so I had to use it in the bedroom; I would have preferred to contain the mess in the bathroom. It also meant that as it wasn’t cordless it wasn’t wet/dry, so couldn’t be used in the shower. This is a big letdown as I think that using it under running water or with foam might help reduce the pain of depilating my legs. As it isn’t rechargeable, you need to take the cable and adaptor (which you have to buy separately) if going on holiday, this is another negative as it adds weight to any luggage.Finally, when in use, the epilator is quite noisy and you are aware that the hairs are being plucked, this might put some people off, but it didn’t bother me.Overall, I give it a mixed review. I would recommend the Braun Silk-Epil 5 5780 for those who want to painlessly depilate under their arms, have the option of shaving and do not want a wet-dry device, but do not recommend for plucking hair from legs. I found it useful under my arms so will definitely use it regularly in that respect. I will try to persevere with my legs, but it did cause me a great deal of pain, so will continue with shaving (as it is significantly quicker and I can do it in the shower).

The epilator does not remove stubborn hair . Its blades are metal ( not ceramic) and very painful. The specification does not match the actual quality of the product and the value for money , as advertised. Even for the thin hairs you have to go over the hair three times at least to remove it, which makes the experience even more painful. I am so sorry I cannot return it. This one must go straight in the bin. I have always trusted German quality - never again. I should have never changed from Philips.

I got this in the post atleast 2 weeks before the campaign started and so I had plenty of time to try it out. (this is my first review so I hope it's useful) :) My first impression of the box was that it was very smart, with a clear list of content and how the content should be used, for example, the names of the different attachments and what they do - the facial cap is used for the face and so on. When I opened the box I noticed that the plug only had 2 prongs, which wasn't a problem because I had an adapter but for people buying one need to be aware (: First of all I placed the cooling pack (nice blue colour) in to the freezer for around 3 hours - it says a minimum of 2 but it might have been my freezer that made it go a bit tough in places.. I have always waxed/epilated/shaved and so I using this epilator was pain free but for people who have not done so before, I'd say it has a pain rating of around 2/3 :) I did find that the 'efficiency' cap caused a tiny but more pain than thee rest but again this could just me my person opinion. This product can be used on legs, body and face though I did not use it on my face as I personally feel that I do not need to. After I had finished I placed the blue gel pack into the silver glove and cooled down my skin. This is the best part of the product!! It was very soothing but not too cold as it is reduced by the glove!However, I could not find how to clean the glove efficiently.. I did not use the epilator in a 'sensitive' area but I would think there needs to be an effective way of cleaning it due to germs, but there are very helpful, clear instructions on how to clean the epilator/ the different attachments. The epilator its self is really light-weight and I really like the white and green colour scheme as it seems to make it appear really clean and it is the perfect size to hold as well as twist/turn and manipulate whilst epilating ! FINALLY.. !! there is a really cute white bag that is included which keeps all of the different bits together, it's so simply but yet so effective.

I was a bit apprehensive about using an epilator for the first time, but once I got my head round the instruction manual it was very easy to use. Yes there was a bit of discomfort and redness the 1st few times I used it but that gets less and less each time I have used it. I epilated at night to allow the redness time to go down like the manual suggests. I recommend to anyone that they do this especially if you are using it on your face. The built in light on the epilator made it very easy to see and of the light or fine hairs I would previously missed whilst shaving. The shaving attachment that came with this model also came in handy. The one thing I did find with this model was that it that it came with a 2 prong plug so make sure you buy an adaptor for it when you get one if you don't already own one. Overall I would recommend this to anyone that asked and will not go back to using a razor

When i saw that i had been accepted to trial the braun silk-epil i was excited as my previous epilator had been lost when i moved house and i didn't know which would be a good one to replace it with as there's so many around and i also didn't want to spend a huge amount so i didn't end up replacing it and have been using shaving as a method to remove hair which is not as effective. Epilating has always been a painful but worthwhile method of hair removal for me and i was hoping that this epilator would be more effective and hopefully less painful than previous ones i have owned. I have used braun epilators in the past so wasn't surprised by the two prong plug it comes with as all my other braun epilators where the same so luckily i had the right adapter so i can plug this in at the wall but upon speaking to people about the epilator everyone was surprised it was a two prong plug and i think if i wasnt expecting it i too would have been suprised. I plugged the epilator in to charge and left it and when i came back to the epilator i realised it can only be used whilst plugged in, this is a first for me and although not a problem, it would have been a plus to be a bit more portable. I have poly cystic ovaries and so have quite alot of hair that i like to remove so have used this epilator daily since having it. I started in less painful places in case the new epilator hurt more than the others i have used in the past and i didnt find it too bad. I started with my legs and i didnt use the icepack as i knew what to expect but i dont think even a first time user would find the pain too much to cope with and would maybe just grit their teeth for a minute until they got used to it. I like that it did grip even really short hairs and didnt feel too aggressive and any redness didnt stay for long. I have had my legs out alot the past week as its been really hot and the hair has hardly come back yet, its only come back in small areas that have taken no time to deal with again so once the initial removal has been done (whole leg) its just been a case of upkeep. As said above i have poly cystic ovaries (PCOS) so my hair does grow back quicker than normal so a non pcos sufferer would probably get an even better result. I also really liked the fact that the head of the epilator moved along with the contours of the body as i feel this made the epilator grip more hairs more easily as it was always very close to the skin, i think this could also be why its less painful as the pull of the hair felt close to the skin and it didnt miss as many hairs, so although i had to go over patches a few times sometimes, it still grabbed the majority on the first sweep over a patch. I have used the epilator on my neck which is a painful place to epilate, i found this epilator to be less painful than any i have used so far but it was still quite painful. I like that once i had done the initial removal of all the hair with the epilator i can now just go over it daily for the few that come back through or couldnt quite be grabbed first go, which is brilliant. It doesnt grip all the hairs on my chin but again this could be because i have pcos and the hairs are thick and the epilator maybe wasnt designed with this area in mind as it did leave some scabs on the chin area where it was pulling my skin and where i was going over and over the area to try get it to grip the hair and i do still have to pluck this area myself with tweezers. I liked the variety of heads included as there seems to be something for everything, but i do use the main head the most as i find it the most effective as its closer to the skin and i can see what its grabbing easier. Overall i really liked the silk-epil 5 but i dont think it warrants its £100 price tag, i would be sad if i had spent that amount on it when the other braun epilators are cheaper and although slightly less effective, are not that much different in comparison and maybe would win because they can be charged and are mobile which is needed if like me you have children and need to not be tied to one spot.

I thought the product was fantastic. I have never used an epilator before as I feared the pain. Although it did hurt a bit to begin with it is bearable and with each use the pain become less and less. The light is a great feature as you can see any fine hairs you would otherwise miss. It's great that it comes with various different heads to use in various different places. The only reason I rate this at a 4 is because I think the product would be a whole 5 star's if it had a rechargeable battery pack so you would be able to use it where aver you like. I would definitely recommend the epil-silk5 to anyone new to epilating or just wanting to upgrade their current epilator.