How to Epilate the Best and Easy Way

Are you looking for a better way to get rid of unwanted hair? Shaving and waxing might be popular, but both are a pain and can cause adverse side effects.

Learning how to epilate skin is an easy, quick way to get rid of hair. You use a unique tool that removes hair from the roots, giving you smooth skin.

There’s a bit of a pinch when you epilate, but for most people, that pinch is worth is for the results they get. If you’re ready to give it a try, here’s how to epilate various parts of your body.

General Tips for Epilation

Before we jump into how to epilate specific areas of the body, let’s share a few tips for improving your results and for enjoying as comfortable an epilation session as possible.

• Tip 1: Exfoliate your skin before you epilate. Scrub away the top layer of dead, dull skin cells to reduce the risk for ingrown hairs.
• Tip 2: Get the timing right. Epilate at night or the day before a big event, such as a wedding or party. That way, any irritation will have a chance to fade away.
• Tip 3: Give yourself enough time. You might need at least 30 minutes to epilate, depending on the area.
• Tip 4: Do something about the pain. Epilating is like plucking multiple hairs out at once. It does hurt — so you might want to apply a numbing cream or pop an aspirin or ibuprofen 30 minutes before you start.
• Tip 5: Don’t forget to charge your epilator. You won’t get very far if the battery is dead!
• Tip 6: Decide whether you want to epilate wet or dry. Try it both ways at first to see which method you prefer. Only wet epilate if your device is a wet/dry tool, though.
• Tip 7: Clean the skin first. Take a shower or bath before you epilate to remove dirt and oil from the surface of the skin.

How to Epilate Legs

Many people who epilate use the device to remove hair from their legs. That makes sense since the legs are one of the best areas for epilation.

So, to get started, let’s focus on how to epilate legs.

• Prepare your skin. Exfoliate, take a shower or bath and otherwise get your skin ready for epilation. Some people like to shave their legs first, which seems counterintuitive but helps to make the hairs all the same length.

1. Choose a leg. Start with either your left or right leg. It’s a good idea to start epilating in the calf and shin area, rather than near the ankles or knees.
2. Pull the skin. Gently pull on your skin so that it’s taut and smooth.
3. Hold the epilator at a 90-degree angle to the skin. The epilator head should be flat on the skin, the handle straight up and down.
4. Don’t press hard! Don’t put a lot of pressure on the skin with the epilator. It should barely rest on the surface of the skin.
5. Move the epilator against the direction of hair growth. Go against the grain with the epilator so that the tool pulls the hair out by the roots instead of cutting it off.
6. Go slowly. It’s not a race. Braun recommends taking about 15 seconds to do the entire length of your leg, from ankle to knee.
7. Use circular motions. Hair tends to grow in a random pattern on the legs. If you use a circular motion, you’re more likely to remove more of it.
8. Apply lotion. Don’t be surprised if the skin on your legs looks bumpy and red after you epilate. Applying a lotion that contains soothing ingredients such as witch hazel can help improve the situation.

How to Epilate Bikini Area

Once you’ve figured out how to epilate the legs, you might want to move on to more challenging areas of the body. One of those areas is the bikini area.

There’s some debate over how much of the bikini area you should epilate. For example, Refinery 29 highly recommends NOT going full-on Brazilian with your epilator.

But others say it’s okay to epilate the entire pubic region, as long as you know what you’re in for. Let’s start by focusing on how to epilate the bikini line.

• Give yourself a trim. If it’s been awhile since you’ve done any hair removal or maintenance in the bikini area, trim the hair to a few millimeters in length before you start.

1. Exfoliate the skin. Use a scrub or a loofah to get rid of dead skin cells. Bumps and ingrown hairs tend to be more common in the delicate bikini area.
2. Pull the skin. The tauter your skin is, the smoother the epilation process will be.
3. Hold the epilator at a right angle. Place the head of the epilator flat on the skin, keeping the handle at a 90-degree angle.
4. Take a deep breath. Try to relax as much as possible.
5. Use a numbing cream. If the discomfort is too much for you, rubbing a numbing cream over the area can help a lot.
6. Epilate in water. You’re likely to feel less discomfort if you epilate the bikini area while in the shower or bath.
7. Moisturize afterward. Soothe the treated area by applying a sensitive skin lotion or an oil such as coconut oil.

How to Epilate Underarms

Once you’ve mastered the legs and bikini area, it’s time to focus on the underarms. Knowing how to epilate skin in the underarms area is important if you’re tired of shaving or waxing there.

• Choose the right epilator. Look for a tool that has a pivoting head, and that’s cordless so that you’re able to reach and maneuver around your armpits.

• Wash your underarms. You don’t want dirt or deodorant clogging up your epilator.

• Raise your arm above your head. Lift one arm up overhead and pull the skin of the armpit taut.

• Use circular motions, going against hair growth. For best results, move the epilator in a circular motion and pull it against the direction hair grows.

• Moisturize afterward. Apply a soothing lotion after you epilate. To avoid irritation, hold off on using deodorant or antiperspirant for a day.

How to Epilate Face

Whether it’s on your upper lip or between your eyebrows, unwanted facial hair can be super embarrassing. Luckily, learning to how to epilate your face isn’t too tricky.

• Use a facial epilator. Choose an epilator that’s designed for use on the face — it will usually have a much smaller head.

1. Clean skin and exfoliate first. Wash your face with an exfoliating cleanser before you epilate. Cleaning the skin reduces the risk of breakouts after you epilate.
2. Take a pain reliever before you start. If you’re worried about discomfort or pain, taking an aspirin or ibuprofen before you start epilating can be a good idea.
3. Pull the skin taut. Pulling on the skin so that it’s taut and smooth gives you the best canvas for removing hair.
4. Hold the epilator at a 90-degree angle. The device head should be flat against your facial skin.
5. Go against the grain, using circular motions. Move the epilator in a circular motion, against the direction of hair growth.

How to Care for Your Epilator

Taking good care of your epilator between uses will help ensure that you can use it for many years to come.

Clean your epilator completely after each use. Many devices come with a specialized cleaning brush just for this purpose — use the brush!

There might be times when tiny hairs clog the epilator head and can’t be removed with the brush.

One option is to use compressed air — like the spray can you use to clean a computer keyboard — to dislodge the hairs.

You can also rinse the brush head under water to remove any stubborn hairs. Make sure to disconnect the head from the body of the epilator first

To keep the epilator sanitary and clean, soak a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and rub it with the tweezers. Let the epilator head thoroughly dry before you store it away.

It’s also important to keep your epilator charged so that you can enjoy years of use from it.

Plug in and charge up the device the day before you plan on using it.

If you don’t epilate regularly, make sure to charge the tool at least once a month. Regular charging will keep the battery from completely draining and eventually dying.

Final Thoughts on How to Epilate Skin

Compared to waxing, shaving and other methods of hair removal, epilation is quick, effective and relatively comfortable. The trick is figuring out how to epilate for the best results and least amount of pain.

Now that you know how to epilate, you’ll wonder why you ever tried any other method of hair removal in the first place.