I stopped shaving my arms and legs two years ago, yet I never get mistaken for Grizzly Adams. Instead of shaving, I epilate.

I remember seeing advertisements for the Epilady epilator many years ago. The very idea of those whirling springs ripping hairs out of my skin made me cringe. Yeow! Little did I think that one day I would be a regular epilator user. The epilator I purchased is not an Epilady, but Philips' Satinelle Sensitive product. Rather than springs, it has spinning disks to grab the hairs and yank them out by the root. Essentially, this is tweezing on steroids. (It looks like the Epilady uses disks now, too; but I'm sure I remember springs years ago.)

Yeow! It does hurt, the first time you go over an area. After that, it is easy and painless to maintain. I use my epilator for about 10 minutes once or twice a week and I always look nice—even without nylons. I wouldn't recommend epilating if you only shave your arms and legs a few times a year, because I imagine it would be painful like the first time every time. But for maintaining always-smooth arms and legs, I think epilating beats shaving hands down.

Epilating is convenient. It is done dry, so you don't need to be in a shower or bath or use shaving cream. I like to sit on the bed next to a window to get great illumination from the sunlight. It's quick and easy to grab the epilator for a touch-up if you notice a few wild hairs as you are on your way out the door for a big date.

A friend mentioned that she thought you need to let your hair grow out a bit so the epilator can catch it. Not so. If you can see it, you can epilate it.

Besides convenience, the thing I like most about epilating instead of shaving is no nicks or cuts. I must be a big klutz, because I always had bleeders every time I shaved my legs. This is never a problem with the epilator, even around those tough spots like knees, elbows, knuckles, and underarms.

Another benefit is that when you epilate, the hair grows back sparser and more vellus, instead of denser and tougher as it seems to do with shaving. Moreover, since most of the hairs are yanked out by the root, they grow back as new, soft hairs, so you don't get the stubble feel that returns soon after shaving. Your honey-bunch will appreciate it if you switch to epilating!

The epilator works great on arms and legs; but what about the rest of your body? I used my epilator on my chest and belly for about a year, until I had laser hair removal there. It worked great, although I should mention that my hair wasn't very thick in those areas to start with. I had pretty good success with my underarms, but it was a bit painful. Once or twice I cleared my bikini area and scrotum, but that was extremely painful and the hair grew back so quickly that it wasn't worth the trouble. Laser worked great for me on underarms and bikini. (As for the genitals, I simply had them removed; but that solution may not be right for you.) I helped a girlfriend epilate her back, and it was very painful—even for me! But she tells me that she maintains it and it works well for her. I thank the goddess that my back has never been hirsute.

I have heard of girls using epilators on their faces, but I don't think it is a good idea. For one thing, it is very painful. More importantly, I believe it can damage the skin, just as intensive tweezing can. On the other hand, I have heard of t-girls who have successfully tweezed their entire faces, so who knows?

As to the palms of your hands: Just stop masturbating, you perv!

Epilating actually saves money. I paid for $60 for my epilator. If you change blades in your Gillette Venus razor about twice a month, at about $2 per cartridge, your epilator will have paid for itself in a little over a year..

Epilators can be purchased on-line at Image Supply or Amazon.com. Prices range from $25 to $100.

So if you feel like you just can't “bear" shaving any more, you might want to give epilating a try. (Please forgive the strained Grizzly Adams callback.)

Love,
Lannie Rose
10/2003

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