Anybody who’s tried waxing knows how painful it can be, especially on areas which are more sensitive like under the arms. Patches of hair can come off in just seconds, and then you pause for a deep breath and reapply to the next area. The idea of epilating via small tweezers that yank out hairs can be terrifying too.
Once you try epilating though, ripping hairs out from the root, it may not hurt as much as you’d imagine. Every time you epilate it gets less and less painful. You can make it more comfortable by exfoliating the skin first or using some of the numbing gels that are available. Epilating will give you the smoothest of armpits that you’ll soon forget any of the pain you may encounter.
Hair removal creams are tried by many men and women who wish to get rid of unsightly underarm hair, but often have little success or may cause the underarm skin to turn dark as a result of burns from the cream being left in contact with the skin for too long. Waxing is another option but can be expensive in the long run and again can cause severe skin irritation. Shaving is quick and inexpensive, but may result in nicks and cuts or ingrown hairs. Using an epilator can help avoid the irritation of shaving or waxing and provide you with the hair-free armpits for results that’ll last many weeks. The following video looks at one woman’s experiences of waxing versus epilating:
What Type of Epilator Is Best for Underarms?
Looking online or on the shelves of your local beauty store you’ll find dozens and dozens of different epilators. Most epilators have an elegant design and are created with different specific features or functions, so if you don’t know what you’re looking for you may end up taking one home that doesn’t meet your requirements.
One option favored by many is to use a facial epilator that’s better suited for more narrow areas like under the arms, or can be more gentle to sensitive skin. These are often cheaper, use fewer tweezers but you may need more repeated epilating sessions with shorter lasting results. They’re a great choice for traveling too as they’re normally compact and sometimes use replaceable batteries so you don’t have to worry about the specific power requirements of the unit, especially handy if traveling overseas.
People with more coarse hairs, or simply in a hurry, may prefer to use a full-sized epilator. These will come with specially designed heads or caps for more precision in narrower or hard to reach areas. In general they’ll be more powerful, faster and catch more hairs in a single pass. You can also get epilators that are for wet or dry use to reduce irritation and easier cleaning.
What to Look for in the Best Epilator for Underarms
When looking for epilators that work best on the underarms you should consider that the hairs under your arms are often coarse mixed with finer hair. You’ll need an epilator that can effectively pull out hairs from the root regardless of their thickness or density. A facial epilator may work efficiently on the finer hairs but will struggle with thicker or coarse hairs. In most cases we’d recommend choosing a full body epilator with attachments.
You should also consider the comfort of an epilator for use on the underarms. We’re not going to lie and say there are models that don’t induce any pain, but certain models are more prone to catching the skin as it grabs just about anything. Certain epilators feature glide technology or pain-reducing technology, important for the very thin and fragile skin found under the arm.
Finally, convenience and price should be considered when choosing the best epilator for underarms. If it’s a device you’re going to use on the whole body extra expense can be justified. How compact and lightweight the unit is can affect your decision if you want one to easily travel with, along with of course the importance of dual-voltage capability. Rechargeable or battery operated models will be more expensive but can be much more convenient, just remember to keep it charged up or a spare supply of batteries handy.
Tips for Epilating Underarms
Choosing the right epilator for underarms is only half of the battle. Epilation isn’t too complicated a process, otherwise so many people wouldn’t do it! However, there are certain tips that can ensure you get smooth, less irritated armpits without razor burns or reactions of creams and wax.
Clean and Dry the Skin
Armpits are sweat central, which makes them an ideal place for bacteria to grow and reproduce, especially if you have hair there too. Although taking a shower or bath isn’t strictly essential when epilating your legs or arms, it can be important when removing hair from your armpits or other more intimate spaces. You don’t want to rip out hairs with bacteria around, potentially causing infection or the chance of ingrown hairs.
Stretch the Arm
Stretching can be especially important when removing hair from under your armpits. Underarms are a more difficult area to epilate than the legs or arms as the area to be covered is much smaller. By stretching your arm as much as possible, you can make the skin tighter with less chance of cutting and make the hairs stand up more. If possible a helping hand can be very useful here, if you can find someone willing to hold the arm tight while you epilate and not be grossed out!
Use the Sensitive Area Attachment or Cap
If you’ve decided to purchase a small epilator, like one of the facial epilators, with a smaller head and fewer tweezers, that’s ideal! However, if you’ve gone down the full size epilator route with a larger head and 40 tweezers or more you’re going to need to use the attachment that hopefully was included with your new purchase. A precision head or sensitive skin cap is great for use on the underarms.
Sensitive skin or precision caps are the ones with a small hole in them, normally in the middle of the cap, that exposes your sensitive skin to fewer tweezers and makes it easier to move the device around smaller areas. This should mean less catching of the skin, more efficient hair removal and less pain, although it may take slightly longer.
Don’t Start with an Epilator with Too Big a Head
Epilators that have more tweezers may seem more effective at removing hairs but can often be super painful for somebody who’s new to epilating, especially on the hypersensitive armpits. By starting off with fewer tweezers and a small head you allow your skin the chance to adjust and adapt to the changes.
Try to Move Against the Direction of Hair Growth
Armpits can look quite messy and it’s not always easy to see which way hairs are growing. A guide light found on many epilators or a mirror can help you determine which way the hair is growing. Many people use a magnifying mirror, which may make the hair problem look worse but will enable you to easily remove them all.
Aftercare of Epilated Underarms
Treat yourself and pamper your armpits after epilating. Washing the armpits with cold water can help close pores and avoid bacterial infections or ingrown hairs. A moisturizing cream or oil applied after closing the pores can be useful in calming down any skin irritation.
Epilating for Extra Sensitive Armpits
Many of us have super sensitive areas of skin, especially under the arms. Shaving or depilatory creams may have left bumps and long-lasting redness or rashes. If you’ve suffered in the past it can be handy to wax a few times before starting to use your epilator. Waxing may be painful, but it’s a good way for your pits to adapt to external irritations and can decrease the density of the hair as it grows back, which is extra helpful for when you start epilating.
Let’s look at one lady’s first time using an epilator on the legs and armpits:
What Are the Best Epilators for Underarms?
Looking for the best epilator for underarms can be confusing with so many different models to choose from. Do you go for a good-quality, regular epilator that has different attachments for more specific areas, a smaller headed unit which may be cheaper and more gentle to the skin or a facial epilator which will be extra gentle, more compact and usually cheaper? We’ve looked at many of the top-selling brands and their different models to bring you what we consider to be the best five epilators for underarms available today.
Our Choice
Depending on how much money you want to spend and what exactly you’re going to use an epilator for, there are many options available. If you’re looking for something to use on your whole body, there are many top-end epilators available with suitable attachments for epilating the underarms. In our opinion, for the unbeatable price and pain reduction technology the Emjoi Soft Caress Gold is the best epilator for underarms. It may not have all the features of models costing twice the price, but it’s a neat compact unit ideal for travel and probably the most comfortable underarm epilator you’ll ever get.
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