Review - Braun Silk Epil 7681

My new Braun Silk Epil 7681 Epilator

After much thought and lemming, I finally finally bought myself an epilator. Yey for me who have gone through all sorts of methods of hair removal, from the relatively simple shaving, painful hot waxing, quick-fix depilatory creams, cheap Veet waxes, and my most recent discovery - the uber-convenient waxing salons. (I still have an unused tub of cold wax which I have yet to try.) I tried them all since high school. 

Razors offered a quick-fix to my hair problems but had the least flattering effect which were thicker hair growth, chicken skin and darker underarms.

Hot waxing was painful and might cause slight burn marks but the hair took longer to grow back.

Depilatory creams were fairly easy to use but hair grew back faster though not as fast as with shaving.  Creams don't offer even hair removal as some were left even after leaving the cream on for the recommended time.

Waxes were easier to use and hair was pulled from its growth. Produced good results though it requires some getting used to especially when waxing hard to reach areas.

Waxing salons produced professional results and are fairly convenient if there are salons located near one's house. The price is the only con of going to salons to get your waxing done.

I have been visiting wax salons for the past few months for my hair problems but I recently felt that visiting them are a bit time consuming because I have to go to malls to have my legs and underarms done. Plus, they cost more compared to just waxing myself. So when I chanced upon a Bubzbeauty Youtube video on underarm hair removal and discovered the epilator, I got curious. I read about epilators and how much they cost and found out that these are good investments because even if prices range from  HKD400 to HKD1000 or Php2,240 to Php5,600, these things last for 10-15 years. Imagine the money I could save! This aside, epilators nowadays are high-tech - some can be used for different parts of the body, some even have trimmers/shaver heads and some can be used in both dry and wet settings. They are even rechargeable now! The only downside that I read about epilators is that they are quite painful so I began thinking that I might be unable to handle the pain if most people found it almost unbearable. But due to my hubby's pushing, I decided to buy one and, boy, am I so glad I did.


Before I bought mine, I did a lot of research on the best epilator brands and models. According to the Net, leading epilator brands are Braun, Panasonic, Philips. There are actually several other more but they were not as globally famous as those that I've mentioned. I also found out that Braun, as a brand, offers high-quality and long-lasting products so I looked at the epilator line of Braun and found the newest line which was the Silk Epil. To be honest, Silk Epil wasn't really my initial choice because I didn't think that I'll be using the epilator in the bathroom so no need for a wet and dry one. However, the store that we went to no longer carries the older models so I grabbed the 7681 instead. And what I really liked about the 7681 just by looking at the package was its various attachments. Now, I'm not really a gadget-y type of person but I thought that the different heads of the 7681 will give me better results as I epilate different body parts. For example, I can use the one with the massage rollers when epilating my legs and the one with the smallest head for my underarm.

The Silk Epil 7681 comes with an epilator head and shaver head with 5 caps, one for shaving/trimming and 4 for epilating with different hole sizes for different body parts.

The cap holes vary in sizes for the face, underarm, leg and body. The shaver head also has its own trimmer cap.

The epilator head has 40 tweezers to remove your hair for you.  Looks a  bit intimidating, no?

The epilator has a built-in light to guide you as you epilate and it has two speeds, fast and faster. Haha.

Now here's a look at my legs before and after using the Braun Silk Epil 7681. The hairy one is my right leg and the "smooth" one is my left leg. :D

My hairy right leg. It looks like it's from a guy. (Embarassed...)

Closer look at my hairy leg. The hair looks lighter here because of the direct sunlight.

My smooth leg after epilating.

Here's a closer look.

Notice the red marks on my leg? These means that the hair was pulled out from the roots.

As soon as I got home after buying my Silk Epil, I immediately tried it on my legs to see if I can get salon results from it. To be honest, I was really scared because the tweezers looked so "Texas Chainsaw-ish" and also because of the pain which most users reported so I went really slowly from my ankle to the middle of my shin at first. I was pleasantly surprised when I started because I felt no pain at all but please don't take my word on this. My legs have been through several sorts of waxing torture and the nerves on my legs have probably shriveled up after years of "abuse". After I realized that this wasn't so difficult at all, I zipped through my lower leg and up to my knees and upper leg. This was where things got trickier. Because of the bones on my knees, I had to go slower to make sure that I got all the hair. It is also recommended to epilate bended knees instead of having your legs stretched out. When I moved on to my upper legs, I felt a bit of a pull because I never really waxed my them before. But again, it wasn't really painful, perhaps just a bit uncomfortable.

After around 10 minutes, I was done with one leg. I was so happy with the results because I now had one hair-free leg and it didn't take much time and effort. I was even able to get the hair from the back of my legs which is quite a challenge doing by oneself. After a couple of minutes, both my legs were done and the results were what I expected and more. I was feeling so empowered by my hairless legs that I thought doing my underarms would be just as easy. Unfortunately for me, it was a completely different story.

I changed the massage roller cap for the one with the second to the smallest hole and began epilating my underarm. I couldn't pull the skin taut so my skin got tweezed instead at some point. The hair was also not as manageable and were deeply rooted so I had to go over some parts twice and thrice before they were pulled out. It was quite difficult and painful because my skin got pinched and bled as a result. But I knew that I was still on my learning curve and I just had to try different things to get better results.

After a week, some hair were growing out already but I didn't have to fret anymore because I had my Silk Epil with me. :D Although some hair grew under the skin, a quick exfoliation fixed the problem and I could remove them again with my Silk Epil. As for my UA hair, I discovered that using the massage roller cap worked best because the other caps often stuck to the skin instead of just gliding over. Also, it was easier for me to epilate my UA lying down with a pillow under my shoulders to stretch out the skin completely. Overall, I am satisfied with my new epilator and I'm pretty sure I'll make the most out of it in the next coming years.

What I liked about the Braun Silk Epil 7681:
- Its classic, clean and sturdy design - The white color and silver font made the epilator look classy and beautiful.
- The shaver and trimmer head - I'm sure my hubby will be borrowing this when his goatee gets too long.
- Built-in light - I initially thought that this will be useless but during the epilation, I saw that the light beamed exactly on the area I was working on so I could see if I got everything out or not.

What I disliked about the Braun Silk Epil 7681:
- The noise! - It was unexpectedly loud! It seemed like I was sawing my leg off instead of just removing the hair because of the sound coming from the epilator. It even seemed like the longer you have it turned on, the louder it got so if you've got noise-sensitive housemates, I suggest you wait for them to go out of the house before whipping this thing out and using it because the sound could  be a little disturbing for them. 
- The battery life - A single charge gave me around 30-40 minutes of use. It was "just" enough for epilating my legs and underarms but I won't have time left for other body parts. But since I could still use the epilator while charging, this doesn't really pose much of a problem except if you forgot to bring the cord. 


Would I buy it again? Probably not because I'm sure by the time this one dies on me, Braun would already have newer and better models.

Posted in: Beauty and Fashion, Featured