Braun Silk épil 7 and Silk épil 9 epilator comparison review
I'm a big fan of epilating - it's practically as quick, easy and convenient as shaving, but it keeps you fuzz-free for ages. If you've not tried it before, I promise it's really not all that painful, and you should definitely give it a go.
I've been using the Braun Silk épil 7 for some time, but there's now a newer model available which is the Silk épil 9 skin spa, so I thought I'd do a comparison of the two to talk you through what they both do and the differences.
Both epilators also double up as shavers, so you always have the choice, and they can be used wet or dry, so if you prefer shaving your legs in the shower, you can take these in there as they charge plugged into the socket and can then be used cordlessly. One hour of charging will give you 40 minutes of use with both models.
Silk épil 7 on the left and Silk épil 9 on the right - these are the epilation heads. They're packed with lots of tiny pairs of tweezers, so as you glide the epilator across your skin, hairs get caught and removed. Both have Braun's 'microgrip' technology, which means that can get more hairs in one go, and they work on hairs as short as 0.5mm so no annoying waiting for regrowth.
The difference with the Silk épil 9 is that it has a wider epilating area, so it can cover more skin making the whole experience a little bit faster. In the interests of doing a fair test, I actually used one of these on each leg for a proper comparison, and the Silk épil 9 is actually faster and fees more powerful too.
I've always really liked the light feature on the Silk épil 7, so I'm pleased to see the Silk épil 9 also has this. It helps you to really see in close up detail that you've grabbed all of the hairs and highlights any you've missed so that you can go over that one again. As you can see here, the design of both models is very similar, with the Silk épil 9 (on the left) having a wider epilation head.
Epilating does hurt a little bit, but it's really no big deal. Waxing hurts a little bit too, so if you can handle that, you'll be fine with epilating. Both the Silk épil 7 and Silk épil 9 have a feature which massages and stimulates the skin as you epilate, which helps to keep any pain to a minimum. I found when I first started epilating that the whole idea was a lot more painful in my head than the actual reality when I finally gave it a go! Also, the more you epilate, the more you become used to the sensation, to the point where it really doesn't hurt at all.
The epilation heads also have the flexibility to move with the contours of your skin, so when you're doing difficult areas like knees, the head will tilt accordingly so that you can still easily cover all of those places.
This is the Silk épil 7, and as I mentioned, you can switch between the epilation and shaver heads, and you can do that really easily - there's a release button on the back which makes the heads pop off. You can also take them a part to give them a clean.
And in comparison this is the Silk épil 9, also with the epilation and shaver heads, but there's also a third attachment on the right, which is an exfoliating brush. You don't get this one with the Silk épil 7, and it's a body exfoliator, so you can actually put this attachment on and use the epilator to power the brush head which will buff your skin smooth. It uses the massage technology built in to the epilator, and generates more than 3,000 micro-vibrations per minute, which exfoliates four times as well as manual exfoliation to sweep away dead skin cells.
Both epilators also come with a range of caps to increase the epilating and shaving options. There's a 'skin contact' cap, which means you can use the epilator without the massaging extras if you want to, and also a facial cap which covers most of the tweezing surface so that you can focus on small areas. They also both some with a trimmer cap for the shaver attachment, so that you can trim rather than close shave. The Silk épil 7 also comes with a pack of Olay moisturising wipes to care for your skin after exfoliating.
The main upgrades with the Silk épil 9 are the 40% wider exfoliation head, for faster and more precise hair removal, and the new body exfoliating brush attachment. In my opinion both are great, and do an excellent job, but if I was going to buy a new one today, I would go for the Silk épil 9 because you do notice that it's faster to use. I've had my original Silk épil 7 for nearly two years, and I've never had any trouble with it, so I definitely think that an epilator is worth the initial investment.
The Silk épil 9 skin spa is available at Boots and usually costs £179.99 but it's currently on offer at £119.98. The Silk épil 7 epilator is a bit cheaper - its regular price is £129.99 but it's also on offer, so it's just £84.99 at the moment.
Have you tried epilating before?
More posts from Gemma Louise
