Epilator buying guide: how to choose the right one

Tweezer count: speed versus comfort

The tweezers are the little discs that grip and pull out hairs, and how many an epilator has is the clearest single difference between models. More tweezers remove more hair per pass, so a session is quicker: budget units tend to have around 20 to 28, mid-range ones 32 to 40, and the most powerful 60 to 72. The Emjoi Emagine sits at the top with 72, which is why it clears coarse hair so fast.

More is not automatically better, though, and this is the trap to avoid. A denser head removes more hair at once, which also means a firmer, sharper sensation on the skin. For a beginner, or anyone with a lower pain tolerance, a lower tweezer count with a gentler action, such as the 28-tweezer Braun Silk-epil 5, is often the happier choice, even though it is a little slower. Match the count to your tolerance and hair type rather than chasing the biggest number, and you will enjoy using the device far more.

Head type: flexible, pivoting or rigid

The shape and movement of the head decides how well an epilator copes with the curves of your body. A fully flexible head, like the one on the Braun Silk-epil 9, bends in several directions to hug knees, shins and underarms, keeping the tweezers in contact with the skin so it catches more hair and needs fewer painful repeat passes. A pivoting head, as on the Remington EP7035, tilts to follow contours and is a good middle ground, especially at a budget price. A rigid head is fine on flat areas such as the lower leg but tends to skip and miss around joints.

If you mainly epilate flat areas and want to spend little, a rigid or pivoting head is perfectly adequate. If you want the cleanest results around the awkward parts of the leg, the underarms and the bikini line, a flexible or tilting head is worth paying for, it genuinely reduces both missed hairs and discomfort.

Wet or dry: the comfort decision

Whether an epilator can be used wet is, for most people, the most important comfort choice of all. A wet and dry epilator is cordless and fully washable, so you can use it in a warm bath or shower. The warm water relaxes the skin and opens the follicles, which noticeably dulls the plucking sensation, and it lets you rinse the head clean afterwards. For anyone new to epilation, or with sensitive skin, this single feature makes the biggest difference to how bearable the process is.

A dry-only epilator, such as the corded Emjoi Emagine, can be more powerful and is quicker to set up, but it stings more, especially at first. We would steer most buyers towards a wet and dry model unless you specifically want maximum power for coarse hair and have the tolerance for it. The comfort gain is simply too large to ignore.

Features worth paying for, and ones you can skip

A few extras genuinely matter. Massage rollers or a comfort cap soften the sensation and are well worth it for sensitive skin or beginners, as on the Silk-epil 5. A built-in light, like the Panasonic's, helps you spot fine, pale hairs you would otherwise miss. Multiple speed settings let you start gently and step up as your skin adjusts. A decent battery life, around 40 to 50 minutes, matters if you epilate your whole body in one go rather than just your legs.

Other things are nice-to-have rather than deciding factors. Bundled attachments such as bikini trimmers and facial caps add versatility, but only pay for the ones you will actually use. Brand buys you build quality, support and longevity, which is worth something over years of use, but it is never a substitute for the right tweezer count, head type and wet or dry choice. Get those three right first.