Best Lady Shavers & Epilators UK

Men and women are different and one of the many difference between them is the nature of their hair, not so much the hair on their head, but certainly the hair on their bodies. Men’s body hair tends to be much coarser than women’s, which makes it more difficult to cut, but the good news (for men) is that, at current time, men who do shave generally only shave their faces (men who play sports may shave other parts of their bodies), women, by contrast, typically shave their underarms, legs and bikini line.

Fun fact – the reason certain sportsmen, especially cyclists, tend to shave their legs has very little to do with aerodynamics, it’s to do with the fact that it’s easier to treat cuts if legs are free of hair.

Feminine hair removal

Before we start talking about what makes a good lady shaver, let’s spend a few minutes talking about different types of hair removal and why most women end up shaving, at least some of the time.

Laser hair-removal

Laser hair-removal removes hair for a long time, in fact, it can sometimes remove hair permanently (although this depends on the type and colour of hair and generally requires multiple treatments). It is, however, slow and painful, and if you go to a salon, it can be very expensive. There are now home laser hair-removal kits available, but we suspect this is one area where you probably want to go to a professional for the best and safest results.

Waxing (and sugaring)

Waxing literally pulls hairs out by the roots and so results last until the hair regrows naturally, which is to say 4 to 6 weeks (depending on the individual). Home waxing kits are very cost effective but they are messy and the experience may be a lot more painful than going to a salon because you’ll have to rip the strips off your own body. Beauticians tend to be much more adept at removing waxing strips, but of course, they charge for their skills.

Epilation

Epilators are essentially highly efficient mechanical tweezers which pull the hair out from the roots and so the end results are similar to waxing. Epilation is, however, far less messy and while it can be somewhat painful, it’s much easier to use an epilator on your own body than to wax your own body, which makes it more feasible to take the “little-and-often” approach at home.

Depilatory creams

Depilatory creams are basically creams which burn away the hair follicle, leaving you hair free for about a week (again depending on the individual). They are expensive, messy and smelly and if you use them incorrectly you can literally wind up being burned, especially when treating delicate areas.

Threading and plucking

Treatments such as threading and plucking are time-consuming and can be mildly painful as well as relatively expensive if you have them done professionally. They are only really suitable for the tiniest of tiny areas, such as eyebrows.

Shaving

Shaving is quick, simple, convenient painless and affordable, which makes up for the fact that the results typically only last a day or two. Manual razors are, of course, completely off-limits for carry-on luggage, but electric lady shavers are fine.

The basics of lady shavers

Here’s what you need to know before buying a lady shaver.

Lady shavers are either foil shavers or rotary shavers

Foil lady shavers have one or more blades covered by a very thin mesh (the foil). As the blade passes of the skin, the hairs are pushed through the holes in the mesh at which point they are then cut by the blades. The foil also serves to keep the blades slightly away from the skin, making it less likely that you will cut yourself. Like the blades, the foil will become worn over time and will need to be replaced.

Rotary shavers are the ones with the circular cutting heads (these days typically in groups of three, sometimes four). The rotating heads basically sweep up the hairs so they can be cut by the blades.

In simple terms, foil shavers are better at cutting short hair than long hair, because long hair tends to bend when the lady shaver passes over it and hence slides below the blades, whereas rotary shavers are better at cutting longer hair, because short hairs are less likely to be swept up towards the blades. Having said that, foil shavers can be quite harsh on the skin, whereas rotary shavers are much less likely to provoke a reaction.

Lady shavers sold in the UK tend to be foil lady shavers as the assumption is that women will use them regularly and hence they will be cutting short hair, however there are some rotary lady shavers in the UK, these tend to be advertised as “trimmers” for sensitive areas.

These days most lady shavers are cordless, meaning they are either rechargeable themselves or battery-operated (and, of course, you can always use rechargeable batteries). Some lady shavers can work with or without a cord, meaning that you can use them while they charge.

A few lady shavers are intended to be used only on dry skin or only on wet skin, but these days most lady shavers will work on either and will also be fine with most grooming products, especially those intended for shaving. You still might want to lay off the very thickest creams and so forth, but even with these, if your lady shaver does get clogged, a quick clean will generally set it right.

When it comes to lady shavers, we are of the opinion that brands matter a lot. When you look at our electric lady shaver reviews and our electric epilator reviews, you’ll notice that our picks generally come from very familiar names. There is a reason for this. In addition to being a device you’re going to be using on your body (perhaps in very intimate and/or sensitive areas), it’s also a device you’ll want to trust in a damp bathroom and to last the course to give you good value for your hard-earned money.

As a final point, if you’re happy to stick with manual razors, or some other hair-removal method for everyday use, you still might want to invest in a lady shaver if you travel a lot as you can (currently) take them through airport security. Top tip, with any electric device at all, be prepared to demonstrate to airport staff that it switches on and operates as intended, so basically, make sure you have batteries and that they are charged.

The basics of effective shaving

Keep your lady shaver to yourself (or at most only share it with a person you really know well and trust), at the end of the day, this is a hygiene product. Similarly, only use it on unbroken skin, e.g. avoid cuts, rashes, moles etc. On that note, shaving can be a great opportunity to examine your body for any issues to which you should alert your doctor.

Cleanse your skin gently, basically you just want to get rid of any surface dirt, even if it’s invisible to the naked eye. If you choose to exfoliate, it’s advisable to do so very gently, as shaving can be quite harsh on the skin, especially if you use a foil lady shaver.

If you’re using a wet lady shaver (or a wet/dry lady shaver), then you might want to shave in or just after a bath or shower (basically when your pores are open) and/or use a shaving product to help the lady shaver glide over the skin.

The key to getting a good shave is to keep the skin taught, so when shaving your legs and bikini line, you can use your free hand to stretch the skin. For the underarm, put your free hand behind your neck. Move the lady shaver in long, slow, steady movements in an upwards direction, ideally keeping the lady shaver at a 90-degree angle (or as close to it as you can manage).

As previously mentioned, shaving can be quite harsh on the skin, so afterwards you might want to give it some care with a gentle toner and/or moisturizer. The key word here, is gentle, thankfully in the UK alcohol-based post-shave grooming products have largely disappeared from shelves, but if you do see them, our advice is to avoid them. Other products work just as well and without post-shave pain.

If you’re interested in epilation, please go on down, to the section on the basics of epilation, otherwise please keep reading for our lady shaver reviews, basically our pick of the best lady shavers in the UK.

Best Electric Lady Shaver UK Reviews

Here is our round-up of the best lady shavers on the UK market.

Braun Silk-Epil Lady Shaver 5-100

Braun has long been a major name in the world of shaving and many women are big fans of its Silk-Epil range. This particular version is a foil lady shaver, which is intended for dry shaving (although you can wet the head to clean it). The round head glides nicely into contours and there is a trimmer cap for sensitive areas. This lady shaver uses two standard AA batteries making it very flexible in use.

Miserwe Hair Removal Mini IP4X

Miserwe might be a new name to you, but they’re gaining a lot of fans in the UK and it’s easy to see why. We’ll say up front that the aesthetics of this lady shaver are definitely going to divide opinion.

Basically, if you’re into millennial pink and cute, you’ll think it’s adorable and if you’re not then there’s a good chance your description of choice would be tacky, but you might want to look at it anyway.

Basically, this foil lady shaver appears to have been designed with travel in mind. It’s tiny, efficient, can be used for wet and dry shaving and its battery charges quickly via USB. You might find it a bit small for everyday use, but the build quality is certainly up to it, so it could be a good choice for girls who are just starting to shave (and women with smaller hands).

For the sake of completeness, we’d like to emphasize that this is a lady shaver, not an epilator, as some of the descriptions we’ve seen have been a bit confusing in that regard.

Philips HP6341 Battery Ladyshave

We’re a bit bemused as to why the box for this foil lady shaver specifically says “for legs”, even though it works just fine all over the body, including sensitive areas. The handle is very comfortable to hold, even in the wet, so we’d be happy to use this in a shower or bath and the foil is hypoallergenic. This lady shaver runs off two AA batteries, which are available just about everywhere, so it could be a good option for travelling.

Philips SatinShave Essential

This is basically the lighter, slimmer sibling of the HP6341 lady shaver above (right down to the “for legs”) on the packaging. It appears to have been created for shaving on the go, e.g. at the gym or when travelling, but women with smaller hands might find it a bit easier to hold.

Philips SatinShave Wet and Dry Advanced

Basically the “advanced” bit here appears to be the ergonomic design of the handle and the strategically-contoured design of the floating foil. So essentially what you get for the extra money is faster, smoother, even gentler performance. If you’re one of those people who just wants to get their shave out of the way as quickly as possible then this lady shaver could be for you and if you have sensitive skin, then it’s definitely worth a look.

LuVel - Facial hair remover for women

This is a small, rotary lady shave which, as you might have guessed, is intended to be used on the face. If your bikini line is really delicate, you might be able to use it there, but you’d probably want to trim the area with scissors first and go slowly, cleaning the head as required. Essentially, this lady shaver is only intended for one job, but it does it really well.

Best lady shaver overall

As always, it depends what you want. The LuVel is a great choice for dealing with delicate facial hair, you might also look at the Miserwe for that, if your skin isn’t too delicate, as it’s so dinky, although we really see it as a travelling lady shaver (at least for full-grown adults). The Braun lady shaver and the Philips lady shavers are all good all-rounders, so your choice would probably come down to how you felt about the handles.

The basics of epilation

As previously mentioned, epilators are essentially mechanical tweezers, which pull hair from the roots. If this sounds painful, then that’s because it is, up to a point, but in our opinion, it’s less painful than waxing, even salon waxing, but gives equally good results, plus there’s less mess and we suspect most people will find it more cost-effective even than home waxing. We also have to say, you do get used to the sensation.

We’re also pleased to be able to tell you that manufacturers have long since grasped the fact that making epilators work more effectively and less painlessly helps to encourage women to buy them and so have been working hard on just this. In other words, if you remember the early days of epilators, you’ll probably be very pleasantly surprised by just how much they’ve improved. In fact, there’s a whole range of key improvements which have made epilation a much less painful experience.

Manufacturers now offer epilators which are cordless and waterproof and which also work on wet skin. These three developments essentially go hand in hand. The basic idea is that you use your epilator in the bath or shower when your pores are open and your hairs offer the least resistance to the epilator. This would probably be the best place for extensive epilation.

NB: Just for the sake of clarity, most epilators can be used on wet or dry skin, so if you need to touch up outside the bath or shower, you can.

Another great development is that epilator head sizes are now larger, which allows space for more tweezers, in fact you’re now looking at a minimum of 20 pairs of tweezers on budget epilators and anything up to about 40 pairs on more premium epilators. More pairs of tweezers means that you can get the job done more quickly – if you want to.

If, however, you’d like to lower the level of pain, there are now caps you can use to reduce the number of tweezers the epilator uses at any given time. These are great for beginners who are just getting used to epilation, or for more sensitive areas like the bikini line. The best epilators are also increasingly likely to have twin speed settings, as you might have guessed, faster settings get the job done more quickly, but are a bit more painful, while slower settings are both slower and more gentle.

Last but by no means least, epilators are also (currently) fine with airport security.

The basics of epilation

You want to exfoliate when the skin is at its most relaxed, which, for most people is the evening. Depending on your epilator you might want to epilate in a bath or shower or just after one, in either case you will want to exfoliate gentle but refrain from using moisturizing products before your treatment. Afterwards, however, you will ideally want to tone and certainly moisturize.

You hold an epilator in the same way as you hold a lady shaver, basically you want to keep it as close to a 90-degree angle as possible and if anything it’s even more important to keep the skin tight, so, as a reminder, when epilating your legs or bikini line, use your free hand to stretch the skin and when epilating your under arms, put your free hand behind your neck.

Best Electric Epilator UK Reviews

Here is our round-up of the best electric epilators on the UK market.

Braun Silk-Epil 5 Power 5780 Epilator

This epilator is designed for use on dry skin, but the idea is that you use it after a bath or shower which finishes with exfoliation. It’s corded but we’re fine with that given that you’re going to use it in a dry environment and the advantage of corded devices is that they’re just plug and play.

There are 40 close-grip tweezers to give you the smoothest of skin, but if this sounds like too much for you, there are a variety of extras to make epilation more gentle. These are: shaver head and trimmer cap for depilation, sensitive area cap, facial cap, massage cap, skin contact cap and a cooling glove

Philips Precision Epilator SatinTouch HP6365/03

This is the epilator equivalent of the LuVel lady shaver. It’s small, cordless (it runs off two AA batteries) and intended for use on dry skin and in small areas, in this case, armpits and bikini lines. It can be a bit on the noisy side, but, within its limitations, it offers very solid performance.

Philips Satinelle Epilator with Opti-start Cap with Massage Element - HP6422/02

The Philips Satinelle is a very decent, entry-level epilator, with twenty sets of tweezers and two speeds. While the marketing for this epilator emphasizes legs, we’d actually say that with twenty sets of tweezers only beginners would want to use it on their legs, however, we think it would be great for regular use on the underarms and bikini line, basically places you might not want to have waxed.

Best epilator UK overall

From the standpoint of pure functionality, the Braun is clearly the best by a long margin, however both the Philips options are respectable performers with their own niches. They are both great for epilating smaller areas with the SatinTouch being the gentlest option for the most delicate skin and the Satinelle being the better option for people who wanted a bit more speed.