Beauty and Fashion Tech

All Entries Tagged With: "Shaving"

Long-Term Hair Removal With The Braun Silk-Epil Expressive Epilator

Last week I sat down with the Braun Silk-Epil Xpressive Epilator in hand, wondering why the heck I agreed to test something that I knew would hurt and generally expecting the worse in terms of pain. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the discomfort was quite bearable, and the results were so good that I love the thing!

Before I write more on how much I like this product, let’s get one thing straight. If you are not familiar with how an epilator works, it essentially pulls your hair out a the roots. Therefore, it cannot be painless—that is impossible. So anyone who complains that an epilator is a bad product merely because it hurts is usually focusing on their own sensitivities and not the quality of the product. It also means that if you are squeamish or particularly sensitive, you probably shouldn’t try one.

With all that said, I actually am a bit squeamish, but I was surprised to find that the pain was less than waxing for me. Not much less, but a bit. I was expecting more because of the slower use of the product. But the Braun Silk-Epil Expressive has the option of using a beginner head with little massage type rollers and a smaller surface area, which seemed to make a difference. I also found that I actually kind of liked the sensation. It one of those satisfying kinds of pain, knowing that it will lead to weeks of hair free legs. One note though–I briefly tried using the epilator on the bikini area, and that was a lot more painful, so I’m not sure I will be using it there. Although I plan to try again.

In terms of hair removal, the epilator worked very well. It can remove hair once it is about 2-3mm long, which isn’t all that bad to grow out. The hair came off completely which each swipe of the device and it stayed gone for well over 3 weeks—the same as waxing for me. The Silk-Epil has a little built in light that is nice for spotting missed hairs, and because it is rechargeable, there is no annoying cord. A corded version is also available for about $30 less.

The epilator comes with heads for legs, underarms, the bikini area, and face, along with a razor attachment and case. Cleaning is easy. My only complaint is that the instructions are a bit hard to read. The English instructions are in the middle of a thick booklet, while references to the parts come from a picture at the front, making page flipping a requirement. It also is a bit on the expensive side for a hair removal appliance, but well worth it in my opinion, assuming that you are the type who can handle the sensation of the device.

The Braun Silk-Epil Expressive has become my hair removal option of choice. If you are willing to put up with a bit of prickly pain and discomfort for weeks of hair free legs, this is a great item to try.

Comparison shop for the Braun Silk-Epil Expressive Epilator

Popularity: 17% [?]

Every Man Jack: Great Value Skin Care For Men

Why is that guys have a tendency to insist on using cruddy products, while simultaneously complaining about their razor burn, ingrown facial hair, wrinkles, or what have you? I don’t completely have the answer to that, but I do know that if you give them decent, affordable products, targeted to men, that they can find at the local big box retailer, they will often actually use them!

Every Man Jack is a great brand for that. The products are available at Target stores, don’t have any sort of cheesy or girlish packaging, and are basic good quality, yet affordable men’s products. What more can a guy ask for? I tried some of items myself and also left them lying around for my husband to come across and try. Yes, I sometimes try to trick him into sampling products for me!

Right off the bat, I have to rave about the citrus body bar. Forget about the men’s product part of this–ladies if you want a fairly heavy leg scrub for use before sunless tanning, give this a try! This bar soap has a nice citrus scent, albeit a bit manly since it is made for men after all. It also contains wheat bran as a scrub. This is a bit strong for facial skin, but as a body exfoliant, it rocks! My husband liked it as a general soap, and I love it as a very affordable body exfoliator. By the way, it is also oil free and paraben free.

We also gave the Face Lotion and Shave Cream a try. The lotion is a nice basic moisturizer that is oil and paraben free. It is available in both scented and fragrance free versions. The shave cream is also quite nice. My husband prefers a gel (which Every Man Jack also makes), while I kind of liked the lotion.

Every Man Jack is available online through the links above, or at Target stores nationwide.

Shop for more men’s skin care and shaving products

Popularity: 13% [?]

Venus Embrace Razor and Satin Care Shave Gel

Gillette has come out with a new version of the Venus razor, the Venus Embrace, which ups the blade count to five. I’m not sure that more is better when it comes to blade numbers, considering that I like my regular three blade razor just fine. But I will note that I found the Embrace to be a big improvement on earlier versions, none of which worked well for me. The new Embrace was functional for me and did not cut or irritate my legs, so perhaps those extra blades do add something?

In any event, I want to focus instead on a shaving cream that came with the razor that I was sent to try for review. I was pleased to find that I really liked the gel. Normally no single gel stands out much above any other for me, but this one did.

The Gillette Satin Care Shave Gel in Alluring Avocado is a pretty darn nice shave gel. With aloe, jasmine, and orange blossom, it has a fresh scent that I prefer over some of the more floral scented gels. It also has avocado oil, which has always worked well for me as a skin and hair conditioner. I think it is the combination of avocado oil and aloe that is the key. The gel seems a bit smoother, a bit more soothing, and definitely more moisturizing and conditioning for me than my regular gel, which also contains aloe, but not avocado. So this gel, gets a big thumbs up from me.

Popularity: 10% [?]

MenScience Androceuticals: Comprehensive Skin Care for Men

Some time ago I agreed to take a look at some MenScience products, thinking that I would just toss them at Ken and get his opinions. Well, Ken is a bit stubborn about trying things like eye cream, so it took awhile! In the meantime, I played with the products myself and used several of them over a decent period of time, which is always the ideal for testing skin care items. I was left wondering whether MenScience would consider making a WomenScience line as well. All of the products I tried were wonderful!

One of the more popular products is the Mens Science Ti02 Sunscreen. This SPF 30 sunscreen contain Titanium Dioxide as a physical blocker for broad spectrum protection. It also has various natural moisturizers, soothers, and green tea as a good antioxidant. The sunscreen really goes on nicely. Although it has titanium dioxide, it goes on clear and the product itself feels nicely moisturizing without feeling greasy. I like this sunscreen better than the Aveeno and Neutrogena Sunscreens that I previously reviewed. Ken seemed happy with this sunscreen to–when I could get him to wear it like he should (Grrr).

MenScience Microfine Face Scrub is a 2007 Men’s Health Magazine Grooming Awards winner. I can see why. It is a good product to keep and use in the shower. Just scrub with this every morning and the skin will be well prepped for shaving. Ken used this, and since I like to exfoliate in the shower, I used it as well. It is a good medium texture scrub that provides efficient exfoliation, but is not too harsh. Something I really like about it is that it doesn’t just provide manual exfoliation as a scrub, it contains my two favorite chemical exfoliators as well, salicylic acid and glycolic acid. It also has aloe vera extract and urea to moisturize, which helps prevent the product from feeling too harsh or drying. For men who shave, this combination is great not just for standard skin preparation, but also for preventing and treating ingrown hairs. For women who want a unique facial scrub, you could always get this for your man and then sneak it for yourself!

The MenScience Anti Aging Formula is a top notch formula for preventing fine lines and wrinkles. I couldn’t get Ken to care much about this, which turned out to be fine since I happily horded this product for myself! With a combination of Idebenone 0.5%, GABA, and Peptides (Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 and Palmitoyl Oligopeptides), the product does a nice job, especially over time, of smoothing up fine lines. I have personally had quite a bit of good results from using various peptide combinations and this one fit right in with that. The formula feels nice, absorbs well, and has no annoying scents, which I seem to find in some of the women’s formulations.

My favorite of the products is the MenScience Eye Rescue Cream. When this product arrived I looked at it and basically saw my wish list of ingredients, including hyaluronic acid (one of my favorite moisturizers), shea butter (wonderful under the eyes), kojic acid (a lightener), vitamin C (a lightening antioxidant), vitamins E and K (antioxidant and lightening), co-enzyme Q (anti-aging), green tea extract (antioxidant and sun protection), and grapeseed (anti-aging). I don’t think a lot of Men appreciate this combination the way I do. Ken looked at me like I was an alien when I kept babbling about how great it was. I ran off with this one and I’m not sure that Ken ever really got to try it. And considering that he just won’t quite bring himself to use eye cream, that is fine with me. I want it all for myself! Apart from the impressive ingredient list, it is a really nice feeling eye cream that in all honesty has become my favorite. Whether you are male or female, if you are looking for a good all around eye cream, give this one a try. It is wonderful stuff! And guys, you really should be willing to use eye cream. Seriously!

Overall, if you are looking for quality Men’s skin care products, MenScience is well worth a look. Everything I tried was a quality product. The MenScience Website is full of useful information as well. Besides skin care products, MenScience also offers a line of nutritional supplements. If you are looking for a way to try out several products at once or for a good gift idea, also take a look at this MenScience Travel Kit.