As a Pakistani woman, I have a lot of hair, and I’ve spent nearly every day since I was seven trying to get rid of it. For every compliment I get on my thick hair and full brows, there’s a price I’m paying everywhere else, which means when it comes to hair removal, I’ve run the gamut.
First, there was Nair because my mom insisted razors were “bad.” Then came years of at-home waxing before my family switched to sugaring after hearing it was better for your skin. By college, I was convinced laser hair removal was the answer, so I bought a Groupon for 12 sessions—it didn’t work the way I’d hoped, or I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this story today.
These days, my routine consists of threading my face at the salon across the street, getting my brows tweezed at Sania’s Brow Bar, waxing my bikini line and underarms at European Wax Center, and shaving my arms and legs at home—a regimen that’s both incredibl time-consuming and expensive. At a certain point, I started wondering if there was a better way.
That’s what led me to epilators. Unlike a razor, which simply cuts hair at the surface, an epilator removes it from the root by mechanically plucking multiple hairs at once. The result is smoother skin that lasts for weeks rather than days, making it an appealing middle ground between shaving and professional treatments like waxing or laser.
Vogue’s Favorite Epilators for Legs
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The Benefits of Epilators
One of the biggest advantages of an epilator is that it removes hair from the root, so results last significantly longer than shaving. According to board-certified cosmetic physician Dmitriy Schwarzburg, MD, that can mean smooth skin for several weeks at a time. With consistent use, many people also notice that regrowing hair becomes finer and less dense, making epilators an appealing alternative for anyone looking to stretch the time between hair removal sessions.
Board-certified dermatologist Sejal Shah, MD says epilators offer many of the same benefits as waxing or threading, but without the recurring appointment costs. “They are convenient because you can use them whenever it fits your schedule, and they are environmentally friendly since there is less disposable waste than with razors or waxing strips,” she says. While some users find that regrowth becomes softer or appears finer over time, Dr. Shah notes that results can vary from person to person.