Epilators and Ice

The new Braun epilator I purchased came with a gel pack that goes in the freezer for a couple of hours - before placing it in a pouch and placing the chilled pouch on the skin for a few minutes. Then the epilation begins…

I can see that the chilling will dull the (moderate) pain, but isn’t this also causing the pores to close up … and therefore making epilation harder and more prone to broken rather than pulled hairs?

In short… is it better just not to bother with the ice pack if I can tolerate the discomfort?

I haven’t read their instructions, but icing is usually recommend after treatment instead of before. If you ice before, make sure the area is dry when you epilate. I always felt ice before made it feel worse, but some people prefer it. Though icing makes the skin tighter, it probably doesn’t make it much harder for the hairs to come out. In fact, it makes them stand up a little for some people.

The less you need to do in order to tolerate the epilation, the better. There are lots of options besides ice if pain is an issue.

“There are lots of options besides ice if pain is an issue.”

Could you elaborate please?

I use an epilator on my arms/legs and find the pain bearable, however when I try to use it on my chest the pain is so bad I cannot describe it with words. If I could do something to considerably reduce the pain of epilating then I could do it faster and more efficiently, do you have any ideas on what I could use?