Braun SE9-961E Legs-Body-Face Epilator (White/Purple)

Examining the Braun Silk Epil 9 EpilatorWhen it comes to looks there is no arguing that the Braun makes some of the prettier looking epilators on the market. Made in Germany, the Silk Epil 9 has a strong sense of design and that is apparent the moment you lay your eyes on it.The all-white design with purple highlights are instantly appealing. If it wasn’t for the release of the absolutely gorgeous Philips Norelco Satinelle Prestige, we would go so far to say that this is the best looking epilator available.Braun Silk Epil 9 epilator unitBut looks aren’t everything.Fortunately the Silk Epil 9 also has a great amount of useful features packed into the epilator. Let’s take a closer look, starting with the front of the unit.Front and center on the Epilator handle you will find a purple ring:Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator power switch and speed settingsThis ring controls your Epilator. To activate it you press the white “lock” in with your thumb and rotate the purple ring to one of the following positions:I – On/Low speedII – On/High speedO – OffClockwise to turn the unit on. Anti clockwise to turn it off. This control method was pretty simple and because the white “locks” are located on both sides of the unit, can easily be operated with your right or left hand.The only thing that I didn’t like about the controls is that at a glance it is difficult to tell what speed setting the Silk Epil 9 is on. And that is made even more difficult by the light that shines in your eyes if you try to look.Yup, the Silk Epil 9 has a built in light located just above the control ring:Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator built in smart light on handleShining the light over your skin will highlight even the finest blonde hairs, allowing you to give them a passing with the epilator. It is also handy in dimly lit bathroom.The light comes on the moment you turn the Silk Epil 9 on. Braun calls it the “SmartLight”. However, being unable to turn it off is quite dumb. While the light is designed to shine towards the head of the epilator, it is still bright enough to make you blink white spots out of your eyes if you look anywhere near the power ring.Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator with smart light shining brightThe light seems to work best in the shade or a poorly lit room. Using the light in a bright room or in the sunlight made finding those fine blonde hairs much more difficult.Moving further down the handle you will come to a plus and minus sign, Just below the Braun logo:Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator sparkling glitter handle and charging indicatorThis is the charging indicator. During use the plus sign will light up green. As your battery runs low the minus sign will flash red, warning you that it is time to recharge the battery.While it is clever that the + and – represent the positive and negative of a battery, at first glance it isn’t clear what this indicator means. A battery symbol would have been much more appropriate.If you look closely at the above picture you may notice that this part of the handle is sparkly! The addition of glitter to the plastic was an interesting choice. Whether you like it or not will all come down to how much you like things that sparkle.At the very base of the Silk Epil 9 handle you will find the a small slot with two pins sticking out:Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator charging socket on bottom of handleThis is the charging socket. Stick the charging cord in here when your battery dies to recharge it.Flipping the unit over you will find more sparkly plastic:Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator rear photoSince the glitter plastic has a gloss surface, and is slipperier than the plain white plastic, I was surprised to find it almost covering the entire rear.If you look closely at the above picture you will see raised sections of the sparkly plastic, they almost look like ripples. This ribbed plastic is much less slippery and will help prevent the epilator from slipping through your fingers.The only other point of note on the rear is the head release button. But I will cover that further down the review. First I want to cover the Silk Epil 9 Epilator head itself.Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator close up on tweezer headThis is the part of the Silk Epil 9 that you run over your skin.Braun has made the head of the epilator 40% wider than the other epilators in the Silk Epil range. Below you can see the head of the Silk Epil 9 compared to the head of the Silk Epil 7:Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator head compared to SIlk epil 7The larger head allows you to remove more hair with each pass, which makes the whole hair removal process quicker.The head itself is actually made up of two separate pieces; an outer cap and the epilation head. The purple cap that comes on the Silk Epil 9 is the High Frequency Massage Cap. Even though there are a bunch of different caps included in the box, this is likely the one you will use the most.The main advantage of the massage cap is that it pivots back and forth as you glide the epilator head over your skin. This movement keeps the head in contact with your skin, even as you pass over contoured areas of skin; such as your knees.At the top and bottom of the massage cap you will find these a row of rollers:Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator high frequency massage cap rollersAs the head of the epilator slides over your skin, the rollers will rotate, causing a sensation that feels quite nice. I also found that the spikey bits on the rollers lifted hairs that lay flat against the skin. Interestingly Braun does not list this as a feature, so there may be little benefit to this added effect.Once you remove the cap you will be able to clearly see the epilation head:Braun Silk Epil 9 epilator with massage cap removed and epilation head exposedThe epilation head is best described as a bunch of tweezers on a rotating drum.As the drum rotates the tweezers open and close. When the tweezers clamp down on a hair the hair is ripped right out of the skin.Below you can see the epilation head close up:Braun Silk Epil 9 epilator epilation head with rows of tweezers10 rows of “tweezers” wrap around the drum. By comparison the Silk Epil 7 only 8 rows.Now before we move on to the different epilator caps included in the box, there is one last feature to look at. The plain white button on the rear of the Epil Silk 9 handle:Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator head release button on rear of handleIf you press this button down until you hear a click, the whole epilation head will pop right off the body.The main reason you will need to remove the epilation head from the handle is after using the Silk Epil 9 under water. You will need to remove the head to allow it to dry, preventing mold or mildew from forming.With the epilation head removed you also have the option of attaching the shaver head., which I will cover further in the next section.Braun Silk Epil 9 Epilator with epilation head removed from handleAt the time of writing this it does not appear that Braun stocks replacement epilation heads for the Silk Epil 9. We contacted customer support numerous times and kept getting a link to the Silk Epil 7 replacement head, a smaller less effective head.While the Silk Epil 7 head will fit the Silk Epil 9, it is not the same product and Braun should be embarrassed for not having any readily available. If your epilator head fails, you will not be able to replace it.Note: Braun not supporting products with spare parts is common, the same lack of support can be seen with their Series 9 Electric shaver which has been a huge problem for many consumers

Purchased mine in 2018. Must say its been my constant travel partner. It is a sleek and easy to use epilator. Finally after 6 years am facing battery issue so will be getting myself a new one . For anyone looking to purchase an epilator this is the one you should get for sure. The pain depends on your pain threshold. After a few times you get so used to it that u don't even feel it. I have fine body hair and it still does a good job.The photo is how it has survived the 6 years of usage . One star less because I would have loves for it be a bit cheaper.

Using it for last 4 years. Its amazing

Braun has always been reliable. The face epilator has not worked for me, even to get eyebrows done.

Used this and found it better than its previous versions. Per my experience - (1) Works well on dry skin when non oily, non-wet. (2) Long charging cord that's convenient to plug in (3) Circular brush for gentle vibrations is not effective for cleansing / scrubbing or tackling in-growth (4) Power charge lasts for just < 15 -20 mins of use. Need to have better battery life for cordless option. At least to epilate hands/ legs in one single sitting. (5) Facial epilator is too small surfaced, need to improve design. (6) Price above 5K for this model is unfair.

I have never used epilators before and had been contemplating a lot on whether to get one or not. I'm happy I have bought silk epil 9-558 with the face epilator combo. As a first timer I did some research on how to use the product and started regretting after watching some videos of first time users screaming and yelling... took a few days for me to gather courage and use the product, and it truly works like magic... hurt far less than the wax strips... I charged the epilator for an hour as recommended and did dry epilation. I could finish both arms on single charge and also for fixing a few leftover strays the next day. It was almost painless, removed 98% hair in the first use. A few leftovers here and there are easily taken care of later.Face epilator hurt a little more but not unbearable. As it's my first time, I'm certain it'll be much better the next time. Both epilators are very convenient to hold and use. I feel this is a must have for every woman who can't find time to run to salons often. Price also should not be a deterrent, it will pay for itself within 6-7 averted salon visits and there are no doubts about Braun quality... I have a Braun hair dryer which I have been regularly using for the past 16 years!