Epilators Braun Silk-Epil Xpressive Wet and Dry 7781 WD

With the launch of its Silk-Epil Xpressive Wet and Dry 7781 WD epilator, Braun is hoping to challenge waxing’s reign as the best method of hair removal. 

Braun claims that the Xpressive Wet and Dry is specially designed for epilation in warm water, will give hair-free skin for up to four weeks and removes up to four times more short hairs than wax in one stroke.

We’re not in the business of counting individual hairs, but we can give you our first impressions after our epilator expert took it for a dry (and wet) run on her legs and underarms.

Silk-Epil Xpressive Wet and Dry 7781 WD epilator

Our expert has owned and tried previous versions of the Silk-Epil and and said this new cordless wet and dry version offers fresh advantages of earlier models. It’s more comfortable when epilating wet skin, particularly with a shower gel, but the bubbles can make it harder to see where hairs are left, and shower gels can increase irritation.

Our expert got the best leg hair removal results using the epilator's ‘efficiency head’ on wet skin, but found it dragged uncomfortably without shower gel. It was a bit more painful to epilate her legs when her skin was dry, and the ‘massage system cap’ scratched her skin.

She appreciated the pivoting surface of the efficiency head, which makes it easy to keep the epilator at the correct angle for hair removal. The Xpressive has a bright blue light that’s supposed to show up the shortest hairs; this was a real benefit on wet skin, but a bit dazzling on dry skin.

Epilating underarms and beyond

The underarm cap caught her skin when she tried it dry, but she was quite impressed using it with shower gel in the shower. In both cases, though, she saw more underarm irritation the next day than when using her normal epilator or a warm wax.

She managed to epilate both underarms and lower legs with charge to spare, but the epilator wasn’t particularly speedy at getting the best results.

It's available from retailers including Boots, Argos, Amazon.co.uk and Shavers.co.uk for around £100, though epilators are often on special offer so if you search around, you should be able to save £20-£30 on the standard selling price.

Pros: Light can be helpful, can use wet or dry, range of heads for different areas

Cons: Not particularly speedy

Want a simpler hair removal system? Read our reviews of women's razors and our first look review of the .