One of the earliest posts on this website was the Philips Satinelle epilator review which was a best seller on Amazon for good reason: it’s portable, powerful, and cheap. However as we update our review, it is clear the competition is catching up.
The Philips Satinelle is still of extremely high quality as one would come to expect from a company like Philips, and we can comfortably say its one of the best corded epilators on the market.
Before diving into the details, let’s have a quick look at some of the pros and cons:
+ Lightweight design
+ 2 speeds
+ Great for travelling
+ No need to worry about battery life
+ Trusted brand
+ 2 year warranty
+ Suitable for men too
– No cordless use
– Quite loud
– Not as efficient as other epilators
Check the price and reviews for the Philips Satinelle Epilator
Design
The Philips Satinelle is a very simplistic epilator. It was designed to be used mainly on larger areas of the body such as the legs and arms.
This is evident in the design. The epilator itself is very small and slim, and will fit into the palm of your hand. It only has 21 tweezers so isn’t as effective as other models but it’s also far cheaper and is therefore perfect if you’re a beginner or are only planning to epilate certain areas of your body.
This also makes it a great candidate for a travel epilator. It doesn’t come with any kind of travel case but is small enough (including the cord) to not take up much room in your luggage, and could even fit in your handbag.
Battery & Charging
As mentioned above, the Satinelle is for corded use only.
You won’t be able to use it in the shower or even move that far away from the power socket. Thankfully the cord itself is approximately 7 feet in length so you aren’t too tethered to the wall when you need to epilate. It can also be plugged in anywhere in the world with an adapter.
There are many advantages to corded epilating, including the fact that you never have to worry about battery life or keeping your epilator recharged. This is a huge issue for cordless epilators that tend to only last around an hour when fully charged and even have the battery quality deteriorating over time.
The fact that it doesn’t have a battery inside is one of the reasons it is so lightweight and portable.
Quality
One issue we had with the Philips Satinelle was that because of the budget price tag, there were some quality sacrifices.
The gears are plastic as opposed to ceramic or metallic, which means that over time they are more likely to degrade or break.
Hygiene
With hypoallergenic discs we were comfortable with the hygiene levels of this device.
It is also very easy to take apart and clean, despite the lack of a cleaning brush included in the box. Simply remove the head and run it under the tap whilst washing out the hair – of course do this when it isn’t plugged in.
Usage & Performance
2 Speeds
The Satinelle is a 2 speed epilator. The slower speed setting is normally used to epilate finer hairs, or if you need to pick up any stray hairs that you may have missed on the first pass. If you decide to try expiating in any sensitive areas (armpits, face, bikini area) please remember to use the slower setting first as it is far less painful.
The faster speed is normally used for coarser hair and helps to speed up the epilating process. We find the 2nd speed much more suited to this epilator as it is designed for larger areas like the legs. It gets the job done in a far shorter space of time.
Try with the slower setting first before moving up to the faster one.
21 Tweezers
21 tweezers is actually a fairly low amount for an epilator. Most epilators on the market have around 40 tweezers and even as many as 72 for monstrous efficiency.
The low level of tweezers results in a slower epilating experience, but for an affordable epilator designed mainly for the legs this isn’t really a deal breaking issue.
The shape of the epilator means that the tweezers can get very close to the skin, and Philips insists that this allows for removal of hairs as small as 0.5mm (as a lot of epilators guarantee). We find this hard to believe, but maybe it was the inefficiency of the 21 tweezers that brought us to this conclusion.
Nevertheless, the recommended hair length to epilate with this device is 3-4mm.
Efficiency Cap
The one accessory that was provided with the Satinelle was the efficiency cap. It is supposed to “ensure gentle epilation in the most sensitive areas”.
Honestly it was a bit of a let down. All the cap did was raise the tweezers slightly away from the skin, we assume to prevent the tweezers catching any skin on those sensitive areas.
It also helped to maintain the proper angle needed to get the most out of the epilator. For an in depth guide on how to epilate read this.
Once you get used to the idea of epilating the cap really isn’t much use. I guess it’s helpful for beginners though!
What parts of the body can I epilate?
As mentioned, the Philips Satinelle was designed pretty much only for the legs.
Having said this its perfectly possible to use it anywhere as long as you are very careful.
Strangely in places it is advertised as legs only and then elsewhere as a “total body hair removal system”. We would highly recommend using on the legs only until you are comfortable, or taking a look at some other epilators if you are interested in facial epilation.
Noise!
This is one of the loudest epilators we’ve encountered!
If the sound doesn’t matter to you then you’ll be fine, otherwise we’re almost tempted to recommend some protective ear muffs!
Ok maybe we’re exaggerating a little. It’s not crazily loud but it is noticeably louder than other epilators. If we could compare it to something it would be about as loud as a men’s electric shaver.
Final Thoughts
Do you need an epilator for your legs and other less sensitive areas? Try the Philips Satinelle.
Do you want to try out an epilator without spending up to $150? Try the Philips Satinelle.
Do you want a reliable device that does exactly what it’s advertised to? Try the Philips Satinelle.
For what it is and for the price you are paying it really is a great little epilator. Don’t expect a full body top of the line machine, but do expect it to get the job done.
See prices for the Philips Satinelle Epilator
- Best Facial Hair Removal Cream for Sensitive Skin - June 22, 2021
- Best Silk Pillowcase for Hair and Skin - June 21, 2021
- Best Collagen Product for Skin - June 21, 2021
Leave a Reply