It has been least effective on my legs, which is unsurprising as the hair there is fairer, finer and the skin is more tanned.
I've been using the Braun Silk Expert Pro 5 for eight months or so, and my body hair is significantly sparser, slower growing and finer. (Image credit: Braun) Braun Silk Expert Pro 5 review: Does it work? Sometimes the head feels a little hot, and occasionally you'll get a tiny twinge – possibly where you've been inefficient in removing hair beforehand – but compared to waxing or epilating, it's a walk in the park. The Silk Expert Pro 5 is very easy to use and also almost completely painless. Use once a week for a start-up period of 4-12 weeks, then continue as required for maintenance after that. You'll need to remove hair using an alternative method such as shaving, waxing or epilating before targeting with IPL. This one comes with an extra warning, though: due to the SensoAdapt skin tone sensors, it's definitely not suitable for use on dark skin. IPL machines, including this one, are unlikely to be effective for those with fair body hair or dark skin.
Essentially, the bigger the difference between the colour of the hair and the colour of the skin, the better.
It's also suitable for removing sparser facial hair, but not full beards and not anywhere around the eyes.Īs with all IPL machines, the Braun Silk Expert Pro 5 is most effective for those with dark hair and a light to mid skin tones. The Braun Silk Expert Pro 5 can be used on the body, including underarms and bikini line. Braun Silk Expert Pro 5 review: Who can use it, where and how? If you're worried about safety, don't be – there's a recommendation from the Skin Health Alliance (a leading international skin health organisation working with dermatologists and scientists) for extra peace of mind.
You should be able to treat both legs in under 5 minutes at the lowest energy level. It also operates twice as fast as the previous Silk Expert. Braun says it's equivalent to 22 years of treatment, which makes that price tag sound much more reasonable. By way of comparison, the top-of-the range Philips Lumea Prestige (our #1 rated IPL machine at time of writing) only has 250,000. The Silk Expert Pro 5 has a bulb life of 400,000 flashes. In fact, the only only real drawback is that there's no cordless option. The latter is for when you need more precision, and is activated by firmly pressing and releasing on the area you want to treat.ĭesign-wise, we can't really fault it. The former is designed for effectively covering large, flat areas quickly – slide the Silk Expert Pro 5 along the skin and it'll flash intermittently. You can also choose between glide and stamp mode, which auto-activate depending on the motion you make with the machine.