The Best Epilators of 2026: How to Pick Between the Braun Flex, Philips 8000 and Panasonic ES-EY90

The short answer from 2026's hands-on reviews: the Braun Silk-épil 9 Flex is the speed machine for full-body hair removal, the Philips Series 8000 is the gentlest all-rounder for beginners and sensitive areas, and the Panasonic ES-EY90-A511 earns the strongest endorsement for facial hair. Which one deserves your money depends less on brand prestige than on three questions: where you'll use it, how much discomfort you can tolerate, and whether you want to epilate in the shower.

Introduction: Finding Your Perfect Epilator

Most "best epilator" lists hand you a single crowned winner. But epilators are unusually personal tools: the same wide, fast head that makes one reviewer finish her legs in minutes can feel punishing to a first-time user, and a compact budget model that suits a corded-only routine will frustrate someone who wants to epilate in the bath. The 2026 review landscape reflects that split rather than resolving it.

The Guardian's tested UK roundup, written by Lise Smith, crowned the Braun Silk-épil 9 Flex its best luxury pick, praising its 40 rotating tweezers and flexible tilting head for "treating large areas and getting into nooks and crannies" — while noting it was the most expensive model on its list and needs a UK plug adapter. The Telegraph's Annabel Fenwick Elliott, writing as someone with a low pain threshold, split her awards by body part: the Panasonic for the face, the Braun Flex for the bikini area, and the Philips Series 8000 as her best pick for women. Good Housekeeping UK's panel testing, meanwhile, had triallists report on pain, manoeuvrability and regrowth at four and eight weeks, with wet-and-dry models performing strongly across the board.

Reading these reviews side by side reveals a consistent pattern: no single model dominates every use case, but each of the three leaders maps cleanly onto a different kind of user. That mapping, not a ranking, is what follows.

Epilator Comparison: Find Your Best Match

The table below contrasts the three most consistently praised models of 2026 across the criteria that actually drive a purchase decision: primary use case, wet/dry capability, power source, attachments, tweezer count where reviews quantified it, and the main reported trade-off. Philips owner reviews describe the 8000 as a premium, cordless, wet-and-dry device with a broad attachment set; the Braun's speed claim rests on its 40-tweezer head, the largest count reported in the reviews drawn on here.

Leading epilators of 2026 compared across key buying criteria
Model	Best For	Wet & Dry	Power	Key Attachments/Features	Tweezers	Reported Pro/Con
Braun Silk-épil 9 Flex	Fast full-body removal; large areas like legs; bikini area per The Telegraph	Yes	Cordless (wet use implies it)	Wide, flexible tilting head; built-in light helps spot fine hairs	40	Pro: fast and effective on large areas and contours. Con: most expensive on the Guardian's list; UK buyers needed a plug adapter
Philips Series 8000 (BRE740/11)	Beginners and full-body use, including sensitive areas	Yes — shower use improves comfort	Cordless; cannot be used while charging	Multiple interchangeable heads including a trimmer; described by owners as a full-body set	Not stated in these reviews	Pro: removes very short hairs, results reportedly last up to a few weeks; lots of accessories to learn with. Con: still uncomfortable for newcomers; one owner reported the battery dying mid-leg
Panasonic ES-EY90-A511	Facial hair — The Telegraph's Best Buy for the face	Yes	Not specified in these reviews	Not specified in these reviews	Not stated in these reviews	Pro: top pick from a low-pain-threshold reviewer. Con: the reviews don't detail which design features make it excel on the face
Philips 4000 Series BRE247	Budget, occasional or small-area use	Dry only	Corded	Neat, compact design; two speed settings	20	Pro: simple and affordable at £79.99 in the Guardian's list. Con: the only tested model that isn't cordless; around 12–14 minutes per half leg

One gap is worth naming rather than guessing: the tweezer counts for the Philips 8000 and Panasonic ES-EY90-A511 do not appear in the review passages synthesized here, so the Braun's 40-tweezer advantage should be treated as a known number, not a proven superiority over unspecified rivals. What the reviews do support is that a higher tweezer count correlates with speed on large areas — the Guardian pairs its 40-tweezer count directly with the Braun's "fast and effective" verdict.

Matching Features to Your Hair Removal Needs

For legs and large areas, reviewers converge on the same advice: a full-sized head that covers a decent area quickly. The Telegraph recommends exactly this for legs, and the Braun Flex's wide, flexible head is the embodiment of it — the tilting design adapts to body contours, which is what earns it the Guardian's "nooks and crannies" praise. Speed matters most here because a smaller or slower device multiplies the time cost across the largest surface of the body.

For the bikini line and sensitive areas, head size flips from asset to liability. The Telegraph is blunt: "If you're venturing beyond the knicker line, though, only a smaller head will tackle the grooves, so make sure your device comes with this attachment." This is why the accessory count matters more than the base unit — the Philips 8000's interchangeable heads, including a trimmer for pre-shortening hair before first use, are what make a single device viable across body areas. Good Housekeeping's testers reported discomfort around the bikini and underarm area on a wet-and-dry model, but found pain "tolerable" overall — consistent with the finding that wet use softens the experience.

For beginners and low pain tolerance, two features repeatedly earn their keep: wet-and-dry capability and guidance attachments. The Philips 8000 is Cyclepil's pick for first-time epilators specifically because of its accessory abundance — "It even comes with a special accessory guide to help you hold the device properly." A Philips owner making the same point from the other side notes that using the 8000 in the shower "really helps with comfort," while cautioning that "it's still an epilator, so yes, it can be uncomfortable, especially if you're new to it." Cyclepil's buying logic aligns: go cordless if you want to epilate in the shower to reduce pain, go corded only if you're on a budget or treating precise small areas.

For facial hair, the evidence is thinner but consistent: The Telegraph named the Panasonic ES-EY90-A511 both its overall Best Buy and its face pick, a meaningful endorsement given the reviewer's stated low pain threshold. The reviews don't specify which attachment or head geometry drives that verdict, so treat it as a trusted tester's judgment call rather than a spec-driven conclusion.

Your Next Step: Choosing with Confidence

The decision framework compresses to three questions. First, where will you actually use it? Legs and full-body sessions reward the Braun Flex's 40-tweezer speed; face points to the Panasonic; mixed use with sensitive areas favours the Philips 8000's attachment set. Second, what's your pain strategy? If the answer is "warm water", you need a wet-and-dry cordless model — which rules out the corded, dry-only Philips 4000 despite its £79.99 price advantage. Third, what's your tolerance for cost and inconvenience? The Braun carries the premium price and, for UK buyers of that reviewed variant, an adapter hassle; the Philips 8000 demands charging discipline, since owners report it can't run while plugged in.

On price: the Guardian's June 2026 figures put the Philips 4000 at £79.99 and the Braun Flex from £139.99, with The Telegraph naming the Magnitone Pluck It 2 Super Glide Compact as its value pick. Treat all of these as approximate market rates that will move. Note too that this guide covers epilators only — IPL devices are a separate category, and none of the reviews here substitutes for advice on skin conditions or ingrown hairs.

Ultimately, select an epilator that aligns with your primary use case (full body, sensitive areas, or face), your pain tolerance (wet/dry capability, gentle attachments), and your desired convenience (cordless operation, battery life). The measurable sign you've chosen well is directly testable: you will have identified the models whose features match your personal hair removal requirements and budget, and your first session will tell you — in minutes spent, hairs missed, and discomfort endured — whether the trade-off you picked is the right one.

The Best Epilators of 2026: How to Pick Between the Braun Flex, Philips 8000 and Panasonic ES-EY90

Introduction: Finding Your Perfect Epilator

Epilator Comparison: Find Your Best Match

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Matching Features to Your Hair Removal Needs

Your Next Step: Choosing with Confidence

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