Braun Silk Epil 5 Power 5280 Review: Powerful Mid-Priced Option

by Garrick Dee | Last Updated: July 17th, 2020

When it comes to epilators, Braun has got to be on top of women’s shortlists. But one issue with their cordless hair removers would be the price.

The top of the line Silk Epil 9 costs over $100.

There’s good news, you don’t have to spend that amount of money for a decent Braun epilator.

The Silk Epil 5 Power is Braun’s option to women looking for an epilator at the mid-price point.

And you’ll get a lot for your dollar. It’s got 40 close-grip tweezers that help in plucking thinner hairs. Since it has a cord, it does not lack power, plus it has a high-frequency massage system, pivoting head, and Soft Lift Tips that lift up flat-lying hair.

This machine is an excellent alternative to the Emjoi AP-18 that doesn’t have as many add-ons.

If you don’t mind the cord, you can enjoy an interruption-free epilating experience.

How does this epilator perform? Is it better than an Emjoi? Stick around and read the whole review to find out more.

A quick look at the features

• Has 40 tweezers with close grip technology that’ll remove hair as short as 0.5mm
• High frequency massaging head stimulates the skin for comfort
• SoftLift Tips helps lift even flat-lying hair and guide them towards the tweezers
• Pivoting head helps ensure maximum skin contact
• The SmartLight feature helps to track fine hair
• Two-speed gives you options depending on your hair and skin type
• Fully washable underwater
• Comes with a shaver head, trimmer cap, plus efficiency cap attachments
• 2-year warranty

Pros

• 40 tweezers with close grip technology will pluck out hair with the best of them
• Accessories add to the versatility of this machine
• Since it has a cord, it will not lack power

Cons

• Not an option for women who prefer something cordless
• This isn’t the most efficient epilator – you’ll need a few passes to remove everything

What to expect from the Braun Silk Epi 5 Power 5280?

When shopping for a mid-priced epilator, it can be a bit of a hit or miss. Go with an unknown brand, and most likely, you’ll end up with a crappy product that’ll be very painful to use. So what I suggest to women would be going with something with a proven track record like a Braun.

This isn’t the cheapest epilator, but it is one of the best options available if you don’t mind the cord.

Nope, it doesn’t have as many tweezers as the Emjoi AP-18, but it will at least have as much power since it does not rely on a battery.

40 tweezers

At the heart of this epilator are 40-close grip tweezers that can pluck the shortest strands of hair up to 0.5 millimeters.

The close grip nature of these tweezers will help remove fine hair.

This epilator won’t be as efficient as an Emjoi with over 70 tweezers, but it’ll be more comfortable thanks to the other features.

Another feature that’ll make this an effective hair remover is the SoftLift Tips that lifts flat-lying hairs on your armpit and legs. It might sound like a gimmick, but it does work according to reviews.

SmartLight

To help with visibility, this epilator comes with a small LED light that Braun calls SmartLight. It’s not a headlight per se because it is located at the top of the switch. This will help you track areas with or without hair left.

Pivoting head

Another feature that’ll help with efficiency is the pivoting head that allows it to cover more area. This feature is more of a comfort play because you don’t have to continually adjust epilator just to have an optimal 90-degree angle needed for it to be efficient.

High-frequency massage system

To help numb the pain from the tweezers, the Silk Epil 5 comes with a high-frequency massage system that Braun says stimulates the skin for a more comfortable experience.

However, this epilator does not have the wet/dry functionality, so you won’t be able to use this inside the shower.

You’ll need to do all the exfoliating before using this.

Accessories that come with this

This is one of the few epilators at this price range that over-delivers when it comes to accessories.

It comes with a shaver head, trimmer cap, and efficiency cap to extend the functionality. The first two attachments help with cutting longer strands of hair, so you don’t need to buy a separate trimmer when you purchase this.

An efficiency cap is another essential tool to have because it helps ensure maximum skin contact.

Other brands with a similar toolset like the Philips Satin Perfect Deluxe will cost more. So this is a good value for money option, in my opinion.

Performance – is it painful to use?

Even if this epilator comes with the dual comfort system that makes it a little more bearable, using this epilator will still entail pain.

One thing that’ll help in soothing pain would be the cooling glove that comes in the package. But unfortunately, you’ll only be able to use this after epilating to numb the pain. Don’t use this before epilating because it’ll close the pores.

The reality is epilating will be painful no matter what. This won’t be the most painful versus the Emjoi because it has fewer tweezers, and the latter does not have any messaging feature.

Can’t use this on the face

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to use this epilator on the face because it doesn’t have a facial cap. But you can use this on the legs, armpits and even the pubic area. You can use this pretty much anywhere below the face.

What consumers say?

The Braun Silk Epil 5 Power is currently one of the more popular epilators available right now with close to a thousand reviews!

Women like this epilator because it isn’t expensive, and it does an excellent job of removing hair. It’ll do a good job eliminating fine hair and coarse hair from what I’ve read, but it will be noisy.

The pain level is subjective. Some say it was painful, while others say it did not hurt at all.

This will be a pain tolerance thing. Those who have a low pain tolerance may not enjoy using this.

Not having a wet option doesn’t seem to affect the performance. One tip that I read in the reviews was using powder before epilating to help it pluck hair better.

The cooling pad does help soothe the pain afterward.

Remember the warning I told you about not using this on the face. Well, one consumer did, and he said it was painful – again, don’t use this on your face.

There were complaints about substandard quality, but most products will have their share of complaints about it.

Where can I buy this?

You can buy this epilator from Amazon for and it’ll come with Amazon’s free 2-day shipping if you join Prime. Take note that if you buy through the link, I will earn a commission, but at no additional cost to you, so it’s a win-win for both of us.

Another option would be buying directly from Braun, but it’ll be more expensive.

To wrap up

The Braun Silk Epil 5 Power is a great mid-priced option with enough power to pluck fine or coarse hair. But it won’t be the most efficient because it only has 40 tweezers. You’ll need two to three passes to get everything out.

Take note that the Epil 5 Power has a cord, so if you want something cordless to go with the Epil 5 Wet & Dry. However, the good thing about corded epilators is that it has more power, and you don’t have to worry about power running out.

The attachments that come with this extend the functionality to trimming. So you don’t have to buy a separate trimmer when you purchase this. It won’t be as efficient as the Emjoi AP-15, but it’s easier to use and more comfortable.