My Lebanese heritage gifted me with many wonderful things. Hundreds of cousins. Creamy hummus. And, a hustler mentality that comes from being a child of migrants. However, less endearingly, it also handed me another H … an excess of body hair. Some I grew to love – like my thick curls. Others not so much. We’re talking monobrows before the age of eight, furry legs by my teenage years (because acne and puppy fat don’t make adolescence awkward enough already) and dark furry arms that separated me from my fair-skinned Anglo peers.
For many years, I waged war against the fuzz on many fronts. A mother who was reluctant to have me focus on my image prematurely. Razors that removed fluff for less than 24 hours. And, the pain of sugary-waxy syrups ripping my strands from the root and leaving a red sticky mess in their wake.
Then, circa the first screenings of Sex and The City, laser hair removal and IPL arrived in earnest. I was, as my beauty therapist beamed, a “perfect candidate” for treatments that promised to permanently remove my hair. And, for the best part of my 20s and 30s they did…
However, mid-life-ish had other plans for me … more recently, I have started seeing stray hairs return to places that definitely looked better without.
Given my current budget has seen me forgo my daily chocolate bar as principally refuse to pay $8 for a block of Lindt (highway robbery!), I was looking for an effective hair removal option that was actually affordable…
And Just Like That, the new Braun Skin i-expert 7 arrived on my desk … And, just like the at home hair removal version of a Lebanese mother I discovered a device that is firm yet gentle. A little bit bossy. But ultimately, knows best.
The first thing that elicited a hair raising response from me about the Braun Skin i-expert 7 was that the “responsive intelligence” they promise actually exists. This device learns your skin, adapts the power of every flash, and basically nags you in the gentlest, most effective way. No guesswork. No missed spots. Even my under arms, previously the scene of several questionable DIY attempts, received VIP treatment thanks to its precision attachments.
I was sceptical about comfort. I’ve endured enough waxing to know “gentle” is marketing speak. But the Braun Skin i-expert 7 is surprisingly easy, almost painless, and honestly, I felt like I could take it head-to-toe without emerging from the bathroom looking like the tomatoes in a good tabbouli salad. Sensitive skin modes adapt the intensity, and the device’s sensors read your skin 80 times a second.
Speed is another game-changer. Corded for consistent power, flashing every 0.5 seconds, it turns what could be a chore into a smooth gliding, almost meditative experience. And with the travel pouch, I can take my new hair-fighting best friend anywhere.
And then there’s the app, which guides you, keeps track of your sessions, and even sets up a plan around your schedule. My phone is finally helping me with something other than my mother’s hourly messages. The Smart Coverage Tracker and Smart Head Recognition ensure I don’t miss a single patch of leg or arm, while the Personal Progress Tracker lets me see exactly how many sessions I have left to reach full smoothness.
Braun’s Skin i-expert 7 isn’t just smart. It’s sustainable. With 400,000 flashes, longer-lasting materials, and packaging made from a higher percentage of recycled materials (FSC-certified, no less), it feels good to know that smooth skin doesn’t have to come at the planet’s expense.
After just three weeks, results were already visible. Stray hairs were surrendering, legs were smoother, and for the first time in decades, I could confidently say: hair, I am winning. Sure, it isn’t cheap-cheap, but it’s cheaper than my daily chocolate habit (and far less sticky). It’s smart, thorough, gentle, the kind of bossy I can appreciate.
My Lebanese ancestors might have cursed me with a follicle frenzy, but thanks to Braun, I’m finally feeling like I can fight back. And save my source of motherland pride for our excellent dips.
