Most epilators in the mainstream market top out around 20-40 tweezers per head. Emjoi's AP-18 Emagine line stands out with 72 tweezers on a dual opposed head design, marketed as catching more hair per pass and lasting longer between sessions. We tested it against that specific claim.
The Dual Opposed Head Design
Rather than a single rotating disc, the AP-18 uses two tweezer heads working in opposition, which Emjoi markets as increasing hair-catch rate per pass. In practice, we did notice fewer visible missed hairs on a single pass compared to lower-tweezer-count epilators we've used previously, particularly on finer hair that's historically harder for epilators to grip consistently.
Discomfort Level
More tweezers working simultaneously does mean more simultaneous extraction points, and initial sessions felt somewhat more intense than lower-count epilators — a reasonable trade-off for testers prioritizing thoroughness, but worth knowing going in if you're sensitive to epilation discomfort generally.
Smoothness Duration
Testers reported smoothness lasting up to the high end of typical epilation claims — around 5-6 weeks for some, though results varied by individual hair growth rate, consistent with the general genetics-driven variation covered in our results variation guide. This was noticeably longer than what we've experienced with lower-tweezer-count competitors.
Effective on Coarse and Fine Hair
Emjoi specifically markets the AP-18 as effective across hair coarseness levels, and our testing supported this — fine hair that sometimes slips past lower-tweezer epilators was more consistently caught, without the AP-18 seeming to struggle on coarser hair either.
Men's Version Available
Emjoi also sells an AP-18MS variant marketed for men's coarser body hair, using the same 72-tweezer mechanism in a corded format. We didn't test this variant directly but the shared core mechanism suggests similar catch-rate performance for appropriately motivated users willing to tolerate a more intense sensation on coarse chest or back hair.
Build and Handling
The dual-head mechanism makes the device slightly bulkier than single-disc competitors, though not unwieldy. Battery (cordless version) held up across full-leg sessions without issue.
Verdict
The 72-tweezer dual opposed head genuinely delivers on its thoroughness claim — fewer missed hairs per pass and longer-lasting smoothness than lower-tweezer-count epilators we've tested, at the cost of a somewhat more intense sensation during sessions. For anyone who's found standard epilators leave patchy results, the AP-18 Emagine is a legitimate upgrade.
Rating: 4.4/5