shaving with an electric razor

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Will

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Jan 4, 2003
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My wife got me an electric razor (Philips Norelco) for Christmas. I have been shaving for the past 20 year with a safety razor and shaving cream. The thinking with the electric was that it would be easier when camping, or or if I am in rush. Anyway, been using it for a week now and here are my impressions: Not faster than the traditional way, not that close a shave and uneven. I much prefer the traditional way, but want to like using the electric also. The manual says it takes 3 weeks to get used to it, so I will try fora few more. For those of you with more expernience using electric razors, why do you do it? Is it really faster (once you get good at it), and do you end up with as good a shave?
 
Used an electric for several years, because I didn't know better. It always tore up my face, and gave a poor shave. Now I use Gellette trac II, a hog hair brush and any bar of soap. I hate canned shave cream. And I don't shave when I go camping :)
 
I switched from using disposable razors to a Norelco several years ago. After the required adjustment time,, I've never wanted to go back to a traditional razor. I don't cut my face anymore and it is much faster for me. I wait till after I shower and let my whiskers air dry. I get just as close a shave as I did before I went electric.

Of course, not all beards are equal. If you have a really heavy beard, then it might not work as well for you.
 
I've used several models of the Norelco electric razors for 30 years, Tried a couple others and various blade razors, Norelco is the best in my opinion.
Last year I made the decision to buy one of the best Norelco models they make, The model 1280X Senso Touch 3D, It has the jet clean feature and the razor can be used wet or dry, It cost me around $250 but it is the best shave I've ever had, As close of a shave as using a blade razor with shaving cream, Gel or the brush and bar but without all of the cuts on my face etc...
Maybe it is different for others but for me, It's perfect and worth every penny, I'll never go back to the cheaper Norelcos although they did a decent job also, Just not as good as the one I have now.
 
What???? I've never found electric razors at all good, some may exist of course as some of you suggest...

But...no. then there's the noise of the things, the disgusting bristle cloud, the expense, relatively bulky, no decent smelling cream or soap, poor skin and etc etc.

Good luck, but it's not for me.
 
Yet another one of those ymmv things. I bought a 90 dollar norelco about 5 years ago, it took longer than a mach 3 and cream, didn't cut as close, and on a few spots tore my face up a bit if I pressed enough to get it to cut reasonably close. A single pass shave with a safety razor and good blade with the grain is about 100x faster (it took me about 30 minutes to get something resembling passable with the electric), 4x closer, and doesn't irritate at all. (edit: oh, and the ingrown hairs/pimples the day after using the electric, not fun)

I've only tried one or two electrics though, and none of them a foil type. I might give those a shot in the future just to see if they work any better for me.
 
For many years, I shaves with a Norelco electric and felt I worked well. It was a rechargeable and I routinely got ten or eleven shaves from a full charge. So, as I headed to a five-day professional conference in San Jose, California with some colleagues, I fully-charged my razor and put it in my suitcase leaving its grapefruit-sized charger at home. When we arrived at our hotel, we agreed to meet back in the lobby in 30 minutes to go to this great store that I had been to in the past, Fry's. (This was long ago and so we were heading to the original Fry's in San Jose complete with produce section and gas pumps in front.)

As I unpacked, I realized that somehow my razor had gotten switched on in my suitcase and the battery was completely depleted. I faced a week at a professional conference without shaving.

The razor had no markings about AC or DC or voltage or polarity (remember, I am an electrical engineer). But, I noted the razor model number and sketched the proprietary connector. At Fry's, I found the toiletries aisle, but the few Norelco chargers they had did not match my sketch and they did not have my model such that I might be able to find out the voltage, etc. and cobble some alternative together (we were at Fry's after all). I was just stuck looking at shelling out $100 for a new razor I didn't need.

Then, I saw it: a Gillette Sensor "starter pack," a razor and a few blade cartridges, for something like $5. Add a can of foam for $2 and I would be set... if only I could figure this thing out.

The next day, I discovered two things: First, why they call it a "safety razor." I had no problem with it at all. And, second, the best shave I had ever experienced; I didn't know a shave could be that good! I don't think I ever did recharge that Norelco. I have no recollection on what happened to it.

Five years ago, I stopped at the grocery store on the way home one day. I needed eggs and some butter... oh, and don't forget Sensor cartridges. I really needed the cartridges. I got to the checkout and gave the cashier a twenty awaiting my change. She held out her hand waiting for more money. "What? $34.95?"

"Well, sir, the razor blades at $29.95 alone."

"Oh my goodness. Ok. Here's another $20."

On the way home, I was fuming. $30 for a package of five razor cartridges, six dollars each! And I typically got six good shaves from each. I was paying a-dollar-a-day just for razor blades! It was as if I got up each morning and faced one of those bill slots where I had to insert a dollar bill just to get my day started.

I resolved that that would be the last package of Sensor cartridges I would buy. I would switch to a straight razor. I had seen them at knife shows. I knew that they were expensive, but, once purchased, could last a lifetime. They make economic sense.

In researching that, I discovered two things:

First, straight razor shaving harkens back to a day when a man did not shave himself. An upper-class gentleman was shaved by his valet who also took care of the razor. A working-class bloke was shaved by his wife (or one of his daughters as part of her training in the domestic arts in preparation for marriage) who also took care of the razor. And a middle-class man dropped a penny every few days at the neighborhood barber where he also got caught up on the latest gossip. A man who, today, undertakes the straight razor undertakes something he was never intended to do by himself and that had to be motivated by more than the persuit of an economical shave.

Second, this thing called "DE Shaving." Some people think it's "old fashioned." But this is like saying that the latest Dell Server with it's multi-core, multi-gigahertz processor and DDR3 memory system is old-fashioned because the plug that plugs it into the wall outlet dates back to the 1800s. Yes, the blade is shaped the same as great-grand-dad's. But I doubt that he ever had a blade that was Platimum and Teflon coated and made in an ISO9000-registered factory from modern steel. Today's DE shaving is quite modern.

So, I made the investment and the switch and I discovered two things: first, why they call it a safety razor. And, second, the closest and best shave I have ever experienced. I haven't seen that Sensor razor handle around here in a long time either.
 
When I first started using an electric a few years ago, it took me a few weeks to get it down pat. But after that initial learning period was over, I was hooked. I thought it was great and used it every day. But I did notice I had a pretty serious 5 o'clock shadow by the end of the work day, and I don't really consider my beard to be that thick. Now that I have switched to a DE Safety razor, I can shave at night and have the same 5 o'clock shadow by the end of the work day the next day. So that will give you an idea of how close of a shave it would get me. You should replace the blades at least yearly, and it should work fine for quick shaves or while camping. It would take me only a few minutes to shave with one, so I thought they were very quick. I had two, both Norelcos, both the kind with three circle blades that pivoted. One was just a slight upgrade, but wasn't real expensive at $80.

But now I'm hooked on my DE, and haven't touched the electric since my DE showed up in the mail about a month and a half ago. Good luck.
 
I tried using an electric razor to actually shave once and it didn't cut a single hair. Now the only electric thing I use is a beard trimmer to trim and edge my beard then I'd go over it with a cartridge razor, or a straight now.
 
CMooreBLKSMK said:
When I first started using an electric a few years ago, it took me a few weeks to get it down pat. But after that initial learning period was over, I was hooked. I thought it was great and used it every day. But I did notice I had a pretty serious 5 o'clock shadow by the end of the work day, and I don't really consider my beard to be that thick. Now that I have switched to a DE Safety razor, I can shave at night and have the same 5 o'clock shadow by the end of the work day the next day. So that will give you an idea of how close of a shave it would get me. You should replace the blades at least yearly, and it should work fine for quick shaves or while camping. It would take me only a few minutes to shave with one, so I thought they were very quick. I had two, both Norelcos, both the kind with three circle blades that pivoted. One was just a slight upgrade, but wasn't real expensive at $80.

But now I'm hooked on my DE, and haven't touched the electric since my DE showed up in the mail about a month and a half ago. Good luck.
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Right. A good DE shave the night before is good for a long time even on thick coarse beards. NO electric razor comes this close in my view, and they cost more.
 
When I was in my late teens my grandfather, who had a bit of a strange fascination with electric razors, bought me a Philips. Tried it, didn't like it, never a good shave, and I didn't feel 'clean' afterwards, like when I wet-shave. In my late twenties, my father, for some inexplicable reason (bearing in mind we'd discussed the subject of electric razors and agreed neither of us like them), bought me a much fancier Philips, didn't like it any better. Around the same time, my kids bought me a small battery-operated Braun to take camping, it was a nice thought, but at the time I preferred not to shave. In my thirties, I was also given a small battery-operated Philips, was worse than the Braun. I don't know why anybody buys these things, in my experience they're awful.
 
Tried a norelco and I don't care for them. I just use a Gillette fusion. I like the feeling of a close clean shave. Somehow you can't beat that traditional feeling.
 
I suppose I'm on the opposite side of the fence as most here. :eek:

I use one of the high-end ultrasonic Braun electric shavers, and nothing I've ever used gets a closer shave for me. Granted, it has been awhile since I've been to a barber who used a straight razor, but I have used a modern DE more recently and it still doesn't get as close for me. :eek:

I often let my stubble grow for a few days (yes, I get lazy and do not particularly enjoy shaving), and at that point it is faster to use a DE or cartridge razor to get the hair off. However, for that really close shave I always do a final pass with the Braun. This particular model has the "clean and renew" system, and I have to admit, it does make a difference. Makes it smell like lemons too. :foot:

YMMV...
 
It has been a few weeks, and I am starting get the hang of the electric. It still doesn't come close to using a safety razor, but it isn't aweful either. I find that if my stubble gets too long then it is more of a problem. I don't think I will be switching to electric anytime soon, but it was a gift from my wife so I want to at least give a chance. I still can't seem to shave much faster with it than I can with shaving cream and a safety razor, but with practice maybe I will be able to. Then it will be good for those quick shaves when there time to do it properly.
 
i got one for a gift a while back and felt the same way. i got a closer and quicker shave with a mach 3.
 
yoda4561 said:
Yet another one of those ymmv things. I bought a 90 dollar norelco about 5 years ago, it took longer than a mach 3 and cream, didn't cut as close, and on a few spots tore my face up a bit if I pressed enough to get it to cut reasonably close. A single pass shave with a safety razor and good blade with the grain is about 100x faster (it took me about 30 minutes to get something resembling passable with the electric), 4x closer, and doesn't irritate at all. (edit: oh, and the ingrown hairs/pimples the day after using the electric, not fun)

I've only tried one or two electrics though, and none of them a foil type. I might give those a shot in the future just to see if they work any better for me.
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With the Norelco do the opposite of what you would think to get a close shave. Use light pressure and give the lift and cut action a chance to lift before the cut. Some people find the foil electric works better for them. Of the foils Panasonic shaves fastest and best. You can also use a Panasonic wet in the shower.
 
I use a wahl beard trimmer with close shave attatchment. Its crazy how smooth it gets my face. My problem is that I get razor bumps pretty bad on my lower neck so I hardly use it. I just take the bare trimmer to the face and rock the stubble look. It sucks cause a fresh shave is a feeling I rarely get to enjoy and I dont get to participate in all the nice shave creams and cool razors.
 
I used an electric for quite a while when i started needing to shave. It did mostly work, but eventually the battery wore out, and due to the design, plugging it in only charged the battery, so with a dead battery, it didn't work at all. I didn't have much facial hair at the time, so it worked, I'm sure I'd have more trouble now. Besides, a small DE kit can fit in less room than the average electric, so that would be my go to if needed for camping.
 
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