This is because it will take a few weeks for you to find the right touch to achieve a close, comfortable, and irritation-free shave. So, you may experience extra heat on the skin from slower beginner shaving, to some hair tugging (or pulling) in more challenging areas of the face before you are 100% happy with your philips razor new shaver. And learning from the best is probably a good way to avoid mistakes and skin irritation further down the line. “First off, you need to ensure your skin and stubble are clean,” says Mills. “Then apply a small amount of electric shaver skin prep cream and rub it into the skin and stubble you are trimming.
Rotary shavers like the Philips models we tested use a “lift and cut” system that, theoretically, allows them to trim hair closer to the skin. That might explain the discomfort, but the Remington and Andis shavers weren’t much better. Those less-expensive foil-type models are also buzzy compared to the nearly silent rotary cutters. Over a two-month period, each electric shaver was tested on its ability to remove hair quickly, comfortably, and with the least amount of shaving irritation. I also felt it was important to test how well they performed in multiple shaving scenarios—dry face, wet face, and when using shaving cream. It provides an estimate of how much shaving time you have left——in intervals between 100 and 20 minutes——before you’ll need to charge the shaver.
Shavers for men tend to be more expensive than those aimed at women, though, and the pop-up trimmers and accessories are designed for different jobs. We hope this information about brands, features and designs will help guide your purchase, whatever type of shaver you’re looking for. The Remington – PF-7600 is a new design from this well-established brand, but it’s pretty much the worst shaver we tried. It won’t get any closer than the Braun – Series 3, whatever your hair type. One of our testers (yes, the Braun fan-boy) insisted that he felt so much pain from the rotary shavers that they can’t possibly be working properly.
If the cover comes off in your gym bag when you stuff it in your locker, it’s still vulnerable to accidentally powering on, but we like the simplicity of the design. The Arc3 also features our favorite pop-up trimmer of the bunch; it’s not a replacement for a full beard trimmer that can help you maintain a consistent length, but for edging a moustache or sideburns it’s perfect. Panasonic’s secret weapon has always been in the motor, and this shaver has that same strength. While the Braun shavers (even the spendy Series 7 and Series 9) sound like hair clippers, Panasonic’s shavers give a higher-pitched and much smoother whine, like an angry bumblebee to Braun’s runaway sewing machine. In the past, I acted as the spokesperson for two global brands, Lab Series by Estee Lauder and Philips Norelco.
We looked long and hard at the Series 9, and we don’t see much reason to spend an extra $100 on metallic platings and an extra “Hyperlift and Cut” trimmer bar. Plenty of people who spring for the upgrade are happy to say that it shaves closer and with less irritation, so if buying the best is worth $250 we say go for it. For the rest of us, Series 7 is already enough of a stretch that we’re happy with our pick.
For dry shaving, simply run the shaver over clean, dry skin to remove hair. Again, be sure to read the directions on your individual product for any additional things to know before shaving. Whether you use it wet or dry, this gentle trimmer aims to minimize skin irritation while providing a super close shave, and is ideal to use on body parts like the underarms, legs, and even your sensitive bikini line. It’s powered by four hypoallergenic, stainless steel blades and coils to leave your skin feeling baby soft. The blades of rotary shavers are designed to catch hair growing in all directions, for a close shave. It is important to know that it takes approximately three to four weeks for the skin to get used to being shaved with electric razors.
That said, if you’re okay with a bit of scruff returning at the end of each day this might be a great razor for you. It’s louder and vibrates far more than the Series 7, definitely not the same class of motor. So far as we can tell the design and construction of the cutting heads is the same, you can even snap a Series 7 head onto the Series 5 body, but the comfortable shave of the Series 7 just wasn’t there anymore. If you’re okay sacrificing a little bit of comfort to save some money, Panasonic is a much better bet. The shaver was introduced in 1939, though initial production was limited due to the outbreak of World War II (the production facility in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, was overrun by the German Army in 1940). After the war, a slightly improved version of the cigar-shaped single-head shaver was introduced.
We asked some proper experts for guidance on what to look for when it comes to a quality electric shaver from our mate Joe Mills, founder of Joe Mills Studio and GQ’s Barber of the Year. “This magic thing was something I saw on TikTok and didn’t think it’d work. It’s super gentle and leaves zero razor burn. I’ve used it on my ankles, bikini line, and even armpits. Love, love, love it.” —Lauren G. We charged each shaver and then timed how long it took for them to totally run out of juice. Models from Panasonic, Remington and philips electric shaver Philips have much more room inside the foil to scoop up the lather between rinses, while the Braun heads just “snowplow” the cream around your face. Panasonic pulls out all the stops with a five-foil monster shaver, and in some spots it’ll give you the closest shave in fewer passes than with the Arc3. If the solo model of the Series 7 came with at big discount we might tell you to forget about the stand entirely, but the sad truth is that Braun has made it hard to find them and the prices go up and down all the time.
Carefully tracking against the “grain” of hair to cut closer is a bit easier that way. The battery life in the Series 5 is definitely a step up from budget shavers, but it’s still not replaceable and the waterproof design philips razor still won’t turn on when it’s plugged in. The new solo model 5147s is harder to find and lists for $120; we bought the 5190 with cleaning stand for $115 and it’s probably going to remain the best value for this series.