Potentially Heretical Question

[Possum Tail]

Gentlefolk,

My job demands that I sometimes arise very late night or very early morning and be at work clean shaven in one hour, giving me ~35 minutes to prep. As much as I prefer wet shaving, I really need an electric for those nights / early mornings so that I can shave enroute to work.

My simple, potentially heretical, question is what have you found to be the best electric razor? I’ve seen several well North of $200 and am absolutely fine with spending that kind of money for that kind of quality.

Thank You in advance!!

John

 

[HowardS]

You might want to find an internet forum that focuses on electric shavers.

 

[Invicta]

......I really need an electric for those nights / early mornings so that I can shave enroute to work.

My simple, potentially heretical, question is what have you found to be the best electric razor?

This is the forum section you may find an answer; Modern Shaving Systems - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/forums/modern-shaving-systems.271/
From what I can tell, not being an electric shave user, you need to decide on choice of rotary or foil then choose from that sub list.
Here is a thread on foil shavers to start you of; Hitachi vs. Panasonic - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/hitachi-vs-panasonic.595369/

 

[Ad Astra]

I liked the Braun foil razors, not realizing they gave me acne.

AA

 

[henrickd]

Gentlefolk,

My job demands that I sometimes arise very late night or very early morning and be at work clean shaven in one hour, giving me ~35 minutes to prep. As much as I prefer wet shaving, I really need an electric for those nights / early mornings so that I can shave enroute to work.

My simple, potentially heretical, question is what have you found to be the best electric razor? I’ve seen several well North of $200 and am absolutely fine with spending that kind of money for that kind of quality.

Thank You in advance!!

John

I used to have a Braun Series 9 for your very scenario. It worked well for that. I was one of those d’bags you see shaving at a red light. My only serious complaint was their “Clean and Renew” packs. They were expensive and I only would use the razor a couple of times per month so hard to justify the cost since the packs only lasted about a month. I’d just clean it the old fashioned way if I had it to do over.

 

[Possum Tail]

Thanks a ton, guys! Yes, I’m leaning toward the Braun Series 9.

Of course, it never occurred to me that there would be forums discussing electric razors: hello.....McFlyyyyy!!

 

[Tirvine]

Hopefully you can find a good one, but keep working on a quick wet shave. With a mild razor I knock out a three pass shave in about seven minutes start to finish and the third is really not needed. That is daily average.

 

[Scaramouche]

Good links from @Invicta. I switch between electric and DE routinely, and there's a whole Universe of electric razors - and just like DE razors, it's difficult to give individual advice on a "best," because individual faces are so variable. As mentioned, basically a choice between foil or rotary. Top of the line in foils, arguably Braun or Panasonic. In rotaries really only one choice - Philips Norelco. Both with and without auto-cleaning stations, and actually most can be used dry (traditional electric) or wet (with traditional wet shaving software), and a high end shaver from any of the mentioned brands is more than capable of providing a DFS. A good reference for electric reviews is the ShaverCheck site with Ovidiu Nicolae (shavercheck.com). The good news is the major manufacturers allow at least a month of use and return options. The bad news is that electrics are most efficient (and comfortable) with exclusive use for at least a couple of weeks to allow your face and beard to adapt, but occasional use to supplement a blade is not generally a problem. This forum is pretty inclusive for all types of shaving methods and implements, so welcome to the electric fold!

 

[henrickd]

Thanks a ton, guys! Yes, I’m leaning toward the Braun Series 9.

Of course, it never occurred to me that there would be forums discussing electric razors: hello.....McFlyyyyy!! [emoji2960][emoji2960]

I just noticed you and I had the same boss. I was a knuckle dragger though and retired December 2019. Stay safe.

 

[Possum Tail]

I just noticed you and I had the same boss. I was a knuckle dragger though and retired December 2019. Stay safe.

AWESOME!! I’m envious, just under 2 1/2 years to “graduate!” BTW, my knuckles often scrape the ground!!

 

[engblom]

Often I have about 35 min from getting out of bed until I should be out of the door. I manage to shave during this time with DE. When I had an electric it took more time than when shaving with a DE. With this short time, an electric would only work if I do it in the car while driving to work.

This is how to do it:
1. Go to the bathroom and if you have a natural hair brush (boar/badger/whatever animal) put it to soak.
2. Splash some water on your face, do your needs at the toilet.
3. Splash some more water on your face (leaving it there) and head to kitchen for a quick simple breakfast (sandwich + banana).
4. Go into the shower and brush your teeth while showering (gives more time for the beard to soak up water).
5. Take the ready soaked brush and do face lathering with a cream.
6. Shave while still being in the shower. I do a quick two pass shave (WTG+ATG). You can shave the whole face without bothering to rinse the razor as it does not matter how much lather you drop on the floor.
7. Rinse, dry yourself and put clothes on and get out.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Braun foil something something, I don’t remember the model and no longer have it. It was useful however the few times I used it in a pinch. Never liked what it did to my skin, but it did provide a very close shave. On a film set I worked on, the makeup artist sprinkled some talc on the foil then gave me a touch up. Quite comfortable.

 

[Furex]

there's a whole Universe of electric razors

The difference is that they're system razors. With few exceptions, you can only have the shaving experience that's been prescribed by the manufacturer.

If a razor is not working well enough for you, and you want to try something different, you can't just switch one part out, you need to buy a whole new system.

Which leads to the next difference: electric razors are a whole lot more expensive than most DEs, SEs, straights or shavettes.

If you dropped $300 on a top-of-the-line electric razor and suddenly things start going south (I had electric razors start giving me skin problems well after any refund window would have been up), those $300 are gone and you're back to square one.

For those who don't have time to shave before they start their day, my suggestion would be to shave at the end of it. That's what I do, anyway.

 

[BigD]

I have yet to find an electric that gives me the shave I want without burning out the motor in less than 2 months. I'd say get a can of Barbasol and an efficient razor for a one pass.

 

[Boogley12]

Wow Is it legal to shave and drive in the USA.

Here in the UK you’d get a substantial fine and could loose your licence. We also have cameras for tracking this sort of stuff as well as phones, eating, drinking and anything else that stops you having 2 hands on the wheel

 

[henrickd]

Wow Is it legal to shave and drive in the USA.

Here in the UK you’d get a substantial fine and could loose your licence. We also have cameras for tracking this sort of stuff as well as phones, eating, drinking and anything else that stops you having 2 hands on the wheel

Yup, depending on the jurisdiction. Where I’ve done it fully legal. Doesn’t make me less of a douche bag though.

Are those regulations relatively recent (less then 10 years)? I lived in Huntingdon for a few years and remember plenty of Brits putting on their makeup and shaving on the old dual carriageway.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

You could also post to this thread to see if you can get some advice.

The Electric razor thread

So how many of you guys use an Electric razor foil/rotary shaver? I have the Braun series 3 340s-4. I've only used it a handful of times. While it doesn't get as close to my DEs or carts, it's very convenient if I'm in a rush and don't have time to use any of my other razors.

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Scaramouche]

The difference is that they're system razors. With few exceptions, you can only have the shaving experience that's been prescribed by the manufacturer.

If a razor is not working well enough for you, *and you want to try something different, you can't just switch one part out, you need to buy a whole new system.

Which leads to the next difference: **electric razors are a whole lot more expensive than most DEs, SEs, straights or shavettes.

If you dropped $300 on a top-of-the-line electric razor and suddenly things start going south (I had electric razors start giving me skin problems well after any refund window would have been up), ***those $300 are gone and you're back to square one.

For those who don't have time to shave before they start their day, my suggestion would be to shave at the end of it. That's what I do, anyway.

*The same applies to a new Wolfman if it doesn't work out, or a Timeless, or an ATT. You do have the option on many DEs to swap out the baseplate or blade and get a different shave, though, although many electrics have a speed adjustment that potentially gives you a different shaver.

**"Most" is probably correct, but there are many very good sub-$100 electrics, and another whole Universe of plus-$100 DEs, straights, SEs and shavettes. The difference in price now between top-of-the-line electrics and bladed razors is becoming moot.

***With the same options for selling or trading that you have with bladed razors.

 

[JackJ]

I decided to give electrics a try again this summer and like the OP was motivated to save time before work. I tried both a cheap Braun (3000 something?) and an upper level Panasonic Arc 5.

I found I didn't save as much time as I expected. To get reasonably good results, I needed to spend around 3 - 4 minutes rubbing the razor all over my face and chin. Both razors performed similarly, but it probably took 6 - 8 passes to get results similar to one pass with a very mild safety razor. Despite being less close, there was also more irritation, especially with the Panasonic, so I felt I still needed to finish up with witch hazel and/or a balm.

As someone else mentioned above, wet shaving in the shower can go very quickly. If I'm really in a rush, I skip using a brush and lather cream from a tube into my stubble with my fingers. It's not the same lather you get with a brush, but it works decently well. Then one pass with a double edge razor (a Gillette Heritage is my current shower shaver), rinse, and I'm done. Better results than with the electric, more enjoyable, and about the same amount of time.

Hanging a fogless mirror in the shower helps.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

My job demands that I sometimes arise very late night or very early morning and be at work clean shaven in one hour,

Are these scheduled or unscheduled nights/early mornings?