So, what you are saying is you were cheating during the 30 day acclimation period?
Are electrics really that bad?
- Thread starter FireDragon76
- Start date
So, what you are saying is you were cheating during the 30 day acclimation period?
Yep. You got it. Lol
Just for clarification, using a full prep with an electric shaver - water, soap and a brush - IS "wet" shaving, the only difference between that and using a fixed blade is how you cut the facial hair. You could be more specific, to say wet shaving with a double-edge blade, or wet shaving with a straight razor, or wet shaving with a foil shaver, or actually wet shaving with a fixed oscillating blade (modern or vintage - sort of a hybrid between a traditional blade and electric) but the face prep and follow-up is the same, and the results can be remarkably similar, due largely to softening the whiskers and skin prior to cutting the whiskers. This is from over 50 years of experience using both traditional blades and electrics.
Everyone's skin is different, hair is different, experience and technique are different, so their results and preferences will be different. It's what makes the world go 'round. Shaving dry with an electric is, well, "dry" shaving. And probably most traditionally have used an electric this way, or at least with minimal pre-shave prep. The significant difference being that shaving dry, without pre-shave or prep with a traditional fixed blade, is not something widely practiced. For reasons easily imagined. Among them, you're more likely to cut yourself, because less lubrication will make a blade more likely to "grab" unprotected skin and dig in due to friction. It's also more likely to irritate, again exfoliating layers of unprotected skin even if the blade doesn't penetrate. The transitional areas of the face (the vermillion border of the lip for example) are more likely to be cut because an exposed blade without lubrication is more likely to catch and penetrate the thinner mucosa of the lip where it meets thicker skin.
All good reasons not to load a Feather up in your Blackbird and whack away, without water, soap or prep. I would submit that those might actually be good reasons for preferring the same protection offered by wet shaving techniques using a more rapidly moving (about 10,000 times more rapidly moving) electric blade. Your. Mileage. May. Vary.
Everyone's skin is different, hair is different, experience and technique are different, so their results and preferences will be different. It's what makes the world go 'round. Shaving dry with an electric is, well, "dry" shaving. And probably most traditionally have used an electric this way, or at least with minimal pre-shave prep. The significant difference being that shaving dry, without pre-shave or prep with a traditional fixed blade, is not something widely practiced. For reasons easily imagined. Among them, you're more likely to cut yourself, because less lubrication will make a blade more likely to "grab" unprotected skin and dig in due to friction. It's also more likely to irritate, again exfoliating layers of unprotected skin even if the blade doesn't penetrate. The transitional areas of the face (the vermillion border of the lip for example) are more likely to be cut because an exposed blade without lubrication is more likely to catch and penetrate the thinner mucosa of the lip where it meets thicker skin.
All good reasons not to load a Feather up in your Blackbird and whack away, without water, soap or prep. I would submit that those might actually be good reasons for preferring the same protection offered by wet shaving techniques using a more rapidly moving (about 10,000 times more rapidly moving) electric blade. Your. Mileage. May. Vary.
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The electric shaver was first designed and patented by Jacob Schick after WWI. He designed it to make it easier for the troops to shave in the trenches. His idea was to make dry shaving easy, safe and even possible. With the advent of reliable batteries and waterproofing, shaver manufactures begin advertising the idea of using an electric shaver with water and shaving cream. I can see where shaving while showering might save some time, but it also requires extra time to clean out the soap in the head with running water. Thus begot the idea of a sinktop cleaning station. This is a wonderful idea to increase the cost of the electric shaver and then sell the consumer an endless supply of cleaning fluid.
I’m old school. I shave dry before washing my face or showering and clean the head of the shaver by tapping it out on a piece of toilet paper on the sink counter followed by brushing out the clippings from the top of the shaver. The entire process takes about four minutes. By not wetting the shaver head I don’t have to apply oil to lubricate the shaver according to the Braun shaver instruction manual. Interestingly, Braun no longer includes a small brush in their latest series 8 shavers. I wonder how much money that saves them while increasing profits.
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I tried Norelco, Braun and Panasonic and wasted $$ in all. But my dad used them and liked them a LOT. I bet there are more people worldwide using electric shavers than DE's. It's probably cheaper for them, too. One razor goes for several years...no need for soap/brush/blades; then you need to change the foil or heads...etc.
It's up to the individual user to figure out what works best for them....or what is cheaper in their respective market.
It's up to the individual user to figure out what works best for them....or what is cheaper in their respective market.
Electric shaver manufactures have been offering refunds within 3 weeks after purchase for many years. If you didn’t like the shaves you got using each of those brands, then why didn’t you return them for a full refund?
- Thread starter
- #27
My Dorco blade wasn't agreeing with me today so I relathered with some Stirling soap and finished my shave with a Braun Pocket Go. I ended up with a DFS. The Braun didn't seem to produce any skin irritation, and it shaved faster than dry shaving.
When I was a teenager, I had acne that was so bad that I could not use either DE or SE razors. The only thing that would work was a Norelco rotary shaver. I never got a great shave. My beard grew so fast that I often had to shave twice a day.
As I grew older, the acne subsided, but I still used the Norelco. I still have one in the drawer today, over 50 years later. Somewhere along the way, started using cartridge razors, but never really liked them either as they irritated my skin. However, since traveled over much of my career, the combination of electric and cartridge met my needs.
After retiring, I started shaving with DE razors and also with straight razors. The quality of my shave and the enjoyment of the experience is on an entirely new level. However, I still keep the electric razor and cartridge razor in the drawer in case I have do not have time for a full shave.
As I grew older, the acne subsided, but I still used the Norelco. I still have one in the drawer today, over 50 years later. Somewhere along the way, started using cartridge razors, but never really liked them either as they irritated my skin. However, since traveled over much of my career, the combination of electric and cartridge met my needs.
After retiring, I started shaving with DE razors and also with straight razors. The quality of my shave and the enjoyment of the experience is on an entirely new level. However, I still keep the electric razor and cartridge razor in the drawer in case I have do not have time for a full shave.
When I was teenager in the early 1960s, I used a two rotor, flip top Norelco for at least ten years and got very good results. In the early 1970s I was working in a Jewlery store and they had a display on the counter with a Ronson screen shaver attached under an ultraviolet light for customers to try out the shaver. Ronson built Braun shavers under license here in the U.S. for many years. Later, they were sold under the name Eltron. I bought one from the store and have been using screen type shavers ever since. I’ve owned Ronson, Eltron, Braun, Remington and Panasonic shavers. Every time I try to shave with some kind of razor blade I always cut myself and have to walk around with toilet paper stuck to my face or use a septic pencil to stop the bleeding.
For me electric shaving dry works best, takes less time and gives me excellent results.
I can get a consistent BBS shave with my Braun electric. However, I have always preferred the feeling of shaving with a razor, even though I can't get it nearly as close without some technique refinement and possibly a large styptic haha.
Shaving with foam and cartridges? I'll take an electric over the razor bumps I used to get (coincidentally why I own a Braun). Wet shaving? I'll take a little stubble till I get my technique down over the electric any day.
Shaving with foam and cartridges? I'll take an electric over the razor bumps I used to get (coincidentally why I own a Braun). Wet shaving? I'll take a little stubble till I get my technique down over the electric any day.
I think this thread should be titled, “Are Elecrics Really That Good?”. I get an excellent shave using my Braun 7893s in a very short time. However, I don’t think it gets as close as a BBS. As I remember after my having my one and only BBS in the 1970s, I didn’t have to shave for a couple of days. I’m not even sure you can find a barbershop that still offers shaves since the AIDS epidemic. Electric shavers have improved over in the last several years. Besides NiCad batteries, the motors are faster, the screens are thinner and more flexible and the cutters last longer.
In the end it boils down to what you expect. It was very relaxing to have the barber place hot towels on my face followed by warm shaving cream. He then gently scraped off the hairs with very little irritation nor injury and finished with witch hazel. It was very relaxing and took about 20 minutes to complete. I could never reproduce that feeling standing at the sink at six AM.
The thought of having to wash with warm water, apply shaving cream and then carefully shaving with a SE, DE or any other kind of razor takes time and requires more skill than I am willing to apply every morning. The electric razor is a tool to accomplish a task reasonably well and with complete safety. The real answer is that electric shavers are that good for doing their job daily. If shaving is a hobby, then that’s a different thing. Electric shavers were designed to make shaving fast, comfortable and safe in a variety of locations. They are now high tech devices as well as a shaving tool.
If I were not using an electric shaver daily, I would buy a corded shaver. They work for a very long time and only require replacing the cutter and screen occasionally. Obviously, an AC outlet is required but they will last for many years and they are not very expensive. Probably the biggest drawback would be that the manufacturer might no longer make the replacement parts.
There are folks who have disassembled their electric razor and replaced the NiCad batteries which are available on EBay. I’m not sure how waterproof the shaver would be after opening up the case but the shaver ahold work dry shaving. All battery shavers recommend removing the battery before disposing of the shaver.
My father used an electric for a long time. When he died I inherited his braun.
Could not get a decent shave with it, had stubble and ingrown hairs on my neck at the same time.
Fast forward nearly 30 years.
My father-in-law had to stop using his DE as dexterity became an issue for him recently. I got him a series 9k braun that can be used wet or dry.
This thing was expensive and is big.
But the results are not bad.
The noise annoys me and I rather enjoy using an SE or a straight, but this thing does indeed work. Even on my neck that previous generations could not master. Has impressed me so much that I got myself a Series 7k as an emergency backup.
My electric does not get much use, but it's godsend when I want to shave and did something stupid to my skin the day before.
br
godek
Could not get a decent shave with it, had stubble and ingrown hairs on my neck at the same time.
Fast forward nearly 30 years.
My father-in-law had to stop using his DE as dexterity became an issue for him recently. I got him a series 9k braun that can be used wet or dry.
This thing was expensive and is big.
But the results are not bad.
The noise annoys me and I rather enjoy using an SE or a straight, but this thing does indeed work. Even on my neck that previous generations could not master. Has impressed me so much that I got myself a Series 7k as an emergency backup.
My electric does not get much use, but it's godsend when I want to shave and did something stupid to my skin the day before.
br
godek
Your father's might need a new foil. What model is it?
If you think back thirty years there’s been huge improvements in computers, automobiles, and electric shavers. I find that foil shavers have advanced the most with higher speed motors, thinner and more flexible foils. I run the shower to get the water hot while shaving which somewhat drowns out the sound of my Braun shaver. If you use it daily you will get used to the sound. If you use your 7 series more frequently the shaves will only improve as your beard and your technique becomes more accustomed to the shaver.
- Thread starter
- #36
Williams used to have a sensitive skin version of Lectric Shave that had silicone and it worked very well. I haven't seen it in a while, though.
- Thread starter
- #37
I polished the cutting heads on one of my old Philips shavers and I shaved half my face with that this morning. The other side of my face I shaved with a Yingjili, Dorco blade, Stirling soap as a preshave, and Stirling Barbershop. I did about 1 1/2 passes and ended up with a shave that was more or less equal, with the blade shave being slightly more uneven. There was definitely more irritation on the blade side of my face.
Quite possibly you could be right.
Problem is that the braun lacks, well, probably emotion is probably the correct term.
Also it is too fast. I'm still of working age, my shower and shave time is my wellness time during really stressful days.
So I prefer not to use the electric for my own reasons, but bashing them has no place in my heart.
Hope this explains my view better.
br
godek
I used Braun electrics for years. I would upgrade every few years to the new model. Cutter head is now $45 and there are cartridges for the cleaner - it's not the cheap way to go.
Great for a fast DFS - or almost DFS. No BBS available for me, and trying to improve the shave always resulted in razor burn.
It wasn't terrible. It got the job done, but it was not even close to my current results.
Great for a fast DFS - or almost DFS. No BBS available for me, and trying to improve the shave always resulted in razor burn.
It wasn't terrible. It got the job done, but it was not even close to my current results.
Braun now recommends replacing the cutter/head cassette every 18 months rather than annually. If you buy them online from Amazon they are less expensive then buying them from Braun. I haven’t replaced the one in my current Braun shaver because it’s only been nine months of use. My previous Panasonic shaver went nearly five years without replacing the screens nor the cutter and the shaves were excellent ntil the last month. If the shaves are still good and the screen has no wholes then you don’t have to replace them. I’m not a fan of cleaning stations for the very reason you gave up on the shaver, recurring cost. Most current shavers are waterproof and washable which makes the cleaning station a silly idea unless you hold stock in the shaver manufactures.
