What's new

I'd like to find an electric shaver that gets good results for me

I have two here - a Braun 190s-1 foil shaver and a Philips PQ203 rotary travel shaver.

With both of them whether my stubble is long or short the results are... at best very slow, at worst more like a face massage, lol

What am I doing wrong? I know I could splash £60 on a high quality Philips but... with my current success rate I feel like I'll just be left with a slightly larger and significantly more expensive face massager! XD

Safety razors work great for me, cartridge razors work fine. Even disposables work passably, but electrics... not yet.

Just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong.

Thanks all,

Mike :)
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
I’ve had many electrics over the years. Expensive to cheap. Bottom line. They work but not forme. Overall the shave is rough and gives the impression that I shaved but not close or comfortable. It’s a ymmv of course. My last was about 6-7 years ago I bought an expensive one to see if modern tech had improved after not having one around for about 3-5 years. After about a year the battery wouldn’t hold a charge. And then I discovered that that model didn’t allow for changing the battery. No recourse it was basically junk. That level of waste is not acceptable.
 
I still keep a Phillips Norelco rotary shaver in the drawer to use if I have to do a quick clean up and do not have time for a proper shave. I have sensitive skin and rotary shavers are the only ones that do not irritate my skin. Foil shavers like Braun and reciprocating razors like Remington do not work for me. They tend to pull out my coarse hairs rather than cutting them. Electric shavers do not cut close enough for my fast growing beard. If I were to use one routinely, I would have to shave twice a day. If I try to get a close shave, even the Norelco will irritate my face.

With the right razor, the right blade blade, the right shave soap applied by a suitable brush and using the proper shaving technique, I can get a closer shave with less irritation than the electric shaver. However, it does take longer to accomplish that end. It did take me a while to figure out which razors, blades, soaps, brushes and techniques worked best for me.

I have a son-in-law that uses an electric shaver. I hope one day I can convert him over to traditional wet shaving so he can inherit my collection of shaving gear.
 
Like you, I want to see what the current state of the art is in electric razors. I'm waiting for delivery of a Panasonic ARC-5 ES-LV9. I've never tried an electric wet so that will be interesting.I get real comfortable shaves with my injector razor so it will be an interesting experiment. I always had razor burn with electrics in the past.
 
You have two fairly basic electrics. Not that they can't provide good shaves, but there's a reason people purchase more advanced models, or they wouldn't exist. Electrics aren't for everyone, but many "tales of woe" regarding electric shavers come from shavers who have the wrong expectations from an electric, or (usually) are using a model from the 1950s. Or remember same. Technology has changed significantly in the electric shaver world just in the last couple of years. A 10 year-old electric is not the same as a 10 year-old DE. My Fat Boy gives me the same great shave it did for someone in 1958. My Series 9 is completely different - worlds apart - from my early Remington. So you might get a better shave with a higher end shaver - most companies (particularly Braun and Philips) have a pretty liberal return policy if it doesn't work out. The other factor is the shave. An electric won't shave as close as a blade (all things being equal). It just won't. And it wasn't designed to. If you're a BBS seeker of the smoothest, slickest most stubble free shave in the Universe, pass on by. I might question why you think you need that, but different strokes. I never try to get the closest shave in my neighborhood with a blade or an electric, and haven't for decades. But that's my shave, not yours.

An electric is designed to provide a quick, trouble free, nickless-shave, without maximum effort, skill or attention. That said, the technique of shaving with an electric is different than shaving with a blade, just as a DE shave is different than a straight, and it does require practice and yes, technique to get the best shave. You also mention a foil and a rotary - both have different results and different techniques. Usually you would decide which result you like better and stick with that technology. You can also shave wet with an electric (foam or gel). I do - and it provides the closest and most comfortable shave for me - in fact I use the same prep and products I use when shaving with a blade. Your experience might be different, but certainly something to try. Even with the same prep as a blade, my electric shave takes about half as long. With zero chance of nicks, cuts or weepers. An electric also requires a shorter beard to be most effective - as in almost a daily shave. If you shave once a week, an electric may not be for you. Most electrics won't mow down a full beard very efficiently.

So if you're intrigued by what a modern electric might offer, you could try something like a Braun Series 8 or 9 (or even an older - or newer - Series 7). Great foil shavers, and certainly capable of delivering a comfortable and (pretty) close shave. The Panasonic range (Arc 4 and 5) deliver probably the closest shave you can get with an electric, sometimes with the added risk of razor burn if you don't use a lighter touch - just like jumping in with an R41 with the same vigor you use a Feather AS-D2 (I don't recommend) - but a shave that rivals what many can achieve with a DE on an average day. Or a newer designed Philips - 7000 or 9000 Series. Top rotaries on the market. With and/or without a pre-electric like Williams, and with and/or without a brush and soap. Again, if it doesn't work out, you can (usually) send them back. But just like blade shaving, one shave does not a Summer make, and electrics, more than blades, require a period of time for your skin and face - and technique - to adapt. You might be surprised.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Good info. Ymmv especially with expectations
I’m wondering if anyone has tried the philips one blade.
it looks cool. But toogood to be true? Certainly it’snot bbs.
 
Good info. Ymmv especially with expectations
I’m wondering if anyone has tried the philips one blade.
it looks cool. But toogood to be true? Certainly it’snot bbs.

Haven't used it myself, but my impression is more of a styling tool rather than a razor/shaver replacement.

A little here from our members:


And the oft quoted:

 
I agree--very good insight from @Scaramouche. I too occasionally check in on the state of electric shavers, just because that's part of the hobby for me. Last year I purchased a Panasonic Arc5 (high end) and a Braun 3040 (low-mid). Definitely better tools than what I've previously experienced, but certainly not capable of delivering as close and smooth a shave as a good DE/blade combination.

The one area where my opinion differs is on the amount of time it takes: If used wet, I don't find an electric to be any faster than using a DE. Dry, it's certainly quicker than my typical shave. But if I'm in a rush and taking a shower, I can shave just as fast, in the shower, with a traditional razor.

I returned the Arc 5, even though it performed better than the Braun, because it cost 3x more. Kept the Braun, which just takes a few more passes to rival the Panasonic, and use it maybe once/month for variety's sake.
 
It's just strange isn't it though that I can buy a £6 safety razor and it works so well... even the £1 Bic disposables give an alright shave. The £3 cartridge razors I bought definitely work fine. But a £30 electric shaver does very little and I'm supposed to spend more?

You see what I mean. It makes me wonder how much I'd have to spend to even get what I'd consider to be a passable shave o_O
 
In their defense, electrics are great if you're in a rush and don't want/need to shower or splash water. For example, heading out straight from work on a date, and wanting to clean up the stubble. Or living where water is in short supply.

Those are not concerns for me. And my wife doesn't consider the status of my facial hair to be among my more significant shortcomings. (I think she keeps a list.) The appeal to me is playing with yet another functional gadget. (So on the list you'll find an entry for my juvenile obsession with toys.)
 
As a guy who showers at work (end of shift) I find the Panosonic ARC is perfectly ok for a decent shower shave. I still use a brush and cream (both Omega) take my time and as I say get a decent shave. Little after shave prep is needed for the 60 min drive home. For me it saves a bit of time and makes me presentable. YMMV but I'd go for Panosonic ARC 4 or above. Check Amazon as they do have deals and I only paid 40 quid or so for mine.
 
I have used two head Philips, three head Philips, single foil braun and double foil braun. Tried wet and dry.
The last braun gave me the best electric shave and still always irritation and when the blade cracked a worse nick as my qshave futul in a bad mood with the wrong blade.

I went to the Gillette cart circus that lubra strip did not play nice and multiple blades neither. Canned goo made stuff worse.

So I am now very happy with de se and real soap...

Butttttttttt. I am pretty sure that there is a good electric shaver out there.
At this moment I would go for a high end Philips with a wet option.

OTOH they are expensive 300 bucks is a lot of blades and soap. If you stick to Arko as soap easily a lifetime
 
So, why change?

Because Pierce Brosnan made them look so cool in Die Another Day (I rewatched some of it recently).

... yes I really am that impressionable. XD

Also the speed of it interests me :)

cap_James.Bond.Die.Another.Day.2002.720p.BRrip.x264.YIFY_00_28_37_01.jpg


Also it's cool to see a number of people have had such good luck with them here.

Maybe I should try a Panasonic next then.
 
Last edited:
One thing on the "speed" of using an electric that wasn't apparent to me until I'd tried: It takes me a LOT of passes to get an acceptable shave. With a DE I can achieve more in a single pass than I can with an electric using 1/2 dozen passes. And much more "buffing" with an electric to get those tricky areas.

So yes, faster than doing all the pre and post-shave steps involved in a full-on wet shave. But the time spent with the razor upon the face is actually much more with an electric, for me. ymmv.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
When I busted my trusty old Norelco 3-head a few years ago I discovered that the market is now diversified to the point that they have "fast but not close" models and "close but not fast" models. After blowing a couple hundred smackolas on the wrong one for me I was not at all inclined to go throw another bucket of cash at a speculation. And that was the time I started wet-shaving.

Oddly, I've thrown several buckets of cash at wet-shaving, and think it's fun. :letterk1:

I picked up a Wahl 5-Star "Super Close" foil shaver that I use for those times when a shave NOW is better than a great shave later. It's probably the closest electric I've ever used and can leave a BBS behind in short order. The quality of that shave, however, is such that it begins to noticeably grow out within a couple of hours. "Good enough for government work" as they say.

By contrast, Wednesday's shave with a clone of the Feather SS straight razor left me with a BBS that lasted 15 hours until I started feeling some ambitious little sprouts. At 24 hours post-shave it was like I'd just shaved with a rotary head machine. Scary good.

O.H.
 
One thing on the "speed" of using an electric that wasn't apparent to me until I'd tried: It takes me a LOT of passes to get an acceptable shave. With a DE I can achieve more in a single pass than I can with an electric using 1/2 dozen passes. And much more "buffing" with an electric to get those tricky areas.

So yes, faster than doing all the pre and post-shave steps involved in a full-on wet shave. But the time spent with the razor upon the face is actually much more with an electric, for me. ymmv.

Yeah I found that. I could go over the same area so many times and it looked mostly the same. And then with a safety razor I could cut the hair down to almost nothing with one motion.

I guess the reason is because of that layer of metal between your skin and the blades on an electric shaver, whereas with wet shaving the blade is hitting your skin directly.
 
hm, they don't really work for SinatraLennon either. So at least it's not just me I guess!


Also available sometimes in the parts bin at Walmart:


And you know what? You can get a decent shave with it. In fact, I've used $2 safeties that, er, worked. You're not as likely to get a great performing electric from the same bin though, just like you could probably get a solid, last forever manual can-opener for .50. A .50 electric can-opener, not so much. And the manual one works just fine....
 
I got out my Panasonic Arc 5 for the first time in a while. I’m a seriously hard-core straight razor guy but I wanted to revisit the electric. I have to say that I’m in a bit of disbelief because I’m still waiting for a bad shave from the electric and it just hasn’t happened yet...
 
Top Bottom