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Occasional Electric Shave?

Hello!

I would like your opinion on this one:

Generally I shave daily, as I like the clean shaven look. I usually shave using my Edwin Jagger DE89 or Merkur 39c (once in a while) and get really good shaves. However, lately, I do not have the time or the mood to shave with my safety razors every single day, so I bought a Panasonic Arc 5, just for those days, in order to keep being clean shaven.

Anyway, Panasonic arrived today, but I have not yet opened the package (in case I decided to return it), as I had a thought about whether using an electric razor once in a while, will affect the way my skin has become used to shaving with DE razors. In other words, do you have any idea or experience on whether occasional electric shaving affects the quality/comfort of the DE razor shaves (or vice versa)?

Thank you in advance!
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
Firstly, welcome to the forum. I have not used an electric/rechargeable for many years. When I tried using them I never gave my face time to adjust or get used to the razor. I would keep shaving until I was clean shaven by my standards. Then I would suffer from horrible razor burn as I had over shaved for the want of a better term. I think to use an electric properly you may have to give your face a little time to get used to the razor. Then again, electric razors have improved immensely over the years so my experience maybe null and void. Hopefully someone else with more experience with electric razors can help you.
 
Thank you! It's nice to be here! Yes, that was my main concern, but I thought of it after I had bought the shaver 😅... That occasional shaving with another method would both disturb my skin and (as it would be, say, once a week) my face would not have the time to adjust...
 
Not sure how things will work swapping between the 2 methods (I've never tried, it might be fine), but that razor is really good. I used to use it and it gives fantastic results
 
I use both methods and it's fine. I think a DE shave is much easier if you've used the electric the day before, rather than not having shaved at all and trying to remove a longer growth.
 
Thank you for your answers! 😁 If I eventually try using both for a significant length of time (so that my face adjusts to this routine), I will post the results, just in case anyone else is in the same situation.
 
I routinely switch between DE and electric - including Panasonic, Braun and Norelco. There is a difference between blade and electric - a blade will cut hair at a slight angle (with a clean edge), and an electric will cut the hair shaft more or less straight, with a less defined cut. And different electrics will cut differently as well, particularly between foil and rotary. But I also find I get a different shave between my Timeless Titanium and my D2. The Arc 5 probably cuts as close to a blade as any electric, so switching should be more seamless, but as you suspect it takes a few shaves to readapt - I find at least a couple of shaves and sometimes three or four. And hair re-growth makes a difference - electrics, because of their design, cut best when the hair grows more perpendicular to the surface of the skin, and don't generally cut flat-lying hair well (hence the flat cutter in many foils). Continued shaving with an electric promotes this perpendicular growth by the way they cut - straight across. Blade shaving on the other hand, doesn't affect regrowth that much, and the hair shaft just follows its natural direction (because it isn't disrupted when cut), which may be in any direction, including parallel to the skin (which is why blade shaving may produce more ingrown hair for some). Hence the importance of "mapping" for blade shavers - not as important for electrics.

So the short answer is, yes, it's possible to switch back and forth between blade and electric, it may take a couple of shaves to get the closest and most comfortable shave, and there is a place for both.
 
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Thank you for your time Scaramouche! That was really helpful!

You're very welcome! I'm rare in the shaving world, (at least in these parts!) because I use and enjoy both blade and electric shavers. I find advantages (and deficiencies) in both, and just depends on the day and my mood. I should preface that I shave wet with the same prep with both also - scuttle, brush and artisan soap - and find I get very similar shaves between using a blade or an electric. Modern electric shavers have advanced far beyond your Granddad's ancient Remington, and some of the negatives expressed toward electric shavers are often based on those memories, although either method is not universally for everyone. The same can't be said of bladed razors, and that's not a bad thing - my 1959 Fatboy is virtually identical in function and shave to my RE Ambassador, which is awesome. A modern straight can be indistinguishable from Napoleon's razor. And the shaving skills and techniques required are the same over those couple of centuries. Room in the world for both, and with the right prep, the right software and in the right hands, any shaving tool can deliver a close, comfortable shave on any given day. MMVAMAAE (My Mileage Varies As Much As Anyone Else's). :biggrin1:
 
Welcome to the forum. I only use an electric shaver so I can’t add anything to what’s been said. If you live in the US, the shaver comes with at least a thirty day money back return policy. If you ordered it from Amazon they will take it back no questions asked within the same period of time.

Generally, to get the best results from an electric shaver you should use it daily for a couple of weeks for your beard and face to become accustomed to the shaver.
 
I don't have much to add that hasn't been said already. I've got a lengthy history with shaving related irritation and after a few years with DEs, brushes, etc I still never found an improvement. Electric shavers (more specifically foil shavers and even more specifically Braun foil shavers) have literally been a skin saving game changer for me. My best shaves I ever got with a blade came nowhere near my best shaves with even a cheap Braun series 3 (let alone their more premium series 7 or 9). For conversation sake, I'm exclusively an electric foil shaver. Besides my wife's razors and a sentimental hair shaper shavette that was my mom's that I occasionally use for lining/edging, I don't even own any blades anymore.

We've got a healthy (and growing!) following for Electrics around here so take some time to explore those other threads and introduce yourself. Most modern Electrics allow the use of lather so don't be afraid to pull out your favorite brush and soap/cream!

Welcome aboard!
 
Hello there! Here I am again. I didn't have the time to write about what I finally decided to do with the Panasonic.
Well, as I mentioned in the first post, the reason why I wanted a quicker shave (which I thought would be provided by an electric shaver) was because I didn't always have the time (or the mood) needed for a nice wet shave. The "problem" was solved in a totally different way. The solution was "the beast" :devil:, which I bought after I returned the Arc 5!

It may sound strange but, on the days that I don't have the time to enjoy a longer shave, I just use Muhle R41. First pass (kind of a WTG/XTG hybrid pass) + touch up, and there it is... Irritation free BBS (or DFS sometimes) in no time. Amazing razor!!! :biggrin1::thumbup1:
 
Good morning. I have been using almost exclusively electric shavers over the last 10 years due to the ever-increasing cost of Gillette carts. I currently have an arc5 and i love it. close, comfortable and blazingly fast shave . A modern electric can be a real lifesaver.
 
I'm sorry i forgot to add... IMHO a lot of people don't know anything about their beard mapping, i have some friends who always criticize electrics but when i see them shaving i notice they just move the shaver up and down "hoping for the best" ..and then they wonder why the shave is not close enough!!!:lol::lol:
 
I'm sorry i forgot to add... IMHO a lot of people don't know anything about their beard mapping, i have some friends who always criticize electrics but when i see them shaving i notice they just move the shaver up and down "hoping for the best" ..and then they wonder why the shave is not close enough!!!:lol::lol:

Yes, you are 100% correct. I would suggest that a person who is new to electric shavers should shave twice. Once going up and down followed by going left and right. Then check the closeness of the shave and determine which parts of their beard grow at an angle other than up/down and left/right. Also, going in just one direction once may not get all of the hairs. It may require a couple or more passes to completely shave close. Another thought is that applying too much pressure may cause irritation of the skin while applying too little pressure won’t get close enough.

This of course goes along with giving your beard enough time to become accustomed to the electric shaver. One can’t expect miracles from the first shave.
 
The only electric shaver I have used successfully is the Phillips Norelco rotary shaver. I have tried other types, but never liked them as they seemed to cause irritation. One nice thing about the rotary is that it is designed to be used in a circular motion so it works no matter which way your beard grows. I used to keep an electric razor in my desk drawer at work. If we had a dinner meeting, I could do a quick shave to knock down my 5 O'clock shadow.

Although I still have a Norelco in my shaving drawer, I seldom use it. I get far closer, more comfortable shaves with straight razors, DE razors, and SE razors, but nothing beats the convenience of an electric for a quick touch-up.
 
The only electric shaver I have used successfully is the Phillips Norelco rotary shaver. I have tried other types, but never liked them as they seemed to cause irritation. One nice thing about the rotary is that it is designed to be used in a circular motion so it works no matter which way your beard grows. I used to keep an electric razor in my desk drawer at work. If we had a dinner meeting, I could do a quick shave to knock down my 5 O'clock shadow.

Although I still have a Norelco in my shaving drawer, I seldom use it. I get far closer, more comfortable shaves with straight razors, DE razors, and SE razors, but nothing beats the convenience of an electric for a quick touch-up.

Yep. I routinely switch between blade and electric, and have consistently found that a rotary provides a more comfortable shave (after adapting) than my foils. The Brauns (for me) provide the most comfortable shave while shaving, but even they can be irritating if you scrub the wrong direction, and post-shave are more prone to irritation and ingrowns. There’s a technique to every shaving method...
 
The only electric shaver I have used successfully is the Phillips Norelco rotary shaver. I have tried other types, but never liked them as they seemed to cause irritation. One nice thing about the rotary is that it is designed to be used in a circular motion so it works no matter which way your beard grows. I used to keep an electric razor in my desk drawer at work. If we had a dinner meeting, I could do a quick shave to knock down my 5 O'clock shadow.

Although I still have a Norelco in my shaving drawer, I seldom use it. I get far closer, more comfortable shaves with straight razors, DE razors, and SE razors, but nothing beats the convenience of an electric for a quick touch-up.

Obviously, a blade shaving directly on the skin will shave closer. The drawbacks are that you have to have water, soap and there’s always the possibility of nicking yourself. When I use a blade I look like a barber pole with all the bloody toilet paper stopping the flow of blood on my face. Norelco shavers have always been very gentle on your skin. When I started shaving in the early 1960s my father bought me a Braun foil shaver manufactured in the U.S. by Robson. It gave me a lot of irritation. My father was using a Norelco two headed shaver and we switched. I used that Norelco up until the 1970s when I switched to a Ronson. I’ve used screen shavers ever since.
 
This is my Arc 5. Bought on sale on amazon Sept 2019. Works like a charm. A lawnmower. I know it's an "old" version but since I can mount the newest foil and cutters when I will need it. It's perfectly fine.
IMG_20200702_090028.jpg
 
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