No I wet shave in the shower with it, just put my travel mirror on the wall and slap a little Erasmic alovera gel on the face and shave. Works for me.
Wet shaving....with an electric razor
- Thread starter Badgerstate36
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No I wet shave in the shower with it, just put my travel mirror on the wall and slap a little Erasmic alovera gel on the face and shave. Works for me.
As a long time straight razor user with a huge collection of razor hones, strops, & other accessories I’ve been exploring electrics on the side as well. Irritation has been a problem on all my electrics. But after reading this thread I took out my Arc-4 and applied some Nivea Shave Gel and it was impressive to say the least! I mean I’ve tried using gel before but I guess I just didn’t have the right razor/foam combo. My Arc-5 seems to get a bit too close with or without gel which seems to result in some delayed irritation and a flaking sensation the day after the shave (I tend to shave in the evenings). But the Arc-5 is a Cadillac regardless. I would like to try out the Braun series 9 but cash is tight...
Has anyone tried electric shaving with shaving oil, a product like Shave Secret? Shave Secret really lubricates my skin for DE shaving. Wondered if it would do the same for an electric shaver. I just ordered a Panasonic ARC-5 ES-LV9 to try. That's the model with 5 blades, but also has the rollers to reduce irritation. I was planning on using it wet with shaving cream in an attempt to reduce the irritation that electric shavers usually give me in the neck area. That was brutal when I had to wear a suit & tie every day.
I've used Shave Secret (as well as other shave oils like GFT and Stirling's) specifically with the Arc 5 and it works great. Shave Secret actually works great with almost anything, DE, carts or electric, but I find with the cloves it needs a particular soap or AS. I generally use the same prep with an electric that I use with a blade - shower, pre-shave, brush and soap - and find I get a similar shave with all. I think you'll be impressed with the capabilities of a modern electric, both in comfort and closeness, particularly with the Panny. Panasonic has a justifiable reputation for closeness, but requires a lighter touch than most electrics to avoid razor burn - hence the "comfort rollers." Panasonic's faster speed (14,000 cpm) plus thinner foils allow a shave fairly close to an average DE shave (no electric will shave technically as close as a blade because of the thickness of the foils or metal combs), but pretty darn close. I'm not as fond of their cleaning stations, which require more frequent solution changes (water based), but of all the electrics the Panasonics are perhaps the easiest to clean manually.
I agree with you on Shave Secret. Looking forward to receiving this shaver and trying it out with both shaving oil and shaving cream. Not sure why I'm doing this because I really like my injector razor. Curiosity, I guess. Thanks for the info.
I use an electric (in addition to blades) because 1) I don't need water to shave - any pre-shave like Freelette or Williams allows a quick and comfortable shave traveling, and 2) I can shave in about half my blade shaving time, with less chance of any nicks, cuts or weepers, and a lot less attention. As noted, I still use my wet shaving prep, and enjoy all my artisan soaps and AS, with less fuss and bother than my wet blade shaving routine. I still use a DE (and sometimes carts), because I enjoy the technique and "me" time - and have a healthy stable of razors - but an electric gets the job done quicker and at least as comfortably, with a more than acceptable shave, and they're always in the rotation.
but.. if i have to do all the prep...conditioning the brush...preparing the lather... etc what's the point of using an electric razor? At that point i may just proceed with a blade.
The point is (you must have missed it) - 1) quicker, by a factor of two, or more (and yes, my time sometimes, even frequently matters - even with prep. I've calculated I've spent more than two years of all my waking hours in front of a shaving mirror, thus far in my orbit around the sun. Less is probably better.), 2) as comfortable, and usually more comfortable than a blade shave, and I don't need to pick a particular blade, fuss with a blade, dissassemble a razor, insert a blade, reassemble a razor, dissassemble a razor again, dispose of a blade, clean a razor, or reassemble a razor again (you may not do that every shave, but actually, I do - and add that to the actual shaving time for a realistic "shave time"), and 3) less chance of damage to epidermis in terms of nicks or cuts at speed (and yes, my blade technique is over 50 years-worth pretty good: note the operant word "less"). That's the point - for me. As always - Your. Mileage. May. Vary.
you forget the fact you miss (with the electric) the skin exfoliation. By removing the old outer layer you "force" your epidermis to "renew" itself and therefore looking younger. Not bad as an added value as we get older.I think it's definitely worth the few extra minutes.
Which is one of the reasons, actually, that DE and carts are still in the rotation.
Electrics have their own place for the above reasons, but a bare blade is often worth some of the trade-offs mentioned. I'm probably 50-50 between blade and electric, and use each of them for their strengths (and actually although it takes more time with a blade, I'm an advocate of the Babylonian proverb - later repeated by many, including Herbert Hoover - "The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.") Perhaps the same for shaving. 
Well, my Panasonic ARC-5 ES-LV9N-s arrived a few days ago. I've used it 3 times so far and I have to say I'm very impressed. I've used it with Shave Secret oil and haven't tried shaving cream. First, let me say that I've never, that's NEVER, had a comfortable shave with an electric shaver. My neck got irritated, and if I had to shave twice in a day, the irritation would be readily apparent. That's what drove me back to DE shaving. If I was careful, when I applied the cologne, it would sting...a lot, but a very close shave. Then, I discovered injector razors and the improvement was amazing. No need to be as careful and I could apply pressure without cutting myself. Ahhh, shaving nirvana! But it took time...around 20 minutes for the whole process.
So, enter the Panasonic ARC. Why did I get it? Mainly out of curiosity and I wanted to see where the current state of the art in electrics was. To be fair, I should try one shave just dry, but I don't want to. The Shave Secret allows me to press as hard as I want to (within limitations, of course) and I can make as many passes as I feel necessary to get the stubble. It's not as close as a blade, but I didn't expect it to be. I expected a tradeoff there. I hear the whiskers being cut. The speed of this shaver is amazing. I can shave in anywhere from 5-10 minutes and the shave is very comfortable. The cologne only stings slightly so there's apparently no irritation that I can feel. The biggest downside is that you really have a problem defining your sideburns and in my case, my goatee. Other than that, this is a total winner in my view. It's expensive, and this is their top model with the comfort rollers in the head. I don't know how long it will last and they do recommend replacing the shaving head once a year for a cost of around $80. (That $80 alone would probably buy me a lifetime supply of DE or injector blades.
In summary, if I were still wearing a white shirt and tie every day, I would stick with the injector. The electric does leave a little stubble in the next area...not visible, but you can feel it. That rubbing on a shirt collar every day would probably fray the collar and irritate the skin. Fortunately for me, I'm past that stage so this, for me, is a winner.
So, enter the Panasonic ARC. Why did I get it? Mainly out of curiosity and I wanted to see where the current state of the art in electrics was. To be fair, I should try one shave just dry, but I don't want to. The Shave Secret allows me to press as hard as I want to (within limitations, of course) and I can make as many passes as I feel necessary to get the stubble. It's not as close as a blade, but I didn't expect it to be. I expected a tradeoff there. I hear the whiskers being cut. The speed of this shaver is amazing. I can shave in anywhere from 5-10 minutes and the shave is very comfortable. The cologne only stings slightly so there's apparently no irritation that I can feel. The biggest downside is that you really have a problem defining your sideburns and in my case, my goatee. Other than that, this is a total winner in my view. It's expensive, and this is their top model with the comfort rollers in the head. I don't know how long it will last and they do recommend replacing the shaving head once a year for a cost of around $80. (That $80 alone would probably buy me a lifetime supply of DE or injector blades.
In summary, if I were still wearing a white shirt and tie every day, I would stick with the injector. The electric does leave a little stubble in the next area...not visible, but you can feel it. That rubbing on a shirt collar every day would probably fray the collar and irritate the skin. Fortunately for me, I'm past that stage so this, for me, is a winner.
Biggest thing for you to get a feel for is the heat the Ark5 can generate. Heat is the enemy so however you can limit that is fair game. I use either Nivea gel or regular shave soap and rinse the head frequently under cold water during the shave. Seems to keep the blades cool...
My best advice is to keep using the shaver for at least a couple of weeks for you and your face to become accustomed to the shaver. The secret is to not use very much pressure while shaving. Use a light touch and allow the blades to cut the stubble. I go over each area several times in different directions without a lot of pressure. As your skin becomes accustomed you might try increasing the pressure but a light touch works best. Keep us informed.
Just my experience with the LV-9N, but you'll probably only need to replace the cutters every couple of years, maybe longer. Panasonic uses super-hard SS alloy in their blades, and particularly with an oil or soap (which is easier on blades), they should last you quite a while. The foil, unless damaged, probably even longer. Here the Panny has a distinct advantage over Braun because you can replace them separately.
With the Shave Secret oil applied and water splashed on my face before shaving, I experienced absolutely no heat at all even using some pressure.
A follow up after several shaves with the Panasonic: Someone advised that it would take a couple of weeks to get used to the electric. That didn't happen. I adjusted to it immediately or within the first few shaves. The Panasonic/Shave Secret combo was so good, that I had great shaves immediately. Lightfoot said that heat was an issue and I agree. I get absolutely no heat no matter how long I shave or the amount of pressure (within reason) that I apply. I found out how much heat this shaver could generate when I did a dry touch-up in an area around my beard. I felt the heat immediately so I would never use this shaver dry. The beauty of an oil like Shave Secret is that you can easily see your face and the areas that you are shaving.
