Whose used an electric shaver and thought the shave was just fine?

[Froggy]

I've made the switch to electric shavers after using DE and SE razors for 18 months. I used carts for close to 20 years. Irritation has been something that I've dealt with when wet shaving with any blade. With an electric shaver there's just no irritation at all. My skin feels smooth after shaving when rubbed against the grain so thats a plus. I know there are those that say using an electric is pure torture but I have never experienced that. I was wondering if some guys here have used an electric shaver and got a very nice comfortable shave? If so, what type of shaver was it (foil or rotary) and what brand? I have two foil shavers, a Braun and Panasonic that work equally well for me. I know there will be post that will say using an electric shaver should be outlawed or something to that effect. But I would like to hear from those that have had a positive experience with electric shavers. Thank you.

[Doc226]

I could never get a good shave from an electric, I got bad "razor" burn given I had to go over the same area multiple times to get it to cut. I tried rotary and foil types off several brands. I bought them from a pharmacy a longtime ago that gave you a 30 day trial and would exchange if you did not like the product.

I ended up giving my last one to my father.

[TexAg]

I had two Norelcos. The first one was a pass down and the other I bought. I've never had irritation with those but I also have never felt a BBS shave or the luxury of a badger brush (which I enjoy greatly). It was a rotary and just too easy to use. I never thought anything about shaving until I went to buy replacement heads. Talk about $$$. That's when I switched to cartridges and goop.

[Stubblejumper]

I used electric razors exclusively for 20 years before making the switch to wetshaving. They worked fine on my face, but were hell on my neck. I had to go over my neck several times to get all the hair, which always left me red and irritated. Foil razors weren't as bad as the rotary ones were. With a rotary, I actually nicked my neck sometimes!

My dad shaved everyday with a Philips (Norelco) rotary for over 30 years, and never seemed to have any irritation at all. He had very tough skin though...

[The Kiwi]

For this to actually be in context requires a certain amount of historical recap. Electric razors have been around a long time, but IMO, were terrible tools their first 60-70 years or so. My father never used anything else, he said, and he was born in 1907, so would've been shaving by the mid-1920s. I tried one in 1954 to deal with long peach fuzz, but the adolescent fuzz was too soft and laid too flat for the electric.

I tried again in the 1960s when I had an adult beard, and got both razor burn and a bad shave. Beginning from the mid-1960s I converted from mostly Injector razors to mostly Gillette Adjustables. I shaved with creams or soaps and used a boars hair brush for 30 years or so, but had a major financial reversal, and couldn't get work paying half as well as what I'd been earning. I ended up with two jobs, not enough sleep, indigestion, and no time for the niceties of a "good" shave.

I had cartridge razors on the wash basin, with one DE to keep sideburn creep under control, and used whatever foam or gel in a can left my skin least irritated, and even then might run out of time to shave between jobs, so one of Norelco's rechargables has been riding in my cars since the early 1990s. I have two of them, one that has been recharged and ready to swap, and the one in the car console. They can shave much better than the old electrics did, and they don't cause as much irritation as the old ones did, however, it's not really a GOOD shave, it's merely a minimally acceptable shave.

[Topgumby]

Used one for a few years. It was, as somebody above said, OK on the face and Hell on the neck. Somewhat convenient in the field.

Don't miss it, but if it works for you, then (ahem) more power to ya!

[Froggy]

Thanks for the posts guys. From everything I've read a rotary shaver will be more likely to cause irritation than a foil. The foils have very small holes for stubble to enter where as rotaries have small slits that can catch the skin easier. Plus the lift and cut action of Norelco rotary shavers sounds like it could be rough on sensitive areas like the neck.

[ZJ68]

I have three foil electrics, two Brauns and a Panasonic. The Panasonic is a wet/dry that does a very good job wet. It works fine with a brush and soap or cream.

[VladTepes]

I could never get a good shave from an electric, I got bad "razor" burn given I had to go over the same area multiple times to get it to cut. I tried rotary and foil types off several brands.

Me too.

[Matt555]

Thanks for the posts guys. From everything I've read a rotary shaver will be more likely to cause irritation than a foil. The foils have very small holes for stubble to enter where as rotaries have small slits that can catch the skin easier. Plus the lift and cut action of Norelco rotary shavers sounds like it could be rough on sensitive areas like the neck.

Foils were just as bad for me. Foil rubbing against my neck burned like hell. My neck was always very red. I seemed to get an ok shave out of an electric for a week or two and then the blades began to dull...thus meaning I had to grind the foil more and more over the same spot.

[Vickers]

I had (and have) a Braun that I used about 20 times or so and got ingrown hairs every single time.

Funny, I just got the adaptor out this morning to try it again (it's 220v). I'll post later how it works.

[dfigz]

The only electric that I had that was just OK was a Panasonic Wet-Dry. I used it in Wet mode with shave cream ... irritation was not bad in this mode but always had ingrown hairs afterward.

[Froggy]

I had (and have) a Braun that I used about 20 times or so and got ingrown hairs every single time.

Funny, I just got the adaptor out this morning to try it again (it's 220v). I'll post later how it works.

Sorry to hear about the ingrown hairs, using lighter pressure may help. A completely dry face is the key to a comfortable electric shave. If you have some talc or corn starch powder (Gold Bond or Mexsana) a very light application will absorb excess moisture and let the foils glide over your face easier. I sprinkle a little in my hand, rub together with the other hand and pat it on my stubble.

[Mad Man]

Braun 7 series.

Best of a looooong line of electrics I used for almost 20 years. I actually returned 3 Remingtons in a row; quality control issues with all of them failing within a year.

The Braun gave a DFS on cheeks and a SAS just about everywhere else but never quite relieved the ingrown problem.

Wet shaving has...but it took an EJ barley loaded with feathers to get there. My tech and slim gather dust.

The Braun still gets a run if I'm really running late and just need a 2 minute pass to be barely presentable for the office: I'm not quite the jackbooted, brown-shirted shaving Nazi some folk appear to be - too old for that crapola (oooh, I simply CAN'T go back to an electric....whatever).

MM

[Tate6217]

I have never used the foil razors, but I did not have a pleasant experience with the Norelco I used. I experienced irritation especially on the neck. My shave wasn't that great as well.

[Lar]

I have a Braun 800 series that gives me a good shave. It's not a good as with a DE, but I also never spent the same time shaving with the electric as I do with the DE. I allotted only 10 minutes for a morning shave whereas now I allot myself at least 30 minutes. Given the same time with the electric I'd probably end up with just as smooth a shave, but I might also end up with some razor burn. I switched from the electric because I just don't like having to replace the head every year and the cleaning solution every month. So I made the switch to DE shaving. But I will keep the electric just in case I want to take a break from the DE.

[PierreLePanthere]

I started wet shaving cos electrics gave more razor burn than any blade ever could.
In recent years, however, I found it convenient to do a quick sprint round my gace in the morning using a BRAUN electric. Those are actually very good and hardly irritate my skin.
Still - the shave is not as close as as one with a cart but I'd say equal to a DE shave.

[Rob72]

I tried them periodically- Remington, Braun, Norelco. They shaved, no doubt, but nothing like my De Haven or Wilkinson Sword. I never tried one that provided a 10 hour shave, my SEs do.

[Brandon P K]

Until trying DE/wet shaving I just used a Norelco rotary, for me way better than the foil type which seemed to pull & snag on anything more than one day growth. The Norelco rotary worked fine - great on face, okay on neck. But I wasn't much of an avid shaver, I'd leave the VanDyke & shave down the cheeks and neck every couple/few days. I didn't mind being scruffy & my wife likes it. With the burn I got today from trying Cella, I'm tempted to rest my face a couple days and give the old rotary another go. (Hopefully will remind me why I got into this money $aving (yeah right) hobby in the first place!)

[Alec79]

I have tried many, both foil and rotary and I have always found that when cutters are new, they all give excellent shaves but it seems to deteriorate really quickly. It would probably work for me if I replaced the cutters every fortnight but that would be even more expensive than a Fusion...