Electric only, the Braun that joe mentions. I used to occasionally use a blade, but it’s been years now. I did a few tests (shaving half of the face with a blade, the other with the electric), and there’s not enough difference for it to matter, and the electric is so much more convenient.
I wear a beard and have for over two decades, but I do shave my neck. I get razor bumps pretty badly from a blade, and to a lesser extent from an electric. I finally found an electric that minimizes the problem (it’s a Norelco with a built-in lotion dispenser).
I’ve almost always used an electric razor for the simple reason that it does not hurt. Yeah, it’s not as close as a blade, but as long as I replace the blades once a year it’s not at all bad. I sometimes need to use a real blade just to remove a few long stragglers on my neck.
I use soap and water by choice. For me, in fact, it seems to work better than shaving cream, and I have pretty sensitive skin.
I also prefer an electric razor because using a regular razor is far too painful.
I have tried following the directions listed in the referenced staff report above. I soak my face with warm water to soften the hairs, I use some Edge shaving gel, and I always use a brand new two bladed razor. However, when I pull the razor down my face, it feels like the two blades are gripping each hair like a tweezer and attempting to pull it out by the root. My eyes start tearing up from the pain. I try going faster or slower, using a little more or less pressure, even going against the grain. No matter what I do, it feels like a cat is attempting to climb up my face in order to get a better view from the top of my head. There’s usually no blood, but it still hurts. I usually just give up half way through and go with the half scruffy look.
Can anyone tell me what I’m doing wrong? Are some brands of razor sharper than others? Could my hair be thicker than normal? Or does it hurt this much for everyone, and I’m just being a wimp 
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I get a decent shave from my Phillips electric shaver but I have fairly light beard growth. And I definately get a much better shave with a blade and shaving oil.
But for someone like me who takes a long time to get going in the morning the electric shaver is much more convenient. I can shave in bed while I’m in the long process of waking up enough to haul myself up.
When they tell you that you should give your face 4-5 weeks to adjust, trust them. I bought myself a Braun Syncro as a present when I started my first job out of college. For a while I thought I had wasted $130, but then my face actually adjusted to the razor.
For me it’s not that it’s the closest shave imaginable, but that it is uniformly close. I’ve found that manual razors give me an uneven shave, and I wind up stroking the longer parts, leading to irritation; or I wind up over shaving the longer parts leading to irritation. For some reason, I can swipe the electric razor over the same spot forever without any irritation, and then, since it’s all the same length, have no spot on which to fixate. But my skin is super sensitive to start with.
I don’t know. While this is not always practical, have you ever tried taking a long, hot shower (15+ minutes) and shaving? I almost always shave in the shower, and if I just sit in there long enough, it almost negates me having to use any soap or shaving cream.
A blade gives me a closer shave, but is way harsher on my skin - gives me a painful shaving rash on my neck over time. An electric is not as close, but is completely painless and thus gets the nod.
The electric razor needs to be used every day, it seems designed for a day’s worth of stubble growth and no more. Trying to tackle anything more hirsute is going to be painful, and not what the thing is designed for.
The electric is much faster and offers an acceptable shave and that is why I use it every day.
I have Emerald Hawk’s problem as well, and no, that doesn’t help. No matter what I do before attempting to shave with a razor, it feels no different than dragging a blade across my face completely dry. Nothing but electric for me.
I suspect it’s because my hair is inordinately resistant to water- nothing seems to penetrate it. For instance, as a teen, I had my hair professionally colored once, and the color was gone within a week- it was only one surface. Since the “hot water & shaving cream” method relies on hydration of the hairs, that may be why it does nothing for me.
At least that’s my theory.
I switched from a blade to an electric years ago. It’s more convenient, less irritating to my skin, and, given the rate my stubble grows, the fact that it’s not quite as close as a blade becomes irrelevant about an hour after I’ve shaved.
I’m sold on the electric razor.
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- This is pretty much my reason as well. A blade is definitely closer, but takes a lot longer to do and always has the risks of cuts. An electric is fast, easy and works “good enough” for everything except scoring dates.
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- This is pretty much my reason as well. A blade is definitely closer, but takes a lot longer to do and always has the risks of cuts. An electric is fast, easy and works “good enough” for everything except scoring dates.
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I’ve used an electric razor almost exclusively since I needed to shave. That’s over 30 years. I’ve gone through about 4, and I’ve replaced blades when necessary, say 6 times.
No problems.
The one time I did have to use a blade, in Navy boot camp, I nicked myself a couple times. Both nicks ended up with very noticeable nevi-like growths on my face that are still there, 25 years later. Blades are teh suxor.
I generally use an electric, and it definitely doesn’t go as close as a “real” razor. I use the latter for special occasions, and it’s a smooth feeling and all that… but on a daily basis it simply isn’t worth it, since I’m going to be looking dirty and stubbly by the end of the day no matter what (I’m Greek, sue me). The never cutting myself and the two minutes tops to look decently presentable in the morning are so worth it, and the girls who like that sort of thing prefer me with the not-completely-smooth look anyways.
If the person you are shaving is struggling a lot, you would be better off using an electric rather than a manual, simply to avoid cuts despite the shave not being as close.
[looksaround]What?[/looksaround]
My husband uses the electric shaver mentioned by joe. He’s been shaving for decades, and gets a remarkably close shave. He swears by the regular use of a shaver lubricant, says it keeps his razor clean and the blade sharper longer.
My previous husband used a razor, and he often (almost always) had little rough patches, and he often (almost always) nicked himself.