Recently, while on vacation, I unintentionally abandoned my electric shaver somewhere in Ohio. Now, I know exactly where it is; in fact, I remember setting it down and thinking, “I’ll be sure to pick you up later.” Obviously, I’m a failure as a parent to my shaver; should auntie em and I ever pop one out of the oven, I’m hoping it won’t be a tiny, squawling Norelco. (Never mind the questions that’d bring up: “Um, Honey… why, exactly, did you spend so much time in the bathroom nine months ago?”
So, while I know where the shaver is, I don’t want to reclaim it. It was old, and I was looking for a reason to get a new toy. But now, after using Norelco almost exclusively for years, I’m interested in considering almost all other shavers. What do you, the eletric shaver-using Dopers, prefer? Price isn’t a road block, so if you absolutely love (but not like auntie em loves) your $2K shaver, let me know.
I do, however, prefer the shavers without that yucky gel stuff some models incorporate; although, I suppose if that turns out to be the best shaver, I could just always not fill the shaver with yucky gel stuff.
I’ve used a Remington for years, & I’m very happy with it.
I bought my first Remington used, froma rummage sale. Used it a year, & then bought new blades for it.
This past Christmas, I switched from a Norelco Rotary to a Braun ‘Synchro System’. Big mistake. I’m still using the Braun, but I dont like it nearly as well.
I tend not to shave on the weekends, and the Braun just dowesn’t seem to have the power to cut through three days growth on Monday morning.
I admit to having a Braun foil shaver for a brief time; I got it because I wouldn’t mind losing it on a trip (as what happened), and because using a straight-edge eletric shaver like that makes it easier to shave around a beard or other facial hair.
I’m thinking though, for the best shave, the rotary shavers do well.
I’ve used several different electrics. My current–and favorite–is a Norelco Advantage. It’s a rotary and, yes, it has the “yucky gel stuff.” I shave in the shower and I just lather up with some Edge gel shaving cream and the Norelco does an awesome job and you can just rinse it clean. I don’t use the lotion cartridges very often, though.
If you want a dry shave, I’ve used a Norelco dry electric rotary (can’t remember the model) and one of those Face Saver sticks sold by Remington. It’s like a stick of compacted talcum powder and you rub it over your face before you shave. Makes the razor glide over your face more easily and lessens irritation.
If you shave every day, the foil will give a closer shave. I don’t shave every day, so I like the rotary. I chose the one James Bond uses. Norelco Spectra 8894XL. It’s kinda cool with it’s display. You can rinse it out under water. Relative to other rotarys, it’s kinda quiet. It’s pricey though. It does have the flexible heads and adjustable closenesss. I can’t tell a difference.
There is a Remington outlet store near me. They offer a “free trial” on their electrics. I bought the cheapest model, used it for 30 days, and swaped it out for the next model, then used it for 30 days and swapped it for the next model and went right up the chain of foils and rotarys. It took almost 2 years to get them all and I ended up with a brand new razor.
My conclusion was that foils are closer but can’t cut a 3 day beard. The quality of shave from the rotarys are all the same. Just pick the one with the features you like.
That’s the truth. For years I used a $40 beard trimmer without the plastic snap-on guard to cut through the 3-day growth, and then used the foil to shave clean. (Sometimes I only used the beard trimer, and went with the Miami Vice stubble look.)
Short ofthat, you have to use the sideburn trimmer aspect of a foil shaver to cut down on long beards, then you can use the foil.
Regarding the included talcum-type powder: Just use actual talcum powder, baby powder, or whatever. Works great. I ran out of the little included one back in 92, and have been using regular baby powder ever since.
