I like Schick disposables. They have a little button in the back that you can push and it pushes the hair out from between the blades. This means the blades don’t get clogged up with hair, which I feel is one of the things that prevents you from getting a good shave.
With all respect (due or otherwise), I disagree with this. I’ve often let it get just a little too long, and one of the reasons I gave up on electric shavers years ago is because they simply will not cut too-long hair. The longish hairs just won’t poke into the holes in the shaver where the blades will cut them.
To be sure, letting it grow too long makes shaving a little more work even with disposables (which is what I use now). But shaving long hairs with an electric shaver? In my experience, that just doesn’t work well at all at all.
On edit: I think I see what you’re saying; electric razors don’t necessarily do well on beards but I didn’t mean that, I meant a few days of thick growth eg 1cm.
I’ve never seen an electric razor so bad it would fail to cut hair of this length. For much longer hair, clippers (as used to cut head hair) of course work well.
Then wet shave.
Mijin tell me what brand of electric shaver you used! I used several over the years (Remington and Norelco are the ones I remember) and I could never get them to easily shave anything more than a few days growth. With some effort I could.
(Disclaimer: It’s all academic to me now. I use disposables now and like them and wouldn’t go back to using an electric in any case.)
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Not really on topic, but now’s a good time and place to throw this onto the table:
I use a shaving cartridge to trim hard-to-reach hair in my ears.
Like I said, good time and place, cause it’s not much of a conversation starter, is it? 
Well my answer is going to be longer and less useful than you might expect because:
- I have a beard
- To the extent I’ve ever used an electric shaver, ive used clippers.
So, in fact now I get your point, and I agree. The problem is actually with me, and what I was thinking of as an electric razor. I was thinking more of clippers, actual electric razors are pretty crap.
I own a Phillips norelco thing, that has exchangeable heads. But I never use the “proper” shaving head, just the clippers. I use the clippers for edging my beard and removing neck hair.
I use regular (head hair) clippers with length attachments to maintain my beard at a particular length.
If you were to tell me “Mijin, we need you clean-shaven, stat!”, I’d cut the longest hair first with my head hair trimmer. Then use the Phillips trimmer to trim to near the skin (it’s less irritating to the skin than the head hair trimmer).
Finally I’d wet shave with some Wilkinson / Schick three-blade razors, giving the shaving foam time to soften the hair and using a toothbrush and running water to keep the blades clear as I go.
Going from full beard to clean shaven directly with wet shaving would be horribly slow and likely would result in many cuts.
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Like the old SNL ad making fun of five-bladed razors… and then Gillette came out with one.
Therein lies my problem, which is hair getting stuck between the blades. The more blades, the closer, the sooner they get clogged and stop cutting.
So I use Schick TWIN (trac?) disposables. The feature that works for me is a plastic tab that pokes out between the two blades from the back, clearing stubble from the blades.
I have a thick beard, and it’s always been a painful chore. But once I read that I should wet my beard for 7 minutes before shaving, it’s become a quick, easy, painless ritual. So, yes, best after a shower. I keep a razor in my gym bag as there are days that I only shower at the gym.
Maybe I have really fine hair (and also that I shave daily), but I’ve never had a problem with hairs getting stuck between blades.
Ah, the Ultrex. I used to use an Atra handle with Ultrex blades. It was not a mere coincidence that I grew a beard as these became harder and harder for me to find.
I get hair stuck between the blades of my five blade razor, but it has an open back design and I can rinse the hair out of it from behind. That, and a swipe across the blades with a washcloth takes care of any stuck hairs.
“Because… you’ll buy anything!”
I have an extremely course beard. I shave just before going into the shower, then go over my face again when I’m in the shower after feeling for any rough areas with my fingers. For me, the most difficult area to get smooth is the lower neck area.
I still haven’t found a closer, better shave than Daisy pink twins. I would never had known if I didn’t have to snag one from a girlfriend’s drawer one time in a pinch. Best shave I ever had. I figured it must have been a one-off and have tried Mach blades and the 5 blades and what-have-you on several occasions since. But not even close to the Daisys. I might have to give up my man card, using pink lady razors, but I swear by these.
Shave everything but the Van Dyke. Never found a better razor than the one offered by Harry’s. Their shave gel and lotion are first-rate as well. A third the price of Gillette Fusion and jest as good, if not better.
Honest, this isn’t a commercial. I just really like their stuff.
I haven’t shaved in 20 years. But I fondly remember my single-blade vintage safety razor and cake of Burma-Shave at the bottom of my Burma-Shave mug, and my badger-hair brush.
Nowadays I go to the barber every six weeks for a beard trim, and use moustache scissors in the interim if the chowder gets caught in my whiskers.
My routine is to shave in the shower using a Fusion (5 blades) with regular soap as the lather. I just soap up and then shave by feel, rinsing the blade out every half-dozen strokes. I don’t use any kind of mirror. Afterwards, I enjoy my coffee and give my skin 20 minutes or so to dry out. Then I touch it up with a Remington electric razor just before I brush my teeth.
One advantage I’ve found in shaving this way is that the Fusion cartridges last a LOOOOONG time. I go through them at the rate of one per every two months, so their exorbitant cost is somewhat ameliorated.
Which electric razors are good and which to avoid? Norelco has a variety of models. Braun and Remington are also popular.
How much do you consider exorbitant? Right now, Costco has sixteen blade cartridges for $38, or a little less than $2.50 each.
SNL was way off.
