I spent about 5 years going between electric and manual shavers for my early morning ritual. These past few weeks I've really gotten into it because I started working as a waiter, and anal retentive managers are very strict about shaving every morning (I'm used to the whole week at a time college student routine right now). I started off with a dinky mach 3 in high school, switched to an electric for a bit, but went back to manual for the closer shave. But with manual shavers I was razor bump's little b****. Especially on my neck, so with this increase in shaving frequency, I had to go back to electric (less irritation, and noooo razor bumps). The problem is that the electric shaver I have right now is about 4 years old. Its a Norelco 3 headed shaver, not one of the high end models either. Only cost me about 50 bucks at the time, but it really isnt cutting it anymore (bad pun). I'm thinking about putting some cash down for a nice shaver, and those Braun Foil shavers look pretty sweet right now, but I would settle for a higher end version of the one I have now. Anyone have any experiences with electric shavers? Tried both the 3 headed and foil types, and know which one is better for shaving the neck area (yeah the one I have now suckkksss at that). Althought I'm willing to put the money down for a nice one, I want to have a nice ratio on the quality to price.
I've tried electric shavers off-and-on for some thirty years. Never have found one I liked. I just shaved my beard after a number of years, so I am back in the shaving game, too.
I wouldn't mind going to a manual shaver that caused little to no irritation, but all the replacement heads for shavers now adays can be up in the 15 to 20's in dollars. Crazy. And I go through a head every 3 days, so it just wasnt worth it.
My brother has one of those self cleaning remington models. I used it and I got decent results. The only problem i had was with the hairs near the bottom of my neck, the ones that face in odd directions, I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. It was nearly impossible to cut those without using an actual razor. I hear that using the plastic Norelco shaver (water proof) that has the goo dispenser works great when you're in the shower.
I heard a guy on the radio recently. He was a metallurgist or something like that. He said that the reason that razor blades get dull is because we leave them wet and they corrode. He recommended a quick blast with a hair dryer every time you shave and your shaving blades should last a very long time. After all, the blade is much harder than your beard, so it makes no sense that it would get dull by shaving. As BobFinn pointed up, it's all in the shaving creme as well. I've been using an old fashioned shaving brush and mug soap when I had a beard and was just doing some trimming. Now that I've started shaving a full face again, I need to get better soap/creme to shave with.
I have had my Norelco Advantage for 7 years and only had to change the blades once and it still cuts closer, smoother, and with less irritation than any other razor I've tried. I love it.
Shaving was a nightmare for me until about 2 years ago. Up until then, I've used depilatories, electric shavers and razors. Gave up on depilatories when I got out of college. Electrics never shaved me close enough; they were complete garbage to me. Razors tore my face to shreds; I could only shave 3 times a week with them. Electric shavers didn't work because I'm the most difficult person to shave that I know. My hairs are very tough to cut and go in very different directions. The Norelcos never worked for me because my hairs were too thick. Then I got a cheap Remington. It did OK but not good enough. Then finally I splurged and got the Remington Platinum, that you can just rinse in water. For the first time ever, I found an electric that gave me a good shave. The trimmer cuts all of the difficult hairs down to size and the rollers do the rest. Give it a try.
Stick with the Mach 3, but forget whatever crap you use for shaving cream, and get either The Total Shaving Solution or The Shave Secret (which you can get at Wal-Mart). They're basically both the same thing -- it's a shaving oil you use on your face, instead of shaving cream. I used to switch back and forth between Mach 3 and this Norelco electric I bought. After trying The Shave Secret, I decided to stick with regular razors for good. I used to get really bad razor burn, and razor bumps on my chin, but no more. My face always feels great, and I don't mind shaving at all any more. The Shave Secret is only like $3 at Wal-Mart, so just try it -- you've got nothing to lose. I have no doubt you'll love it.
