Electric Razors are probably the best invention for men in the past 40 years. When I was a kid starting to shave I had the choice of the standard single replaceable blade razors or disposable razors that just started hitting the market. Yes it was quite a long time ago and although they did offer electric razors they were cost prohibitive and didn’t work well.
Today although you can chose to spend over $100 for an electric razor you can also find some really great models for under $50 or even about $30 if you know what you are looking for. The expense in Electric Razors today is found in the replacement heads and foils that you end up needing to replace every 9 to 15 months depending on how well you care for your razor and the use it gets.
Normally when I select a new razor its because the cost of the foils and blade pack is half as much as buying a new one in the same quality range. This is not to say you are going to get a great shave with an expensive model but if you buy a quality product on the low end you will be wondering why the replacement packs cost as much as the razor. Thats because manufacturers understand that once they have you using their product they can offset the original lower cost with a higher maintenance cost to make up the difference.
So that is really the key when looking for a new razor.. is the $120 model three times better than the $40 model? Most often that answer is NO..
Think about it you are basically paying for a motor that turns a blade and the quality of the foil that protects your face. If every model by the same manufacturer uses the same Foil technology because its safer for the user then the difference is the blade. If the Blades are all very similar then the cost difference can’t really be justified .. sure some people chose the inline vs the rotary heads but you can still find models that cost more or less without many serious engineering breakthroughs.
Why can’t I get a close shave with my Electric Razor?
Well first you have to understand that no electric razor is going to give you that barber shop close shave. Its just not going to happen.
On the other hand when you wake up late or tired and have to shave you are not going to cut your neck with an electric razor.
That is the basic trade off … If you have time to hit the barber every morning or if you love putting toilet paper on your face after screaming well electric isn’t for you.. If you decided to come into the 21st century and think that cutting yourself every morning is almost worth growing a Duck Dynasty Beard well an electric razor can get you some good results without a trip to the emergency room.
If you use these few basic tips you will have no excuse about not getting a decent shave every day.
The Secret to a Close Shave with an Electric Razor
The first thing I’m going to have you consider is what conditions are best for cutting your grass. Most of us can relate to this and it has a lot of comparisons to using an electric razor.
If you cut your grass on a day after it rained you know you’re going to be in for a fight. The blade and undercarriage is going to gum up with wet grass and it won’t be able to mulch so you will have a line of cuttings following every pass.
This is similar to not washing the oils off your face.. sure your razor might work but its going to be much harder than if you washed and dried your face before you started. So when you wake up wash your face first then go start the coffee maker or whatever and come back after 10 minutes or so before you start shaving.
Whats that Electric Razor Trimmer Attachment for?
Second if you cut your grass when its too high you have just about the same problem and that is true when using your electric razor.
Although the trimmer attachment is great for cleaning up your sideburns and the back of your neck that is not its only duty.
The main reason for that trimmer attachment is to prepare the hair on your face by trimming it to a perfect height that the foil and blades can work at. So if you don’t shave on a weekend or miss a day or if your face hair grows fast or uneven the first thing you want to do is hit your whole face with the trimmer attachment.
I think of all the clues I will give you this is the most important and you should try this.
The next time before you shave run the trimmer attachment all over your face to bring your face hair down to that perfect cutting height and then see how much better your razor performs.. you will be amazed.
Cutting Direction Matters for a Close Shave
When you shave with a disposable razor you know you get the best performance on different areas of your face and neck depending on the direction that you stroke the blade.
On your face it may be down or from your ear towards your mouth .. and on your neck it might be in an upwards direction.
Well this is true for an electric razor too however instead of sticking to those exact patterns that work for a standard blade razor you want to follow up by going in the opposite direction and also in a cross pattern direction.
Some manufacturers will recommend that you go in a circular direction.. I don’t know but for me I hit my face quick to take off most of the hair in one direction and then go back in random direction to hit the areas I can’t get in a straight path.
And thats another big difference .. Don’t expect one or two or even three passes to give you a great shave.. the best method is hitting it slow in one direction to take most of the hair off then coming back and hitting it with many light passes in different directions to get those low areas.
Cleaning your razor means doing it every day
A lot of people don’t clean their razor every day because they think the cap on the foil can hold cut hair for a few days or until its full.
This is the worst thing you can do if you want your protective foils to last. Cleaning reduces load on the foil because as your blade starts to fill with hair and gook you will begin pressing harder on your face to get the same results.
I tell you the first few years that I had electric razors I learned this lesson .. it was always after not cleaning every day that I had a foil failure making my razor unusable and often getting a nice little cut or scrape from the blades poking through the opening in the foil.
So you have to brush your blades out just like you clean under your lawn mower and tap the foils lightly on a hard surface to release the dust.
Final Note
Maybe Electric Razors aren’t for everyone but I can honestly tell you once you get into maintaining your razor and using it correctly you will never go back to a bare blade.
Using the Trimmer is really important to even out your face hair and make it the perfect height I suggest you try this and cleaning after every use is pretty quick once you get use to it.. just don’t lose that little brush. I mean you wouldn’t put your other razors away without washing them so you have to clean your electric one too.