After reviewing electric shavers for quite some time, these are the shaving tips that I have come up with.
Most of them come from my personal experience, while a few I discovered from other sources.
These are tips for using electric shavers, as opposed to other forms of shaving.
Every suggestion here might not work for you.
These are based on my personal experience, and when it comes to shaving, everyone’s experience is a bit different.
General
Give it some time:
If you’ve never used electric shavers before it will probably take you a bit of time to get used to them. Maybe a few shaves, or maybe a few weeks.
Even if you’re switching products your skin might need some time to adjust. When I test out a new model, it can sometimes take me a few days to get used to it.
All instruction manuals will state it can take up to three weeks to get used to a new shaver, so if you experience some irritation don’t give up. Grind it out for a few weeks and hopefully your situation improves.
Everyone’s experience is unique:
Don’t expect to get the exact same results as everyone else.
Although you would think that a particular unit should perform the same for everyone, it just doesn’t happen. Some people like certain products, while others don’t. Most of the top selling models get positive reviews, but there’s always a few negative ones floating around.
Change it up if things aren’t working:
This is sort of a general tip which applies to any type of routine. It’s actually what lead me to electric razors.
If you’re not happy with your current results, change it up. There are so many options out there for shaving that you’re bound to find one you love. This might require you to buy something new, replace some old parts, start using pre shave lotions, or use a whole different technique.
Everyone should be able to get a nice smooth shave.
Operating
Learn how to use the product properly:
I created a “how to” video so new users can get some basic pointers.
Most people will eventually get the hang of it, but the how to article is worth reviewing if you’re new to these products.
Watch out for your sideburns:
You’ve probably heard people complain about tugging or pulling from electric shavers, or perhaps you’ve experienced it yourself.
This usually happens when you try to cut hair that’s too long, so watch out around your side burns. It’s best to take your free hand and slide up your side burns which will allow you to get in close with the shaver.
Shave against the grain:
Yes you’re supposed to shave against the grain.
It’s usually not recommended to shave this way with traditional wet shaving, but with electric razors this is what you need to do.
At first this is may cause some irritation, but once you’re used to it you’ll appreciate the smoothness and efficiency.
Pull your skin tight:
With your free hand, you should pull your skin down to create a tight sensation which will make the process more effective.
You don’t need to do this on all the areas of your face, but it works quite well around your cheek area. A bit of experience will help you find a technique that works best for you.
Be gentle and patient:
It’s usually best to let the shaver do the work.
Sometimes you will need to press in a little harder, but you want the machine to do most of the work. This will come with a bit of practice but just keep in mind that the more you press in, the more irritation you may experience.
A good analogy here is to think about using a vacuum cleaner. You might have the urge to go really fast, but you will pick up more dirt if you go a bit slower. The same thing applies with these products.
Apply a pre electric shave lotion:
If you feel you’re not getting the most out of your particular unit, consider using a pre shave lotion.
These can improve your shaves by helping your facial hair stiffen up and stick out, which makes shaving a little bit easier. They also contain ingredients which help reduce irritation.
Don’t wash your face or shower before hand:
This tip only applies if you’re doing a dry shave. If you’re doing a wet shave then you will obviously want to shower or wash your face before applying shaving cream.
But dry shaves should be really dry. This will help produce the best results.
So the best time to shave is usually first thing in the morning. I’ve found that if I shave after doing some activity, my body is a bit warmer and the process isn’t as good. This is where a pre shave lotion might help in drying out your facial hair as well.
Maintain
Read the instructions manual:
Every product will come with a set of instructions.
All the information you need to use it and clean it properly is in the instructions. Sometimes the wording is a little hard to understand because it gets translated many times, but after reading something a few times you should get the gist of it.
Drain your batteries if you can:
Most units run off lithium ion batteries which I have been told last longer when they get drained below 50% every once and a while.
An engineer actually sent me an email discussing how there’s a slight flaw with many of the cleaning station designs because they don’t let you clean the razors without charging them.
So if you can, drain the battery to 50% a few times a month. I personally haven’t noticed any problems with my batteries, but I wanted to share this tip anyways. If you want to do this it may require you to clean it manually a few times a week.
Clean up after every session:
This is easily accomplished if you have a cleaning station, but most models have the razor only option and therefore can be easily cleaned manually.
You should definitely it after each use. Most of the time it will require you to remove the shaving head and blow and brush away any stubble, and rinse it under running water.
Take the extra minute to get this done.
Change blades when they’re dull:
A simple changing of the blades can improve the performance by quite a bit.
This will cost you anywhere from 15 to 65 dollars depending on the model you have. If it’s over the 1 year mark and you start to notice a drop in performance, it might be time for some new blades.
Beards
Don’t let your beard grow out too much:
The more facial hair you have, the longer it will take to remove and the harder you will need to press in.
I find I get the best results when I have small amounts of stubble. This makes it easier on your face, and easier on the shaver. Ultimately it leads to less irritation, and keeps your unit in good shape.
I’ve found that many of the top products do a pretty good job at removing some thick and long facial hair, but it’s obvious how much longer it takes, which is harder on everyone and everything involved.
If your beard’s too thick and too long, use a trimmer first:
If you have thick facial hair and you’ve let your beard grow for over a week, you will find most products will struggle with the task of delivering a smooth shave.
This is when you should use the pop up trimmers. The only problem with this is that most pop up trimmers aren’t that powerful. If you have a thick beard it could take you 20 to 30 minutes to trim it down. So this is when I would recommend you use a beard trimmer first.
Fully trim your beard down with a Wahl or Remington beard trimmer, then use smooth it out.
So the main tip here is that electric shavers work the best on stubble, while beard trimmers are best for long and thick facial hair.
Peach fuzz can be removed with cheaper models:
If you have very thin or fine facial hair, you probably don’t need the more advanced systems.
Most brands have a wide range of products because they try and cater to the various types of facial hair out there.
So I would say that most people who don’t shave very often, maybe once or twice a week can be completely satisfied with a mid level product which has a price tag under $100.
Thicker beards need more power and better features:
This tip is sort of the opposite to the one above.
If you have very thick facial hair and shave everyday, or several times a week, you will benefit from a more advanced product.
I personally can’t use the very cheap models because my beard is too thick. For me, and others with thick facial hair, it’s worth spending the extra money on the more expensive systems.
Sensitive skin will usually require better shavers:
If you have sensitive skin, you will most likely appreciate the top of the line products.
Comfort and power is what you need because these are the things which reduce overall irritation. If you suffer from sensitive skin you will get much better results from the more advanced products.
This doesn’t apply to every single person, but those with sensitive skin will probably get much better results with a product upgrade.
Budget
Choose a shaver based on your facial hair:
Your facial hair along with your budget should determine what you get.
Obviously your budget will dictate what you can buy, but don’t be scared to stretch your budget, especially if you have thick facial hair. As I mentioned above, thick facial will require you to get a more expensive and advanced shaver. There’s no way around this.
If you purchase a more expensive model you might be upset once, when the bill comes in. But it’s much better to be upset once and thoroughly satisfied with your purchase as opposed to saving some money but having a bad experience that makes you upset on a regular basis.
Those with thin or fine facial hair can get away with enjoying more of the less expensive options.
Don’t waste money on useless features:
There are so many choices out there, and with some of them the only difference is an advanced display screen or a different color.
Having a metal chrome finish or a digital display screen will not improve the performance. If the price difference is small that’s fine, but paying money for better displays, luxury travel cases and fancy colors is not recommended.
Don’t let one bad review scare you:
Often times people with bad experiences tend to make their voices heard. So if a shaver gets say 10 positive reviews and one really bad review, don’t let it affect your decisions.
Realistically, if it gets 10 positive reviews, there’s probably many more people out there who also like it but just don’t voice their opinion, while there’s probably not too many more negative reviews around or you’d hear about them.
Bottom line, don’t let one bad review deter you from a product. If hundreds of reviews are made and most people like it, you’re hopefully going to fall in with the majority.
Always buy the cleaning stations:
Yes I said it!
If you can, you’re better off getting the cleaning stations. It’s not completely necessary, but I do recommend it.
Obviously not all models come with cleaning stations, but if you’re looking at a particular product which has this option, you should get it.
The reason I say this is because cleaning is really important and using the stations is very convenient.
The second reason I suggest it is that the price difference between the models which come with a cleaning station vs. those that don’t is usually quite small. Sometimes there’s a big difference in their retail prices, but if you shop online most of them are on sale and the price difference is usually quite small.
Buy products online:
In general you will find the best deals when shopping online.
Many of the purchasing links on this website lead to Amazon.com where prices tend to be the lowest.