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Safety Razor or Electric Shaver?

aphex

aphex

Moderator<br>All Things Apple
Moderator
I'm starting to get sick of the ingrown hairs I tend to get from my Schick Hydra 5 and previously with my Gillette Fusion & Mach 3 razors. As I need to shave fairly often, i'm ready to try something new.

Been looking into switching over to either a Merkur Safety Razor or possibly going electric with a mid-level Panasonic 3 blade model.

Any comments? suggestions?
 
Yeah. Get a $5 pack of one-blade BICs and shave everyday. You won't have to worry about ingrown hairs.
 
I just buzz it down to stubble, but rarely clean shave. I'm lucky that I can get away with that with my job, though (web programmer / designer, casual office).
 
I use a safety razor and I have a Braun Series 7 electric razor. The electric razors really do not do a very good job for me. The only time they do a good job is if the hair is really short. So I just shave with a safety razor, which does a decent enough job, and then for those tricky spots I use the electric to clean up. In the end I get a baby butt smooth shave everyday. But if I had to choose just one, it would be the safety razor.
 
Do you shave with or against the grain? I stopped getting ingrown hair when I started shaving with the grain
 
I'm late to this party, but I used the Fusion blades for years when I didn't have to shave daily. In the last couple years, I've felt the need to look a little more professional and switched to a DE safety razor for a daily shave.

I LOVE the DE razor, the ritual, the smells, the "me time" when I use it.

However, it takes me 10-15 minutes to go through the entire ritual like I want to. That's the time to prepare the brush, build lather and then method shave. Because of the weird way my facial hair grows, I do a four pass (down, up, horizontal and then 45 degree angle) shave.

So, I recently broke out the Philips Advantage 5615 that I got in 2000. It didn't work that well for me back then, I didn't shave often enough and didn't have the facial hair to justify it. I was honestly shocked it still worked, but it works great.
I use it in the shower and it does a pretty good job of shaving. Comparable to the shave I got from a Fusion.

Now I'm wondering if technology has changed at all in the last 12 years, as I'm thinking about going to a newer model that's a little less bulky and doesn't have a charger with such a large footprint. Any input?
 
shaving with a DE requires a lot more effort and time than a Panasonic electric. If you're going to go DE, do it right and get a good brush and some good shaving cream or shaving soap. If you're going to go electric absolutely go Panasonic, they make the best electric's I've ever used. I have thick, nappy, unruly facial hair and my Panasonic has no problem with it. I'm DE now because I like the closeness. I shave every 2-3 days. Once with the grain, once against the grain and once cross swipe. If you go DE I'd also suggest a good pre-shave cream and an aftershave balm or lotion. If money isn't a concern Art Of Shaving makes amazing products, and you can find them at Nordstroms for the same price as online.

As jme5343 said, if you do DE the right way, it's a process. I made a scuttle to heat my brush and my shaving cream while I shower, then I refill it with fresh hot water when I get out and refill it 1 last time before my last pass with the razor. While I haven't timed it, I probably spend about 25 minutes total shaving. Either way you go I'd recommend a good face wash and scrub. Target has some Nieva stuff that's pretty cheap. I notice when I wash my face good and exfoilate with the scrub before I shave I get less irritation. The pre-shave cream helps here too, and would even be benifical if you go electric. I use the Parasso Pre-Shave, haven't found anything better. And if you go DE, go to westcoastshaving.com and order a sample pack of different blades. There's no 1 perfect blade that works for everyone.
 
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I've tried several high end electric razors from Panasonic, Braun, Remington, and Norelco, and NONE of them gave me close shave. By 10 AM, it already looked like a had a 5 o'clock shadow under my chin.

Right now, I'm using a Gillette Fusion Proglide and Edge extra sensitive unscented shaving cream. Works like a charm.
 
I'm using an older model philips electric shaver which let's you adjust the blade distance, you could try and find a shaver with a similar mechanism..
 
i went with a safety razor. it's good. i only do a 2-pass shave, never against the grain.

my favorite blades thus far are the 7AM platinums.
 
If you haven't used a de razor before get ready for a slightly painful learning curve. You will most likely butcher your head while you learn.

One tip i saw online was to turn off the water and fans in your bathroom so you can hear the blade cutting through the hair. That has helped me a lot when determining cutting angle on my head.
 
aphex said:
...ingrown hairs...
Click to expand...

DE/Safety razor. Period.

I suffered the same. Electric shavers just made the problem worse. Foil is bad enough, but the circular lift-n-cut kind are the absolute worst idea for anyone with ingrown hairs. And, as Oil mentioned, stop shaving against the grain, if you do.
 
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ultimatebob said:
Right now, I'm using a Gillette Fusion Proglide and Edge extra sensitive unscented shaving cream. Works like a charm.
Click to expand...

This. Unbeatable combo, and shaving against the grain (at least for me, a light-bearded soul) has never caused problems. If I had to resort to electric, I do believe I'd just let it grow instead.
 
If I shave (especially against the grain) I get really nasty ingrowns that burrow about a half inch across my skin... I'm using a ~50$ phillips (the 3 rotatory blade kind) for ~25, and it works fine; a little better than shaving with the grain a little worse than shaving against. I run my hand across the grain and then run the razor against the grain and it gets it reasonably. Even shaving against the grain won't get me a smooth face though since my hair unnaturally coarse. The electrics that are two linear blades don't seem to do shit for me. At first, I'd get some annoying irritation using electrics but after a while my face got used to it.

In short, for ultra coarse hair that your not going to get a good job with no matter what you use, just use a decent rotatory blade electric.
 
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I personally prefer electric. Basically:

Electric:
10x faster and more convenient than manual
Not as good of a job
no pain

Manual:
Takes more time and effort
Better job than electric
some pain
 
SZLiao214 said:
If you haven't used a de razor before get ready for a slightly painful learning curve. You will most likely butcher your head while you learn.

One tip i saw online was to turn off the water and fans in your bathroom so you can hear the blade cutting through the hair. That has helped me a lot when determining cutting angle on my head.
Click to expand...

dunno where this comes from.

i haven't cut my face yet with my dual edge.
 
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