Electric Shaver Care & Shaving Tips
Cleaning Your Electric Shaver
It's best to clean your electric shaver regularly – at a minimum after every third shave - preferably after every shave. With a foil head electric shaver such as those from Braun – the Braun Cruzer or Braun TriControl electric shavers – you can lift off the head frame, which holds the screen (foil), and gently brush out the whiskers from the under side with the cleaning brush the manufacturer should supply with your electric shaver. Do not touch the screen itself with the cleaning brush - it is very fragile. These Braun foil head electric razors also allow you to rinse the foil and under side of your electric razor.
Below the screen is the cutter and that’s the part you need to brush out to properly clean your electric shaver. Whisker residue built up on the cutters (blades) can prevent you from getting a good shave and will not give you the best performance from your electric shaver.
For Philips Philishave rotary head electric shavers, lift off the electric razor’s head assembly and brush out the under side of the three cutters and the razor chamber. Do not tap the heads of your electric razor on the sink to remove whiskers - this may damage or alter the shape of the precision-made combs. Every other month (or more if necessary) you should remove each of the cutters and combs from the retaining plate, keeping each set as a matched pair – mixing these up can impact on the performance of your electric shaver. Brush whiskers from the cutters and soak in liquid cleaner and lubricate. This will ensure that your electric razor will remain in good condition throughout its lifespan, and give you a better shave every time.
Caring For Your Electric Shaver
After you clean your electric shaver, it is important to lubricate the metal surfaces of the screen and cutter. Spray lubricating product on the shaving screen while the electric shaver is running. This immediately frees up any metal-on-metal binding which will nick and blunt the surface of your electric shaver. Use this lubricant sparingly on your electric shaver – there should be no need to wipe it off. As you proceed with shaving you may notice an increase in the sound level of your electric shaver’s motor – this will tell you that it is then operating at its maximum power level.
Replacing the Screen and Cutter on your Electric Shaver
To get a good close shave with your electric shaver, you need a smooth screen and a sharp cutter. Over a period of time, usually one year to 18 months, the screen will become thin and wear through, and the cutter will become dull and lose its sharpness. For best results, we recommend that you replace these parts annually during the life of the shaver.
If you fail to do this, you will need to press harder on the surface of your skin to get a close shave, or you may be required to go over the same area of your face repeatedly. Either of these actions usually will result in irritated skin – and will mean that your electric shaver is operating below its potential.
Electric Shaver vs. Wet Shaving
If it is properly used and if it is properly cared for, a good electric shaver (Philishave, Remington, Braun etc) can give you a shave that is every bit as close as, if not closer than a shave obtained from a blade razor.
How can this be possible? When you shave with an electric shaver, the following ‘process’ takes place: an electric shaver rolls up the skin ahead of the whisker, forcing the whisker up above what would be considered the skin line. The electric shaver then cuts this whisker. In essence, your electric shaver is shaving your whisker below the skin line, since the whiskers are forced up before they are cut. This gives a close shave – arguably closer than that achievable with a manual wet shave.
However, the first few times you use an electric shaver, you may notice some irritation to the skin – particularly around the neck area. This occurs as the ‘process’ described above – where the electric shaver lifts the whisker and cuts below the skin line – is a new process that your skin needs to adjust to. After a few shaves, your skin will by accustomed to the electric shaving process and will not be irritated by this.
Additionally, every time you shave with a manual razor you actually take off a very thin layer of skin. This can cause irritation and can have a drying effect on the skin.
Wet manual shaving can be a problem with people who have difficulty in healing from cuts. It can even be considered dangerous with people who are on blood thinning medication.Wet shaving can also be difficult with elderly gentlemen who have wrinkled skin, and an unsteady hand.
With electric shaving, you are shaving at or below the skin line, without actually shaving the skin. When shaving with a blade there is replacement scar tissue that the body produces after every razor blade shave. You don’t produce this scar tissue with electric shaving.
Preparing Your Beard – for shaving with an electric shaver
One good piece of advice is to shower before using your electric shaver. This helps to soften your beard, making your shave easier and closer. Softening your beard hairs doesn’t just apply if you shave with a manual razor and shaving cream – electric shaving can also be improved if the beard is softer.
To do this wash the beard with warm water and soak it with a hot wash cloth, pat it dry thoroughly and dust with talcum powder. It is important to ensure that your face and facial hair is dry before you attempt to shave with an electric shaver – wet hair will cause the electric shaver to stick to it – pulling the hair and clogging the razor.
Alternatively, splash on an alcohol-based pre-shaving lotion before you use your electric shaver. This will remove skin oil and make the beard stand out from your face as much as possible. If alcohol is an irritant for you, a powder stick will give similar results. If using a pre-shave lotion, be sure to wash your hands before picking up the razor. Pre-shave lotion can loosen the glue that holds the decorative discs on the Philishave's shaving head. Lotion on the hands can cause the razor housing to bubble over a period of time.
After shaving, apply shaving lotion or balm to the skin – this helps keep the skin moist. It is recommended that you avoid an alcohol based aftershave at this stage – this will irritate the skin which has just been freshly shaved and is therefore more sensitive.
Shaving Technique with an Electric Shaver
With an electric shaver you should shave against the direction of hair growth (this differs from the conventional advice given with a wet, manual shave). Gently rub your fingers over your face to find out what direction your beard is growing. It may vary from one part of your face to another – however generally the hair grows downwards on the cheek and neck.
Gently pull the skin with one hand, while dragging the electric shaver against the direction of growth with your other hand. This will give you the closest shave. In the case of a rotary-type electric shaver like those from Philishave, you should make small circular motions of the shaver head on your face. Remember not to press too hard or go over the same spot repeatedly as this will increase irritation.
Sensitive Skin
A tip: men who have very sensitive skin have often reported that it helps them to shave the most sensitive areas of their face (typically the neck area below the jawbone) first, and then move up to the tougher areas of their face. Because of friction, some electric shavers generate heat on their shaving surfaces and this heat can cause irritation. By shaving the sensitive areas of your face first while the electric shaver’s head are coolest you can avoid this irritation caused by a heated surface on your electric shaver.
Ingrown Hair
Some consumers have a problem with in-grown hair. This may result from minor nicks/cuts on the skin that have healed over the hair follicle. In other instances, a dull cutter may snag the skin’s surface and cause hair to grow inward. In either case, what is required is a fine hair trimmer to cut the hair to the skin, then a foil to shave you close. With an electric shaver, looking after it properly and regularly cleaning, combined with annual changing of foil and heads, will minimise this problem.
If ingrown hair and razor bumps are a frequent problem for you, it may not be the best advice to shave against the direction of hair growth (whether you are using an electric or wet shaver). Some dermatologists believe that shaving against the hair growth isn’t a great idea in any event. They suggest that you may actually be getting a shave that is too close and therefore you may be prone to ingrown hairs.
If you are using an electric shaver that lifts the hair before it cuts it, the tip of the hair may become embedded under the surface of the skin when your hair springs back into place once the electric shaver releases it – this may lead to ingrown hairs. This, however, is not a common problem.
Adjusting to your new electric shaver
With a new electric shaver please note the following - if you are accustomed to a different brand of electric shaver and have recently purchased a new one (eg Remington to Philishave); or if you have upgraded but have remained with the same brand (eg. Philishave to Philishave) – you should allow for some time to adjust to your new electric shaver. Although most electric shavers have similar shaving processes, their "in use" applications differ. Give yourself a week or two for your face to adjust to the new shaver.
If you have been using a blade razor, then you must give your face a minimum of two to three weeks to adjust to electric shaving.
Why is this the case –isn’t an electric shaver supposed to give less irritation?
Every time you wet shave with a razor you actually take off a very thin layer of skin. With electric shaving, you are shaving at or below the skin line, without actually shaving the skin. This 2-3 weeks adjustment period will get rid of the replacement scar tissue that the body produces after every wet razor blade shave.
You do not produce this scar tissue with electric shaving as you are not removing skin. You should not fluctuate back and forth between wet shaving and electric shaving if you want to achieve the full benefit of electric shaving.
Electric Shaving - Why Bother?
The primary benefits of electric shaving are its ease of use and almost total absence of cuts and scraping. Many experts and consumers believe that an electric shave can be closer (although this is debatable and advances in wet shaving, such as the Gillette Fusion Power razor and shaving system offer a very close shave indeed).
Convenience is probably the number one advantage of an electric shaver over a wet razor shave. You can shave with your shirt and tie on with an electric shaver; most men wouldn't attempt this when wet shaving. The actual time spent shaving varies greatly from consumer to consumer; it would be debatable to suggest whether a wet shave or electric shaving is faster. However, the average consumer will find that electric shaving is less messy and much more convenient.
Costs – it is true that an electric shaver is a more expensive investment, with the initial upfront costs, and costs involved with changing foil and heads annually. This however is increasingly offset as advances in wet shaving occur. For instance, the blades required for the latest wet shavers will cost around £5-10 per month, depending on how frequently you change blades. Combined with the newest shaving gels – containing aloe vera and Vitamin E (and worth the extra cost) – you could easily spend £150 per year on wet shaving products alone. Suddenly electric shaving doesn’t seem too expensive!
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