Electric Shaving Thoughts: the Braun 7526 Syncro Shaver System
Every few years I try a different electric shaver, (and my friend Pat Chen must be very happy with this, because he winds up inheriting my cast-off shavers after a few months) hoping that some new technology will overcome the inherent problems of electric shaving, and maybe 2004 will be different, since I'm trying a Braun 7526 Syncro Shaver System. So far, so good. But first, my beefs with electric shaving.
I have near-black hair, but have the fairest complexion of anyone I know, so as a result, even when I am clean-shaven, it doesn't really look it. And a two-day growth on my looks like 3 days for most other folk, so I gotta shave every day. Fine.
An electric shaver is supposed to be a huge time-saver and mess-saver over conventional shaving, and I suppose if you are willing to put up with bad shaves and have a man-servant to clean everything, it would be. I had both a Remington and a top-o-the-line Norelco Rotary, and in each case, vigilant cleaning of both my face and the shaver was required to get something aproximating a close shave. This meant washing the face, applying some "electric pre-shave" lotion on my face, shaving, then washing off the "electric pre-shave" lotion, then opening up the shaver, using the Barbie-sized brush to scrape out the whisker shavings into the sink, and then spraying some shaver cleaner into the cutters and foils. Then I had to wash the sink of all the shavings. And after all that, it still wasn't really as close as a blade.
Obviously, by this point it was no faster than using a blade and shaving cream either.
The new Braun shavers had those elegant commercials last year, showing off the R2D2-like shaver stand on a bathroom counter top, into which you insert the shaver, and it is automatically cleaned, lubricated, and sterilized, ready for the next day. Braun offers a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, and since it does look cool, I bought one for Christmas and am currently taking it for a spin.
After a few days, I can report that the auto-cleaning-doohickey works as advertised, though its 15 minute cleaning cycle is punctuated by bursts of shaver noises, aquarium pump noises, and exhaust fan noises that will require closing the bathroom doors to keep from disturbing others.
The shave it delivers is...not bad. Still not as close as a blade, but it is acceptably close, and since the cleaning is automatic, it is much faster overall.
I am always amused when I read the following text that has appeared in the manual of every electric shaver I've ever tried: "It may take up to 4 weeks for your beard to get accustomed to being shaved this way -- use it for 4 weeks for optimal results and the closest shave possible." It makes it seem as though that somehow, the dead tissue on my face (that is, HAIR) is somehow learning something. Kind of like how you teach a dog a trick, your beard needs to learn how to be shaved. Bullshit!
Here is what I think is really going on:
1. It takes 3-4 weeks for the blades and the foils to really mesh to cut closely. Think "breaking in a new car engine." Same thing. Fine.
2. It takes 3-4 weeks to learn the proper shaving technique a particular electric shaver requires. Fine.
3. It takes 3-4 weeks for you to get used to the (at first painful) face-scraping required to get a close shave. Fine.
4. (And this is the big one, I think) It takes 3-4 weeks to forget how close a shave you've been getting with a blade. After a month of slight stubble, I think most people get used to it and accept it as Good Enough.
Okay, so that's my shpiel about electric shavers that I've been wanting to get off my chest for a few years now. I'll report back with a follow-up review in a month.
