All in all, it delivered a great shave, though it was a little better on day-old stubble than anything much longer. While it has a detail trimmer for sideburns, it’s still fairly basic in terms of additional features – flashing lights and whatnot – but it’s a cinch to use and to clean, making it a great starter shaver for electric newbies.

I’ve been using electric razors for 20 years and have come across quite a few, both rotary and foil. Foil electric shavers have straight heads that use oscillating blades, also known as cutters, beneath a ‘foil' to cut hair. Foil refers to the thin layer of metal, holed to form a particular mesh pattern, that covers the cutters. The foil captures the hair with its holes, cutting it close to the skin and offering a close shave.In my personal experience, Arc 5 shavers outperform even the Series 9/Pro when it comes strictly to the closeness of the shave. Important: there’s a newer Series 7 360 Flex as well that is in fact a downgrade in performance from the previous one like the 790cc. Travel razors can feel underpowered and usually have a less capable shaving system, so completing a shave takes more time. At least in my particular case — coarse facial hair and sensitive skin — I almost always get better results in terms of closeness when using foil shavers.

Foil shavers work better if your hair is relatively light or if you like a clean shave every day; you will find them softer on your skin and they can sometimes give a closer shave – and the battery life is often better. What are the best shaver brands?What we liked: Weighty, premium-feel handle | Deluxe foil head | Decent battery | Included charging station and leather case While we can't guarantee you'll suddenly transform into a bona fide professional barber once you slip your grip around Braun's Series 9 trimmer, you'll definitely feel a surge of confidence in your own abilities; this device is so well-equipped that you'd be hard-pressed not to achieve excellent results on your beard.

A light, gentle stroke is definitely the way to go. 4. If you use shaving cream make sure to regularly rinse your shaver, just like you would do with a disposable razor. The 4-in-1 is waterproof for easy cleanup and maintenance, as well as letting you wet shave with comforting foam if you fancy. Its USB charging cable means you don’t need to worry about proprietary plugs or frayed cables. It only takes an hour and a half for a full charge too, thanks to built-in fast charging smarts, offering an hour of use per full charge. This is a shaver that does a lot for very few of your hard-earned pennies, although there's no denying that its design language is far from the prettiest one out there. We wouldn't go as far as calling it flat-out ugly per se, but the thought has crossed our mind a few times. If you like to spend your time perfecting your beard in the morning, you’ll want a long battery life to keep up with your intricate routine. And if you're sporting a great big bushy beard, we can't stress enough the importance of a large battery capacity. The devices on our list will last anywhere between 50 minutes and three hours, which should keep you going over multiple shaves. We typically took around 25 minutes to sculpt. Recharge Time So far I’ve only talked about what makes a foil shaver great and I haven’t mentioned anything about their shortcomings.

How we test the best electric shavers

The rotary shaver was made popular by Philips (Norelco) and uses circular blades that rotate behind metal guards. The best electric shavers you can buy in 2023 1. Braun Series 3 3040s: Best affordable electric shaver What about foil shaver head use? With balding attachment, it’s possible. The razor removes all stubble from the area in several passes. It doesn’t pull on your hair. So, it causes less irritation. Foil shaver is preferable for sensitive skin. If you want a close, comfortable and fast shave or you have coarse facial hair then just opt for a more capable, regular electric razor. The massive foil covers large surfaces with ease and can be successfully used for shaving your head as well.

Therefore a travel shaver should be used more often as short stubble will be more manageable and even a single-foil razor will get the job done. Hopefully, you now have a clear picture of what makes a particular foil razor better than other options in a given situation. While your only viable option for a rotary razor is Philips (Norelco), there are a lot of options from Braun, Panasonic, Wahl, Andis, Xiaomi and Remington in the case of foil shavers. Finding a suitable foil shaver for your needs In the past I’ve written comprehensive articles on pre-shave routines, post-shave treatments and various tips for wet and dry shaving. A cleaning station can be very practical for cleaning, sanitizing and lubricating your razor after every use.

While the closeness isn’t quite on the same level compared to the Arc 5 ES-CV70, it’s still better than what you’d get from an AA battery-powered compact travel shaver. Although the Series 5000 is a reasonably-priced proposition, it's one of the better-looking shavers around thanks to a matte grey design, solid ergonomics, and a handy display showing its battery level. All of these join forces to make this more of a men's grooming tool than a boyish plaything. Growing and managing a godly beard is no small task. A lot of effort, time and hours spent staring into the mirror combatting stray whiskers goes into maintaining the sort of facial fuzz Thor would be proud of, but none of that gruelling time is worth it if you’re not properly equipped for the task. Armed with a quality beard-trimming tool and even the most impatient of shavers can shape a sightly beard, the only problem is which brand to swear allegiance to. Here, we’ll champion the standard of Braun. The same goes for men who don’t want to shave often as travel razors don’t fare well with long hair.