Market overview: war of the razor kings

The White Queen in Carroll’s famous fairy tale assured that she “sometimes on an empty stomach in the morning she believes in six impossible things at once. If it were a king in her place in today’s reality, he would have to believe not six, but ten or more “impossible things” in the morning. What used to be impossible, but is now embodied in the most advanced and innovative technology used in electric shavers.

A close shave for a soft kiss?

When it comes to evaluating your shave, the makers of electric razors themselves have lost count of all the factors that influence your shave? Competition dictates its own dictates: only one company will name six parameters, how shortly afterwards a competitor will say there are seven.

And a month later it turns out that eight, or even ten. And razors, of course, continue to evolve in response to new discoveries. And yet mostly the manufacturers are unanimous. So important:

– Blade sharpness, coating and sharpening angle. Remington company developed several kinds of blade coatings for different its shavers: in Diamond model blades are made of technical diamond, in Titanium model – of the strongest titanium. The high precision blade design developed by Braun for our Series 7 and Series 5 shavers gives you a close, smooth and comfortable shave.

Innovative blade sharpening technology Nano-Edge from Panasonic reduced the blade edge to 0.5 microns, which combined with a sharpening angle of 30° leaves no chance for hairs. Blades are made of heavy-duty Japanese steel.

– Low coefficient of friction. Philips took care of ultra-smooth surface of the shaving block: SkinGlide technology provides friction-free shaving and Panasonic razors with the finest mesh give the sensation of a gentle touch on the skin at the presentation of new models even girls held the running razors to their tender cheeks without fear and as an experiment were cleanly shaved some… kiwi fruits .

– The ability of the head to follow the contours of the face floating head or entire shaving block , the location of the head at a certain angle in relation to the handle.

So in 2009 Philips launched Arcitec series shavers with flexible rotating heads, and in 2010 for its last line of rotary shavers developed GyroFlex 3D system: shaving unit moves in three planes allowing it to adjust perfectly to the face contours and thus to reduce pressure on the skin and minimize its irritation.

The heads of the latest Braun Series 7 shaver range shave with thousands of micro vibration per minute and the SensoFlex Face Contour Repeat System combines a floating shaver head and independently floating foils.

Remington equips its latest rotary models with three independent shaving heads that float in all directions. Panasonic shaving heads move in all possible directions and also move vertically.

– Number, Shape, Design, and Positioning of Shaving Heads. Philips introduced three shaving heads for SensoTouch 3D Series shavers: slits for normal hair, channels for long hair, and holes for stubble. Ultra Track heads grab all hair in a few strokes.

Panasonic introduced an arc-shaped shaver foil and a corresponding arc-shaped shaver head surface that ensures a close fit of the blade even in the dimple on the chin and, unlike flat shaver heads, provides an anatomical fit of the foil to the skin.

The result is a clean shave over the entire surface area of the razor, whereas with a flat head the reticle only fits snugly in its center and the areas around the edges remain poorly shaved. In addition, the heads of this company’s new shavers are angled so as not to hold the device perpendicular to the surface of the face.

– Blades lift hairs before shaving. Philips boasts a dual blade system for this parameter. Braun Series 7 and Series 5 shavers’ integrated Power Comb trimmer gently lifts and cuts hairs too close to the skin in the neck and chin area without pulling them. Unique sharpening of Panasonic blades also allows you to catch hairs at the surface of the skin.

– Number of shaving nets, material quality, nets thickness, shape of holes in nets for mesh shavers . Panasonic holds the record for the most meshes. The company’s newest models have four shaving nets: a triple shaving system and an extra fine mesh with a thickness of only 41 microns.

Each foil has a role to play – two of them pull the skin taut, while an intricate design of the secondary foil alternates between different foil thicknesses to clean out any bare hairs. Braun Series shavers have Smart Foil with multi hole shape to catch hairs that grow in different directions, like on the neck for example.

For the Series 3 line, three independently floating shaving elements have been designed to adapt to the contours of the face and shave both long and short hairs.

– The handle is ergonomic non-slip coating, thumb rest, lightweight, easy to grip . Philips made not only handle ergonomic grip with no slip out, but also touch control system with digital display on the handle.

Panasonic does not fall behind and presents not less ergonomic handle design and LCD display in top models: it shows the need of charging, cleaning, shaving time and other parameters.

– Easy cleaning any shaver that has not been pre-cleaned performs worse and is unhygienic . All major manufacturers strive to make their shavers washable under running water or with detachable heads that can be washed in this way , and they equip their shavers with cleaning brushes.

Systems of automatic self-cleaning are available in top models of all leading companies, the shaver is washed in a special holder-holder with a special cleaning solution. Philips’ JetClean is an example. Some Braun Series models come with Clean&Renew cleaning system that automatically cleans, moisturizes and…recharges the shaver, and the Series 7 790cc also dries.

Panasonic has provided for absolutely all its shavers a basic mode of cleaning under running water with liquid soap. Just spray soap on foil and activate Turbo function.

Motor starts at approximately 17,000 rpm./minute., and blades clean quickly. But for the more expensive models, the firm has again a self-cleaning system with disinfectant solution, drying and recharging.

Just shower – shave again?

It’s simple: to each his own. Experts in the field and have not come to a consensus, what system of shaving “right”: rotary, when two or three shaving heads rotate and blades moving in a circle, pick up and cut hair, or the grid, when the hair is pulled into the thinnest mesh and shave moving under it the blades.

With any system, it takes anywhere from two weeks to a month to get used to it, especially when you switch from a regular razor to an electric shaver. Perhaps a peculiar answer can be considered the position of producers, who almost completely divided among themselves the market of electric shavers and produce only one type of shaver: rotary razors are produced by Philips, but not less reputable in this area Panasonic and Braun – only mesh.

Others, also quite large though not such giants producers for example, our Mikma and British Remington offer consumer the choice, but experts, in particular, “Mikma” stick to the opinion that the mesh shave is cleaner and less traumatic, it is only important to hold the device correctly perpendicular to the skin and not to make random movements, and move in one direction.

Braun specialists are united in their opinion: despite the company’s systems of facial contour following, they recommend to hold the device at a 90° angle and shave against hair-growth as well.

There has long been a heated debate about whether dry or wet shaving is preferable. Dry shaving is still considered more hygienic, both for the prevention of irritation, and for keeping the device clean.

But modern life makes its adjustments: hot water at any time of the day for most of the population of developed countries has become much more accessible, men have become accustomed to a daily shower and began to use cosmetics much more often.

In addition, there is a universal trend of “two-in-one” as a consequence of the eternal lack of time: we talk on the phone and simultaneously send emails, drink coffee and hair styling, wash and shave.

Naturally these processes have combined, and as a result almost all the leading companies have created “unique” devices with waterproof housings that allow you to shave while in the shower.

Of the major manufacturers the last one to give up was Braun, for a long time methodically defending hygienic dry shaving. The demand breeds supply and shaving kings always keep an eye on their subjects’ wishes and competitors’ fiefdoms – otherwise they will never sit on the throne. The result – the Series 3 340 and 380 Wet&Dry.

kings argue – people have no buzzing shavers!

In the pursuit of innovation companies release novelty after novelty, often without caring that spare parts and consumables eg, shaving nets, heads, blades, batteries, trimmers from old models fit to new ones.

It’s a good idea to look for accessories and replacement parts for your shaver brand when you buy a new one, including older models. If that’s a problem, it’s a good idea to buy a spare set of the first things to go, like the foil of a chain shaver.

But it has more to do with the models of the manufacturers that are the trendsetters in this area Panasonic, Braun and Philips . With razors of domestic manufacturers “Berdsk”, “Kharkov” and “New Kharkov”, “MiG”, etc. . in this situation things are much easier: new models do not appear like mushrooms after the rain, and the maintenance costs pennies.

The tensest situation with the service for shavers little-known imported often only by the sound brands. Spare parts can not be found, and even if you are lucky, for repair or replacement will have to pay the same 800-1000 Dollars, which cost the shaver, and this translates such technical “masterpieces” in the category of disposable.

The leading manufacturers recommend changing your shaving blocks which includes heads, blades and nets every 12 Panasonic , 18 Braun or 24 Philips months.

As the experts reasonably observe Braun, a year and a half in daily use of the average man shaves the area of a soccer field – there is something to wear down the blades and nets!