Depending on your shave preferences, you may find yourself in all of these positions at some point; you’ll want an electric shaver that can meet your needs no matter what. The battery life of an electric shaver will determine how many times you can use it before it needs a recharge. If you’re forgetful or tend to do all of your grooming at once, a longer battery life will be an invaluable feature to prioritize.
Expect to replace the blades and foils as they get dull, about once a year depending on how frequently you use the razor; they’re available on the Philips website from $18. You don’t have to use shaving cream with the Philips SatinShave for wet or dry shaving. If you prefer, you can use shaving cream or soap when using it for wet shaving. However, I’ve noticed that other razors’ instructions recommend avoiding the use of shaving gels or oils because they can clog the blades.
Electric shavers can produce quite a bit of noise from their high-speed motors and vibrating blades. This may not bother some, but can be an annoyance to others, especially if you need to shave early in the morning philips shaver around sleeping family members. Be sure to check the decibel level in product reviews if a quiet shave is important to you. Noise dampening technologies like rubberized grips can also help reduce vibration.
Braun doesn’t include a travel case or cover, so take care when bringing this razor on the go. The heads also need manual swapping between shaving and trimming modes. This pair of lightweight, battery-powered trimmers is great if you need to line up edges and snip at strays while away from home. (Why philips trimmer blade pack something expensive and cumbersome for a weekend away?) The nose-hair clipper might not be worth packing on all but the longest trips, but it cleans up fuzzy nostrils and errant eyebrows nicely. Our data team notes that this Hatteker kit is the top seller among GQ readers, and for good reason.
But for just $22, this is a solid baseline pick for somebody looking to try out a trimmer, who plans to use the tool infrequently. It has seven guard heads, and can even swap in a nose/ear hair trimmer and a tiny eyebrow/mustache detailer. The 27 self-sharpening blades on this electric shaver have been precision-engineered for a consistently clean shave.