We all care about our personal hygiene – well, most of us anyway – and taking care of ourselves is something people have to do in order to look and feel groomed and clean. When it comes to being groomed, hair and facial hair play a great role, so washing, shampooing and shaving is vital.
Throughout this small article we will go over what is the best means to shave, a manual razor or an electric shaver.
Manual Razor vs. Shaver: Maintenance
A great shaver has an average lifespan of three years and a great manual razor has an average lifespan of one year and a half. Taking that into consideration, electric shavers win this one – The Braun Series 7-790cc can last up to 7 years or even more, so…
Manual Razor vs. Shaver: Price
The high end shavers cost about $200, and the God-Tier Panasonic Arc 5 will be bought for about $300. Consider the fact that you are going to use them for 3 years and that cost comes out as roughly $65 per year. Let’s be fair and add the blade replacement of about $30 per year and cartridges for about $30 per year – you’ll be roughly paying $150 per year with the electric shaver.
The razor could cost you $15 on average, and you can add replacements ever 3 weeks for $30. Shaving gel is something you’ll definitely need, so add $30 to the pot. With a razor you would be looking at roughly $90 per year. So, razors win this one.
Manual Razor Vs Shaver: Maneuverability
An electric shaver usually requires to be plugged to the current, a razor can be used anywhere at any time, with no battery problems whatsoever – just be sure you have a mirror nearby or you might end up cutting your face. With pivoting heads and ergonomic grips, the shaver counters… it is anyone’s game right now.
So, after these variables are spoken about and thinking of all of the variables like closeness, comfort and so on – which do you think has the upper hand? If I had to choose I would say that it depends on what people are looking for.
If price and costs is what concerns someone, razor might be the best bet, but if you want performance, comfort and a shave that doesn’t hit sensitive skin like fire, then the shaver is the way to go.
How to Extend a Shaver’s Battery Life?
There are a lot of men out there that struggle with battery problems, they ask around on the web stuff like: “Shaver stops recharging at certain point, what to do?” and “Why does my shaver’s battery falls 20 minutes suddenly?” – these are real concerns we would like to address.
First of all, you may be charging your battery when it still has some power left, so your autonomy hugely drops from the memory effect your battery suffers – also known as the “lazy battery” syndrome.
To make sure your shaver’s battery is always performing at full capacity, we have the duty to know what our battery type is:
- NiMH or Ni-MH battery doesn’t have memory effect, it lasts a lot;
- Lithium Ion battery has reduced memory effects and packs a pretty good punch;
- NiCD or Ni-CD batteries need to be recharged often and suffers a lot from memory effect.
Note that popular models such as the Braun 3 Series and the Panasonic Arc 3 use the Ni-MH battery type, so memory effect won’t be a problem. Most electric shavers have a Lithium ion battery.
In order to maximize your shaver’s battery capacity, follow these tips:
- Fully discharge your battery prior to recharging, and when you do recharge it, make sure it charges up to its maximum.
- Don’t abuse the emergency “quick shave” charging feature some shavers have as this will trigger memory effect.
- Overcharging your battery will heat it up and, in turn, decrease your battery’s lifespan.
- If you notice your battery has been suffering from the lazy battery syndrome or memory effect, then discharge it and fully charge it for one month or so –never charge it unless it is completely empty.
