by Moe Zilla

Created on: July 18, 2010

I can tell you exactly how to get the perfect shave: use a disposable blade safety razor. I've always found that I get a closer shave when the blades are actually touching my face! The problem, of course, is there's a real danger of cutting yourself, so instead of admiring your nice, smooth skin, you end up bleeding in the sink. Electric razors - both foil and rotary - can eliminate the risk of a cut. But to get a good shave, you'll have to choose your razor carefully, and the first question you'll want to answer is : should you buy a foil razor or a rotary razor?

I've used both of these, and they've both got advantages and disadvantages. The Norelco rotary razor took up much more space, because they'd tried to fit three different rotary blades onto the razor's head. They're arrange in a triangular pattern, though to get them all up against your face, you have to think about where each blade is. I think the concept is that no matter where you move the razor, there's always going to be at least one blade that's directly touching the surface where you're trying to shave. But the other two blades always just seemed to end up on random parts of my face. Maybe that's the idea - to guarantee lots of redundant "follow-up" passes where the blades cross over each piece of my face again and again.

But the big, bulky, three-blade razor was not only hard to maneuver on my face - it was also difficult to store. With a bulky recharging case, it was nearly impossible to carry both the razor and the charger whenever I'd travel. And even when it was fully charged, the blades always seemed weak and ineffective. Maybe the soft hum of the razor was just deceptive, and the fully-charged razor itself was tremendously powerful. But I'm used to shaving with a disposable razor, so after that, the rotary razor was never going to seem as effective.

Foil razors are easier to handle and store, since they're usually about the size of a cellphone. But to be honest, it seemed like I'd have more painful experiences with the foil razor. It's supposed to tug on your facial hair and then cut it - but sometimes I'd just get the sharp tug, which was very unpleasant. It seems like a foil razor has a larger shaving surface, but remember that your face isn't perfectly flat, so the razor's only going to be against your skin if you maneuver it there yourself. The total width of the foil razor head seems wider, but the blades on a rotary razor are actually further apart, so it always felt like the rotary razor was covering more skin.

Ultimately I think the rotary razor is a better shaving experience than the foil razor. But a disposable razor is still the best shaving experience of all!

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