Smooth As A Baboon's Buttocks (and twice as red) (Philishave HQ5401 Mains Shaver)

Member Name: wampyrii

Product:	Philishave HQ5401 Mains Shaver
Date:	18/11/01 (230 review reads)
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I always used to use the old razor and soap method when it came to shaving which I still say is the closest and best shave you can get no matter how good your electric razor. It is also something which I am still pretty useless at and still end up shaving a couple of layers of skin off when in too much of a hurry...incidentally this is most mornings right now because its freezing in here when I wake up so I tend to put off getting up for as long as possible. I finally decided that enough was enough around 6 months ago having bled enough to keep a blood bank running for at least a couple of months in the interest of becoming mildly less hirsute each morning and went out and bought one of those electric jobbies.

I have to be honest that I had no idea what I was looking for and when presented with all this wet shave, gel action, rotating head etc. business I was at a loss, so basically plumped for something which was mid priced - I ended up with the Philishave 5401 from Phillips. I think I made a good choice.

Its difficult to compare a razor when its the second only that you have owned in your life. My first sucked, a two head thingumy which plucked rather than cut after about a week's use, which is why it took me so long to purchase another one. Thankfully that is not a criticism which can be levelled here - I have never had that kind of problem with it. What you get for you money is a razor with a:

"REFLEX ACTION 3-D Contour-Following system with individually floating heads, Lift & Cut technology, and Silent Power."

...which roughly translates as "it shaves" in my language, but you might get more out of it, hence the inclusion ;o) The razor is ebony black and neatly contoured to fit nicely in your hand, with three trimmer heads. You also get a pop-up trimmer for trimming you beard/sideburns or ummm whatever else hairy you may want trimmed I suppose and a cleaning brush to clean your shaver heads which you sh
ould use after every shave unless you are lazy like me in which case you'll do it when you remember(or when you aren't running 10 minutes late for the 5th time that week). Oh and there's a cap and travel pouch for those trips away. It is however mains run only so there's no charging it up for a journey so you'd probably be better off getting a rechargeable one if that is your aim.

What more can you say about a shaver other than whether it does the job. Personally I find that it does and without too much fuss. If you keep your beard growth under control then it works like a charm. A quick buzz around the chops and you are done. Let it grow out too much though and its more of a chore and you'll find the shaver misses bits and gets clogged quickly, but then no different to a normal manual razor, you just have to clean it off and carry on. I guess it shaves well, still feels a little stubbly when compared to a wet shave with a decent manual razor which is still far better, but its certainly not a bad shave either. The first couple of times I used it my face would be all red and itch like hell afterwards but I suppose your skin gets used to it because it doesn't have that effect anymore. Personally I have it as a back up. If I have the time to shave properly with a manual razor then I do so, otherwise I fall back on this and it does a good job as far as the naked eye goes, but to the touch it tells a different story.


Oh and sorry about the title...its early, I didn't sleep much. ;o)



***UPDATE***

Well its more than 6 months down the line and I've taken more to this than wet shaving - the former is just way too much hassle donchaknow! (well it is when you are grabbing every last second of sleep in the morning anyway!) Anyway, 6 months down the line like I said and its still going strong. I haven't noticed any downgrade in performance etc. which can't be bad can it? :o)

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