page_title: Shaving
section_title: Electric shaving
hierarchical_section_title: Shaving / Shaving methods / Electric shaving
caption_attribution_description: English: Huachang Shaver HC-6800
context_page_description: Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down—to the level of the skin or otherwise. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove their leg and underarm hair. A man is called clean-shaven if he has had his beard entirely removed.
  Both men and women sometimes shave their chest hair, abdominal hair, leg hair, underarm hair, pubic hair, or any other body hair. Head shaving is much more common among men. It is often associated with religious practice, the armed forces and some competitive sports such as swimming, running, and extreme sports. Historically, head shaving has also been used to humiliate, punish and show submission to an authority, and in more recent history also as part of fund-raising efforts, particularly for cancer research organizations and charitable organizations which serve cancer patients. The shaving of head hair is also sometimes done by cancer patients when their treatment may result in hair loss.
context_section_description: The electric razor (electric shaver) consists of a set of oscillating or rotating blades, which are held behind a perforated metal screen which prevents them from coming into contact with the skin and behaves much like the second blade in a pair of scissors. When the razor is held against the skin, the whiskers poke through the holes in the screen and are sliced by the moving blades. In some designs the blades are a rotating cylinder. In others they are one or more rotating disks or a set of oscillating blades. Each design has an optimum motion over the skin for the best shave and manufacturers provide guidance on this. Generally, circular or cylindrical blades (rotary-type shaver) move in a circular motion and oscillating blades (foil-type shaver) move left and right. Hitachi has produced foil-type shavers with a rotary blade that operates similarly to the blade assembly of a reel-type lawn mower. The first electric razor was built by Jacob Schick in 1928.
  The main disadvantages of electric shaving are that it may not cut the whiskers as closely as razor shaving does and it requires a source of electricity. The advantages include fewer cuts to the skin, quicker shaving and no need for a water/lather supply. The initial cost of electric shaving is higher, due to the cost of the shaver itself, but the long-term cost can be significantly lower, since the cutting parts do not need replacement for approximately 18 months and a lathering product is not required. Some people also find they do not experience ingrown hairs (pseudofolliculitis barbae, also called razor bumps), when using an electric shaver.
  In contrast to wet shaving, electric shave lotions are intended to stiffen the whiskers.  Stiffening is achieved by dehydrating the follicles using solutions of alcohols and a degreaser such as isopropyl myristate.  Lotions are also sold to reduce skin irritation, but electric shaving does not usually require the application of any lubrication.
  Mechanical shavers powered by a spring motor have been manufactured, although in the late 20th century they became rare.  Such shavers can operate for up to two minutes each time the spring is wound and do not require an electrical outlet or batteries.  Such type of shaver, the "Monaco" brand, was used on American space flights in the 1960s and 1970s, during the Apollo missions.
caption: Oscillating blades of a foil-type shaver
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