Review (3/5): Not worth the hassle
At first I thought this was the greatest razor ever. It provides a smooth shave, probably the best shave I've ever encountered. I have very sensitive skin, so I have to be selective. First impressions: It is a very sleek and cool looking razor. It is so fancy, that I am afraid of breaking it every time I touch it. The problem with this razor is not its performance, rather it is the maintenance. The lotion is expensive, and to make things worse, it is nearly impossible to find, unless you are willing to spend lots of money and buy it online. But, the razor works, so I stuck it out.
Next problem: Norelco suggests that you replace the cartridge for sanitary reasons each time you refill the lotion. OK, but when I ordered the lotion (which is supposed to come with the cartridge), THERE WAS NO CARTRIDGE! So, I decided to stick it out anyway. Each time I replaced the lotion, I would just remove the cartridge and clean it myself. That seemed fine, until this morning when I accidentally broke a piece of this fragile cartridge. Now, I can't get the lotion to come out, so the razor is ineffective. I tried to buy a new lotion with cartridge at Target, and the lotion came without the cartridge, so I have to return it.
I know Phillips-Norelco has excellent customer service, so I called to see if they could help me. It turns out that the lotion does not always come with the cartridge (although it is advertised that way and I was told that it came with the cartridge by a customer service rep before I bought the razor). So, it's kind of like a little guessing game. Where can I find the lotion and cartridge together? Fun! I asked if they could just send me some cartridges, no lotion, just cartridges and I'd be happy. But they could not do that, so I am going to return this razor and get my money back.
I still have a previous Norelco shaver (dry) and I will try that again, although it is not as good. I think in the end I may have to resort back to the painful manual razor shave. I have been a Norelco customer for many years and up to this point I was always very pleased, this is disappointing.
To summarize: This is an excellent razor, but it is not worth the money or the hassle you have to go through to make it work effectively!
I welcome any shaving advice to help my sensitive skin!