Review (3/5): Not worth the money
I wish I had read more reviews (not just online, but also on Amazon) before purchasing this razor.
Like another reviewer mentioned, I wanted to like this razor, but could not. I gave it 21 days and here are my findings.
1) First, I cut myself getting the damn thing out of the plastic packaging, I tried not to let that color my views :)
2) I discover that I can't just leave it in the charger, according to the instructions this will damage the device. WTF! Am I supposed to stand around and wait for it to charge, or set a timer or something? This is 2009! Simple electronics could have made it possible to leave the thing in the charger. I would have expected for this price, they would have had the system regulate the charge.
3) When I first used it, the razor was horrible and gave me a huge rash without really shaving very close. OK, they said wait 21 days. The problem is, after about four days, even though the rash was abating somewhat (helped by some Mennen Afta Pre-Electric Shave) I had these hairs it would not cut. As it kept missing them, they got longer and would not get cut at all. I ended up using tweezers (I know, I know) to get them out.
After about four weeks now, the rash is better and my face is adjusting. The shave overall is ok, but not very close. To get a closeish shave I have to press harder and go over spots twice and stretch the skin. I spent hours online thinking maybe it was me and researching technique etc, but have come to the conclusion the razor is at fault.
4) The trimmer is nice to have, and works OK and is better than nothing.
The upshot is that it takes me just as long, if not longer to shave with this razor as a wet shave would take. The result is not very good, even on a good day I have a shadow, my face feels rough and after shaving it is a little sore.
If you buy this razor (which I don't recommend) you will find it gets better over the 21 days, but in the end it still does not perform as expected.
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So, basically I would say do not buy this razor, you can get a much better one for $ less than this one. Also, there seems to be some conspiracy theory on Amazon as to whether Philips or competitors are writing the reviews. Well, I am neither and would even suggest you buy a different Norelco product, just avoid this one. Also, there are plenty of reviews not on Amazon, for example Gizmodo has a review:
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As for the money back guarantee, well you have to buy a razor, get face burn for 21 days before you can be sure you hate it, then you'll probably have to divulge a lot of personal info to Philips and pay shipping etc. Just don't bother getting this razor in the first place. Of course everyone has a different face/beard and I would perhaps have put it down to that had I not found so many others with similar experiences to mine.
As a final note, I think the reason this razor does not work very well may have a lot to do with the mounting of the heads. The springs under each shave head are quite stiff, and the design means that the heads rarely sit flush against the face. You can fix this by pressing down, but that irritates the skin and is hard to do on a soft area like the neck. The razor also has trouble around the corners of my mouth and under my nose area, probably for the same reasons. It seems like the when you shave, only part of the heads are contacting the skin at any given time. The instructions say to go in circles against the grain, but it works better if you just go against the grain in strokes.