Review (1/5): Fleeing back to a real razor
For two decades I have fought an uphill battle with a downhill class of products, and I'm throwing in the towel. I've abandoned this electric razor and gone back to a real razor (a basic Gillette Mach 3).
I switched to a multi-headed electric razor over 20 years ago. "Stick with it for 30 days" the instructions implored. Yes, it got better, but never equalled my old 2-blade razor. The convenience suckered me in, and the habit was set. I meticulously cleaned and maintained my electric razors, but never attained a clean shave.
But I stuck with it. Replaced the heads, and that worked for a while, but then same old same old. New electric razors seem to get worse. A little Phillips Philishave 30 worked pretty well (2 heads, *battery* powered), but not great.
When this Arcitec came on board, I said "this is it!" Pricey, but there can be no better, right? Of all the electric razors I have used, I must say that this is the worst. The cleaning system works to a point, but there are inevitably hairs that get lodged in the razor head. And the razor head is effectively *NOT CLEANABLE* except by painstaking surgery to extract lodged hairs.
And the shave? OK, this is not a scientific double-blinded study, but I do honestly believe that this razor provided me with the worst shave of all electric razors I have owned. It got me to jump ship and try a middle-of-the-road Gillette Mach 3. The result ...
HEAVEN! Blades have gotten SO much better since 20 years ago. Super clean shave, no nics, no problems, no irritation ... why did I wait so long??