Imagine the horizontal spinning blade on a power lawn mower—but with teeth—and you’ll get the idea. Philips Norelco’s Multi Groomer is a 25-piece grooming kit that can handle any shaving, trimming, or clipping needs you may have. This battery-powered tool comes with self-sharpening steel blades that easily detach and reattach for quick cleaning. There are several factors worth considering in a beard trimmer.
One of the first things you’ll notice about the 2300 shaver is that it looks odd. The blade doesn’t look like a standard facial hair trimmer at all. The Dual SteelPrecision self-sharpening blades make up to 150,000 cutting actions per minute, requiring less strokes and resulting in reduced skin irritation. You would think a higher model number would come with more features. The 9800 actually comes with less and is Philips Norelco’s budget 9000 series electric shaver.
It’s held up remarkably well and, aside from a dip after a little more than a year of use which was remedied by replacing the foil, the shave quality has remained consistent. Staff writer James Austin has reviewed everything from board games to umbrellas and has participated in a number of test panels since joining Wirecutter in 2015.
We tested three of these close-shaving razors, and the Bevel Safety Razor was easily the best of the group. It didn’t feel quite as close as the two Merkurs we tried, but it was much easier to handle and move across our face. Polish Philips Norelco Shaver off a fresh trim by massaging a couple of drops of the cedar-scented Cremo Beard Oil into your beard. This moisture-restoring oil conditions facial hair and reduces itchiness, plus, it leaves behind a fresh, forest-like smell.
If you’re still undecided after checking out our picks, you’ll also find a handy buying guide at the end of this article. Providing superior closeness, Dual SteelPrecision self-sharpening blades perform up to 150,000 cutting actions per minute, requiring fewer strokes and resulting in less skin irritation. The 2300 does have some good features like being washable and having a rechargeable battery, but as you may have guessed, I don’t recommend this shaver. It’s really just not as good as a standard electric shaver like the OneBlade or OneBlade Pro. With an electric razor, shaving against the grain results in a cleaner shave so it’s kind of whack to not really have that option. Hypothetically, you could turn the entire shaver upside down and use the pop-up trimmer against the grain, but yeah, who wants to do that?
Its battery holds an impressive six-hour charge and lasts for months, if that’s how long you go between trims. Mowbie offers an elegant design, waterproof blades, and a matte black finish, making it the best-looking electric shaver besides being the most affordable one. A rather old-fashioned design at heart, this is short and stubby and designed to be pressed sideways into your beard rather than upwards. It’s a little reminiscent of an updated version of the electric razors of the 1950s. This is a rotary shaver and so you use it by rubbing it on your face in a circular motion.
In fact I can’t remember a time my visage felt quite so smooth. Particularly when it comes to Phillips shavers and, to a slightly lesser extent Braun, there are usually at least three versions of each shaver. But for the old guard who prefers a smooth appearance, and younger men turning away from the beard, an electric razor is just the thing, and these are the best electric shavers. If the shaver itself doesn’t convince you, Braun has also put together an outstanding kit.
And it definitely matches and even slightly surpasses that number. While 40 minutes is nothing out of the ordinary compared to other electric razors, it’ll definitely be good enough for most users. One question we’ve been asked a lot is whether to use a pre-shave. The magic ingredient in most pre-shaves is isopropyl myristate, a synthetic oil created by compounding alcohol and a fatty acid.