Generally Pleased So Far
I used a corded Norelco triple-head razor for many years, then transitioned to wet shaving nearly forty years ago. I dutifully moved through the two-blade Trac II to the three-blade Mach III and then the five-blade ProGlide. I have to admit that more blades did indeed improve the closeness and consistency of the resulting shave, and I was satisfied with the results of five blades. But I began to tire of the effort required to carry out a proper wet shaving each day. I began to be lazy and skip shaving for a day or two earlier this year. But it bothered me to be doing this -- I'm not really a good candidate for the Don Johnson look. So I checked a number of online reviews of different electric shaver choices. Of course I paid particular attention to the Norelco triple-head reviews, since that's what I was accustomed to, but it seemed like a large number of reviewers felt that the straight foil-type shavers (such as Braun) performed better. Indeed, the Braun Series 9 seemed to be a particular favorite. However, there was just no way I could justify spending $350+ on an electric shaver. Then I started seeing reviews that spoke very favorably of the Braun Series 7, and at half the price (or less) compared to Series 9 it seemed like it was very much worth checking out. At the time I purchased this in 2024, Braun was offering a 100-day full refund period if people did not like the razor. That cinched it for me -- definitely worth a try. So far I've been happy with this razor. The shave is not quite as close as my 5-blade wet shaves, but it's absolutely good enough. It's probably identical to what my wet shave would become about 3 hours later. And it's way more convenient. I'm now back to shaving every day. My two big gripes with Braun are these: 1. The instructions and information are poor and somewhat self-contradictory. The printed documentation uses a lot of fairly non-intuitive pictures to try to convey how the razor should be used and cared for, but the pictures don't do a good job. There is scattered information on the Braun web site, but it's hard to know what to look at. And nowhere does Braun answer whether it's necessary or advisable to apply a drop of oil to the shaver occasionally if the customer is using the cleaning center (which has lubricant in the cleaning solution). 2. Braun has a bewildering model numbering system that changes often. There are some online sites that try to keep up with these changes, and they were helpful to me. But all of the confusion in model and version numbers makes it hard to shop and look for the best price on what the customer actually wants. For instance, I don't need the beard trimmer attachments, but I did want the cleaning station. Finding that specific combination was not easy. I don't know why Braun insists on making life so difficult for customers. Having said all that, I can recommend this unit. It yields results better than what I was getting in the past from the Norelco floating triple-head razor I used for many years, in less time. The maintenance is not onerous (I lift the shaver head and knock out the hairs after each use, and have been using the cleaning center about once every two or three weeks). I use it dry, although apparently it's possible to take it into the shower to use with shaving cream or gel. For me that would defeat the whole point, since in that case I could just go back to wet shaving. No, I got this to avoid the whole hot-water-and-shaving-gel scenario. So far it's living up to my expectations. Read more
