November 6, 2007

Review of the Braun Pulsonic - Shaving

We're going to spend a few days reviewing the Braun Pulsonic. For those who are interested in skipping to the end, this shaver rocks. Get one.

The Pulsonic feels good in your hand. It's got a nice heft and feels sturdy. When it's on it's not too loud, although don't expect your roommate to sleep through your shave.

It's the first electric razor I've used which doesn't get hot after a couple minutes of use. In the past that's been one of my biggest frustrations with electric razors. Razor gets hot, skin starts to sweat, razor gets tripped up on face, bad shave ensues. Not sure how the engineers at Braun overcame this, but I'm glad they did. The Pulsonic stays at an even temperature. Cool.

The Shave
Shaving with the Pulsonic was a series of opposites. Braun recommends you shave before you shower or wash your face, while you still have a little protective barrier of oil on your skin. A big no-no with regular shaving, this worked well with the Pulsonic. They also recommend you shave against the grain. Again, not recommended for regular shaving. For electric shaving, works great.

It took me three or four shaves with the Pulsonic before I got really comfortable with it. There's a lot more tugging of skin to make flat surfaces than in regular cartridge shaving. That said, by the third or fourth shave I was getting as close a shave as I would get with a regular razor.

Shaving above the jawline was a breeze from the get go. Shaving below the jawline took the few times to get right. I'm not faulting the Pulsonic here too much. Shaving the neck has always been the weak part of electric razors from my perspective. The hairs tend to grow sideways or not have a uniform direction, which means you end up going over the same spot multiple times. That said after a couple of uses I was able reduce the number of passes over my neck and still get a good shave. Don't give up. This is the area that needs the most practice.

Tomorrow we'll go over some of the mechanics of the razor.

The Braun Pulsonic is available in models from $208 to $235

Read More in: Brands | Braun | Electric Shaving

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Posted by Russell Neufeld at November 6, 2007 8:32 AM

Comments

Will men ever get smart? Yet another costly gizmo until the next "new" thing comes along in a couple of years.

You want the best shave in your life and something trendy? May I suggest an old school safety razor, some good shaving cream, a brush and a bowl? Spend you're hard earned money on new fangled crap. I'm laughing all the way to the bank and it's only costing me 12 cents a blade every four days.

How lame.

Posted by: Dr. Lao at November 7, 2007 6:02 PM

How does the quality of the shave in comparison to Phillips 8060x? Do you think this "Pulsonic" system is better than wet shave with 8060x? What about sensitive skins? Currently I'm using an older wet Phillips (series 7000). It has been dropped a few times and I need to get a new one. Now, I'm generally happy with my Phillips but yet the skin of my neck sometimes gets red and even bleeds with it. I don't mind the difference of the price between Braun Pulsonic and Phillips 8060x. What is important for me is the quality of the shave and irritation of skin.

Posted by: AlefSin at November 8, 2007 1:35 PM

This is the worst razor I've ever owned. It took a long time to remove the beard from the neck area, and it was rough on the skin. Buying the cleaning cartridges was an extra expense also. I recommend the Norelco Arcitec-soooo much better.

Posted by: Guitar Mike at January 15, 2009 2:45 PM