9 Best Electric Shavers For Sensitive Skin

What should I look for in an electric shaver?

Choosing your first razor can be overwhelming, especially with the number of options we have on the market today. We’ve set up this nifty guide to help you decide what to look for in your electric shaver.

Rotary or Foil

You can categorize an electric shaver as rotary or foil. Rotary shavers, as the name suggests, have round heads that act as rotating circular blades. They’re typically able to achieve a closer shave than foil razors and are more suited for people with medium to coarser hair.

On the other hand, foil razors are made of a curved metal, perforated foil that covers the blade that cuts the hair. Unlike rotary shavers that give you more mobility, foil razors are operated by moving back and forth. The blades vibrate underneath the foil which lifts the hair through the holes of the foil and cuts them. Foil razors are ideal for those with sensitive skin as they tend to be less harsh.

Corded or Battery-operated

Electric shavers can either come as corded or cordless. However, modern models are often battery-operated with an option to connect to a power source. This allows for better mobility and portability and provides a good workaround in case you run out of battery in the middle of shaving.

Wet or Dry Shaving

Not all shavers can do both wet and dry shaving so be sure to read the manual. While all shavers can handle dry shaving, meaning you can shave directly without any use of a product like creams, gels, and foams, not all razors can be used for the wet option. For those with sensitive skin, investing in a shaver that can do wet shaving is worth the few extra bucks as products help lessen irritations.

Price

Naturally, one major consideration for your purchase is the price range. Set a budget and stick with it when you’re looking for a shaver that would suit your needs. Fortunately, a high price tag is not automatically an indication of a good quality shaver. There are budget-friendly options that can do the job just as well.

Performance

How aggressive the blade is should factor in on your decision when buying a shaver. The shaver with the sharpest blades isn’t always the best choice especially when you have sensitive skin. You’d want a milder or at least a medium option that’s best suited for how coarse your hair is so you can avoid razor burns. One that can achieve a close shave with fewer passes is also ideal for sensitive skin.

Battery Life

You’d be surprised – but battery life can truly make or break a shaver on our rankings. Nobody’s got time for a shaver that needs to be charged for every other use or one that takes a whole day to fully charge up, especially when you shave almost daily. Most shavers take around 8 hours of charging for around half an hour to 45 minutes of operation. One that charges for less time is better so you can save on electricity.

Maintenance

Maintenance is another key factor to watch out for. How easy both on time, effort, and pocket is your shaver to clean and maintain? Ideally, a good quality shaver should be easy to disassemble and would allow you to remove every hair without much effort. Excellent ones even have their self-cleaning stations and systems in place.

Durability and Warranty

You can’t maximize your purchase if your shaver breaks down after a few uses. When considering which shaver to buy, try to scout reviews from users on how long they’ve had their shaver for so you have an idea of how durable the unit would be. A warranty is also a great guarantee of quality. The longer the warranty, the better.

Accessories

Accessories might not factor in largely in your buying decision, but they’re of course nice to have. Some accessories that you should keep a lookout for are travel bags for easy storage and portability, a brush for cleaning, and some attachable heads for beard grooming or precision shaving. Some attachments also allow you to shave not just your beard, but other body hair as well.

Extra Features

It might not be the biggest deal but some extra features are welcome. Some shavers are waterproof so you can use them in your shower with complete ease of mind. Another useful feature is the low battery warning. Some shavers would sound off or light up so you know when you’re about to run out of juice. For battery-operated models, an auto shut-off feature when the model has fully charged is also ideal.

How do I shave sensitive skin with an electric shaver?

Aside from getting the best electric shaver for sensitive skin, there are some steps you can do to further avoid razor burns. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to shave when you have sensitive skin.

1. Wash your face with lukewarm water

Wash your face with a gentle cleanser to remove the build-up of dirt and oils that can affect your shaving and rinse with lukewarm water. Warm water helps to soften your skin and hair. You can even soak your beard in warm water by holding a hot towel on your face for a few minutes.

2. Use a shaving product

For people with sensitive skin, a razor that can handle wet shaving is best. Products like gel, cream, or shaving foam helps to reduce the irritation from shaving. Lather your product nicely to cover all the hair. For extra sensitive skin, some ingredients like vitamin E can help soothe irritation. Letting the lather work for a few minutes before shaving also helps.

3. Check the grain of growth

Hair doesn’t just grow downwards toward your chin all the time. You can check which way your hair goes by running your hand across your beard. If the hair pokes you, then that is the direction “against the grain”. Contrary to popular belief, this is the direction you’d want to shave in if you have sensitive skin so you can shave the hair in fewer passes.

4. Prepare your shaver

Whether you decide to go with a foil or rotary shaver, make sure to prepare your tool well. Charge it so you can finish a shaving session without stopping in between. Make sure that the blades are clean and not dull, as stuck hair will affect your shaving and irritate you further. You’d want to replace your blades at least once a year to make sure that they’re in tip-top condition.

5. Trim

If you have a longer beard, trimming with beard trimmers prior to using your shaver would help a lot to keep irritations to a minimum. You’d want to cut to at least a centimeter long or even less to help your shaver work better.

6. Use your dominant hand

This should go without saying, but use your dominant hand to hold the shaver. This would allow you better control so you can avoid unwanted nicks and cuts.

7. Shave in the right direction

The ‘right’ direction depends on your razor. For a foil razor, you want to go in straight motions against the direction of the grain. For rotary shavers, clockwise or counterclockwise motions are the way to go.

8. Shave carefully

Make sure that you’re not pressing too hard on the skin whether you are using a foil or rotary shaver. Also, avoid going over the same area multiple times to avoid irritation and keep passes to a minimum.

9. Shave the larger areas first

Before going into the contours, shave your cheeks, neck, and jawline first. Start with the largest areas and keep the detail work for later.

10. Use both hands

While the other hand holds the shaver, use your non-dominant hand to keep the skin taut. This will help you achieve the closest shave possible.

11. Keep your shaver clean

In between passes, hair and debris will eventually get stuck in your shaver. Keep your shaver clean so you can pass through the skin and shave hair uninterrupted. For foil shavers, you can lift off the foil and run the shaver under running water for waterproof razor models. For rotary head models, you can use the accompanying brush to brush off hair between several passes.

12. Recheck missed spots

Go close to your mirror and check if you’ve missed any spot before cleaning up.

13. Reapply product as needed

Don’t be stingy with the product and reapply as needed. Assess the areas where you’d need to go for a second pass and reapply the product to help minimize irritation.

14. Using aftercare products

After you’ve finished shaving and washed the product off your skin, aftercare shaving products will help you soothe the heat and friction caused by shaving. Apply lotion so you can moisturize the area.

15. Maintain your razor

Before putting away your shaver, make sure to clean and dry it well. Lubricate the foil and blades to avoid the dulling of the blades as well as prolonging the life of your shaver.

16. Allow your skin some time in between shaving sessions

For sensitive skin, you certainly do not want to be shaving daily. That is a sure-fire way to get razor burns. If you must shave every other day at least. Also, try to avoid shaving when you have ongoing irritations.

Foil or rotary shaver: which is best for sensitive skin?

There are two main kinds of electric shavers – foil and rotary shavers.

Foil shavers are made of a curved metal foil that covers the blade that cuts the hair. These foils are perforated or have holes in them, which allows the hair to poke through and hit the blades. The blades vibrate in a fraction of a second, which straightens the hair and shears them.

One of the biggest disadvantages of foil shavers is their limited mobility. Since foil heads are often rectangular or cylindrical, the way you operate them is by dragging them across the skin in back and forth motions.

You can go left to right, or up and down, but a circular motion is practically impossible. This might make it harder to reach narrow crevices like the sides of the nose, near the ear, and around the mouth. If you’re going with a foil shaver, one with adjustable heads to make precision grooming easier is ideal. A foil shaver is also ideal for shaping mustaches and beards too since you’re going in straight lines.

Foil razors are also often noisier in operation than their rotary counterparts. They’re also harder to use for those with longer hair as the hairs can get stuck in the foils. If you have a longer beard, make sure to trim it prior to using a foil razor.

As the name suggests, rotary shavers have round heads that act as rotating circular blades. They have three disks that spin around and cuts off your beard hair. Again, compared to the foil shavers, they offer better pivoting to allow you to reach the contours of your face better. This, as well as the ability to achieve a closer shave, are the main advantages of rotary razors over foil shavers.

Unlike with foil shavers, you’d want to go in a circular motion rather than dragging the shaver up and down your skin. Remember this because if you go back and forth, you’re opening yourself up to some painful hair pulling.

When it comes to maintenance, foils often take less effort to maintain. They’re easy to disassemble, and sometimes simply running the shaver under water should do the trick for waterproof models. However, they’re also more susceptible to rusting. Before putting away your foil razor, make sure to dry it completely and lubricate it well.

For rotary heads, removing hair completely does take a bit more effort. They have more parts and are therefore harder to disassemble. Make sure that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning to help maintain your rotary razor in tiptop shape.

As to which one is the best for those with sensitive skin – it largely depends on the product but a foil shaver is often the ideal choice. Because rotary shavers can achieve a closer shave, they also come in closer contact with the skin. This translates to the higher heat and higher friction. Higher friction leads to a higher potential for irritation like bumps and razor burns.

How did we choose the best razors for sensitive skin?

We’ve compared hundreds of products to find the best razors for sensitive skin based on performance, operation, features, and overall value for money.

Perfomance

How well can the razor shave in one pass? Here we tested the aggressiveness of the razor in achieving a close shave. We also looked into the ergonomics of the razor and how well it feels on our hands. How easy is it to control and maneuver and can it reach nooks and crannies just fine?

Operation

Battery life is important. How much juice can we get per charge and how long does it take to achieve a full charge?

Features

What extras does the product provide? Is it waterproof? Is the grip well-designed? Does it come with attachments to help you achieve different styles? Here we look at what the razor does that makes shaving easier or better or both.

Value

For all the performance and features that it offers, is the price tag right?