Electric Razors- That's technology, right?

Drem

To start this off in a really depressing way, my father is in the hospital with a blood clot in his lung. He's going to be on blood thinners for the next six months, so he needs to make sure he doesn't cut himself. He's been told to avoid the blade based razors for shaving, so he needs to switch to electric.

I've never used an electric shaver and I've never planned on it, so I don't know anything about them. He's asked me to look up razors and see which ones are good and won't cause cuts or damage to his skin, as that would be really, really bad. Yeah, there's a bit of user competency involved, but I'm sure some razors are better in this regard than others. I'm going to google this of course, but I also wanted to ask for some personal advice from you guys. Any advice on electric razors in general would be appreciated as well.

Improvolone

What does he do that could require him to shave? Maybe its beard time.

I hate giving counter-advice, but I only say this because from what I've gathered, no matter the shaving technique the skin has to get used to it. Going to an electric and not being used to it will surely cause skin problems.

www.badgerandblade.com is the foremost shaving forum out there. They are pretty much a strict straight and safety razor forum, but they know their shit and could probably suggest an electric or two, if not an entire shave regimen. But if a nick is enough to stay away form blades... those are some intense blood thinners. Christ, I cut my hands up all the time...

ronya

Google suggests that Badger and Blade will mostly just ask you to keep using a razor, though.

Szechuanosaurus

Can you even cut yourself with an electric razor, like at all? I'm not sure it's possible.

I guess to be on the safe side, get a beard trimmer rather than a razor. He won't get a super-slick shave off it but he can use it with the guard off to trim off any stubble longer than a mm or so.

The Wolfman

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

Can you even cut yourself with an electric razor, like at all? I'm not sure it's possible.

I guess to be on the safe side, get a beard trimmer rather than a razor. He won't get a super-slick shave off it but he can use it with the guard off to trim off any stubble longer than a mm or so.

That's what I use 90% of the time since I'm far too lazy to use a razor or anything else. As long as he doesn't mind having a perpetual 5 O'clock shadow for a while, it should do the job handily.

travathian

Unless your dad shaves with a double edged safety razor or a straight razor, and has Alzheimer's, I wouldn't worry about it. If he's been shaving with a normal disposable blade for the last few decades he probably isn't ever seriously cutting himself. If you are really worried about it get him a styptic pen to keep nearby. Otherwise I'd be more worried about him hitting or bumping into things and causing serious bruises.

NailbunnyPD

I would note that if you are seriously concerned about shaving, he could go with a trimmer and just maintain a really short beard. Its what I do when I am fed up with the side effects of shaving. Ingrown hairs are the bane of my existence.

I use a Remmington trimmer. Its sold as a body trimmer, but that doesn't stop me from using it on my face.

PeregrineFalcon

travathian wrote: »

Unless your dad shaves with a double edged safety razor or a straight razor, and has Alzheimer's, I wouldn't worry about it. If he's been shaving with a normal disposable blade for the last few decades he probably isn't ever seriously cutting himself. If you are really worried about it get him a styptic pen to keep nearby. Otherwise I'd be more worried about him hitting or bumping into things and causing serious bruises.

I think you're looking to make a Parkinson's joke here, not an Alzheimer's one. Your mind must be slipping.
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I'd go with the beard-trimmer suggestion for a while and just have a short beard for the duration.

Mblackwell

Get him a shower mirror and a Fusion Power and have him shave while he showers. Honestly that's what I do (sans mirror since I know my face pretty well) and haven't had any nicks or cuts even with older blades. He won't even require shaving cream then. Also the blade on the Fusion lasts longer than one on a Mach 3 (for example) and tends to cause less irritation for me.

If he's dead set on electric, almost any Norelco will do the job.

bigwah

I've been using a crappy electric razor for 7 years now, have never replaced the blades, and dont use any cream/water. I mostly shave on the way to work in my car.

I have never cut myself with it, and as started earlier, not sure if you can cut yourself with one.

ArcSyn

You can cut yourself with an electric razor, I've done it on myself, but rarely. I have very sensitive skin though.

Your best bet is probably a Braun. The shape they have on the guard is unique and is likely going to be the best of the bunch to prevent any nicks. I know many friends and family who have them and they are absolutely awesome. The only reason I don't have one is because I bought a different brand years ago, and it still works, so it's hard to justify the purchase. But Braun is definitely going to be the next one I buy.

Seeks

Yeah, you really can't go wrong with any of the big ones mentioned in this thread.

But like Arc said, it is possible to still cut yourself with an electric. I've done it once or twice in as many years. I'm not even sure if it's "cutting" so much as tearing the hair out in such a way as to cause bleeding, but it's probably all the same to your pops.

psyck0

I have a braun and I can't get it to give me a good shave. It misses TONS of hairs. I only use it to trim before using a real razor when it gets really long.

Saddler

If he has any little moles or anything like that, they can easily be cut with an electric razor. Beyond that, I occasionally have a few little nicks done with mine. The key to safest use IMO is to use them often, like every day or two, so the hairs don't have much of a chance to grow out. Also, use the kind with the three round shaver heads, not the foil screen.

And do change the blades. Change them every 3-4 months preferably, especially for a painless and efficient shave. If you don't change them, the quality of your shave will reduce so gradually that you won't even notice a difference, but then new blades will seem amazing.