Philips Nivea For Men Shaver HS8420 With Battery Indicator

I have quite tough facial hair and fairly sensitive skin so I've always struggled with shavers and razors alike, dry shavers tend to pull the hairs and chafe the skin, or in the case of foil shavers just plain break on the tough hair and I found razors got blunt within half a shave. The coolskin HS8420 however has provided a functional solution, giving a close shave without chafing the skin, the best of both worlds: wet shaving with a shaver! The Nivea lotion works well enough but it seems to me to be a bit of a gimmick, there is no need to dispense lotion from the shave heads, I actually use King of shaves gel which I apply directly to my face before shaving. THe shaver itself is also very easy to clean unlike older models as the shave heads have open backs so water can flow right through the heads either from the tap or by submersion in the sink. I also use braun shaver cleaner spray between shaves, which sterilises and lubricates the heads. However if you have normal facial hair as opposed to tough hair like me, you might be better off with a simple dry shaver, as if that's effective for you, it would be quicker and less messy.

My previous Braun razor finally packed up & I wanted to see if a rotary model would be better than the linear cutter of the Braun. This was one of the cheapest rechargeable models which was well reviewed so I thought, at its price, I'd risk it. Positive points - it did an OK job, but seemed to take a long time (i.e. more passes than I was used to) to get a smooth shave - the rotating heads are very flexible & follow the contour of the face v well - v easy to clean (just rinse under a running tap!) - can be used in a shower (although you can't see what you're doing, so is this such a great advantage?) - charge lasted me at least a week - moisturiser applicator worked OK & moisturiser texture was quite soothing Reservations - can't trim a straight line round my moustache or sideburns (no trimmer) - seems to take me longer than the Braun to do the job - on/off switch easily accidentally activated, eg pressing against other objects in sponge bag, so pack carefully and/or take the charger with you! - indication of how much charge left not very helpful (effectively only a warning when close to empty) - I don't really like the smell of the Nivea moisturiser Maybe it's because I'm over 50 and my facial skin is much laxer than it was, but I find a linear (eg Braun) type razor much more efficient for me than this rotary one - either way I've washed first so the skin is not so dry, and am holding the skin away from the direction of shave, which itself is towards the growing direction of the stubble. The fact that the Braun PocketGo M90 it is about 1/5 of the price of the Philips HS8420, and runs on 2 AA batteries (which are universally obtainable, even if your rechargeables run out on you!) means that the decision is a no-brainer for me. Four months on, the Philips is in a cupboard under the sink and I use the Braun regularly (and am seriously planning getting a second one to keep in the car for emergencies!).

As a shaver of both wet & dry types I needed a replacement razor for an old Philips Cool Skin razor - this one seemed to fit the bill the best as it offered the user the option of applying gel whilst shaving (same as the Cool Skin razor). I had read some of the other ratings and decided to give it a try. I can agree with some of the ratings as anyone who hasn't used an electric razor before will notice a difference and it will take time for your face to adjust to using an electric razor but for any out there who already use an electric razor this is a very good model for the price. The razor is extremely quiet and very ergonomic in shape - the blades produced a very acceptable shave and the use of the gel kept my face hydrated and free from irritation. The one bad point is that the razor does use quite a lot of gel - I've been using the razor for a few weeks now and I'm on my third bottle of lotion (although the one supplied with the razor was only 25 ml).

I think the unit is a nice design but it strikes me as not particularly durable. The fine razor heads could break if this was dropped on a tiled floor. The shaver is fine but I found it virtually impossible to get a close shave and had to just forget it. Maybe it's just me and my face and the unique way my hair grows, but I found the same problem with a Gillette Fusion manual. To get a close shave with that I had to hack my face up. With this, I can't really do as good a job, though there is far less blood. Maybe I should forget about close shaves and be happy with this. That is what I intend to do. The nivea solution stung my face first time I used it but I seem to have adapted to it now. I quickly learned that you need to press the nivea button when the shaver is NOT in contact with your face. The solution is not too expensive, but when you see product pics and videos of a guy using it in the shower, you realise that the packs of nivea goo are not essential, cos in the shower the stuff would be washed away before it gets any chance to work... I don't really know what to think or say about this. Yes it is a good unit, but I don't think it's the last word by any means. My face is a funny shape and my skin is very sensitive, so I'm probably quite hard to please. Update: After using this product for several weeks, I can confirm that I am quite pleased with it. I find that with practice and technique, it is quite possible to obtain quite a close shave, although you do need to go over and over and over areas in order to achieve this... You need to use much less of the Nivea goo than you would think. It is also the case that you are supposed to leave the Nivea goo on your face once you've finished, as it serves as a moisturiser. You wouldn't know that from the manual that came with it - I learned it from the Nivea Philips support website. The unit doesn't stay charged for very long, less than a week I'd guess, and the charge takes an inordinate amount of time, perhaps 7-8 hours. Bit much like. Plus the charger unit is light and cheap - it would readily fall off a table with or without the unit inserted in the charger. I also do wonder about this, in the product blurb: ''You can shave in and out of the shower with Philips HS8420; hot water opens your pores resulting in a close shave'' Ok. So if you use it in the shower, you can't use the Nivea feature. Well, you could, but that is going to be one very expensive shave, with your Nivea solution washed down the drain. If you do use it in the shower, then you are going to have to moisturise when you get out, assuming you do want to moisturise. Oh, and one other thing: the battery warning indicator comes on when there is just not enough power left to complete your shave. Potentially. I can imagine a mini-crisis: you are getting ready for work. You've half your face done and the thing runs out of power. So, keep a manual razor on standby for that scenario. *** Update: After using this product for a number of months, I have decided to go back to wet shaving. The trouble with this product for me is the fact that my skin is even more troubled than before. There are lots of blocked pores and it does not really give a satisfactory shave in my opinion. It's back to Mach 3 for me.

Dear Sir/ma'am I bought Philips Nivea Shaver from amazon sometime ago. I am not happy with the product. It leaves the skin bruised after using. On the packet of the product it was mentioned that the consumer may need some time to get used to the shaver. But even after using it for a while I am not happy with the product performance. I am really disappointed with this shaver. It leaves the skin with horrible rashes and bruises. Kindly let me know whether i can get a refund in this case. Regards Richie

I have wet shaved for over 20 years, and this is my first electric razor. I don't shave every day, sometimes going for a week between shaves. After a week the hairs are long enough to completely block up my Gillet-Sword 20 blade razor. You know, the ones with multi blades that cut closer, but get totally gummed up with hairs......time to dig out the bic! The Philips was put in at the deep end and attacked a weeks growth with no gumming up issues. 1 - 0 Philips. it was also quicker than a wet shave 2 - 0 no cuts requiring a bit of loo roll! of course this only really happens on days you have to wear a white shirt, but it's nice not to end up bleeding everywhere. 3 - 0 Battery life is good, having shaved 4 times over 2 weeks on one charge. Of course it's not as good as a batteryless wet shave...... so if you are going up the Amazon and want to look good, take a bic. 3 - 1 it does not cut as close as a razor. i would guess it feels about the same as a wet shave after 6 hours (for my slow growing beard). certainly not baby smooth. visually it is acceptable, but you can definitely feel it. repeatedly shaving same area to get it smooth left a slight redness, despite the nivia 3 - 2 you can shave in the shower. but so can a razor. call that one a draw.. 3.5 - 2.5 the built in Nivia dispenser is a bit gimmicky, after all you can apply your preferred facial products manually, in which case you put it everywhere, the philips just puts it in the place you are working on, so it's hard to get full coverage. however it is a gimmick a wet shave doesn't have. 4.5 - 2.5 over all it's an excellent product. i don't know if it's the best electric razor you can get, as it's the only one I have tried, but I can't imagine they can be much better, even for 3 or 4 times the price of this one. Just keep a razor in the cupboard if you need to be silky smooth. or plan a trip up the Amazon :)

I know how good it works as I have a spare that I have had for 5 years and only just recently bought some new shaving heads for it. This one is identical and works perfectly for me. I get an excellent shave with it although I do not have a heavy blue stubble. I do not use the Nivea with the razor as it is expensive and I do not like the smell of it. I wet shave by dipping the head into a shaving mug of water two or three times to clear out the blades and the shave is good, no burn. One can also put some liquid soap on face if needs be. I do get a nice close shave.

After 18 months use the unit has suddenly stopped working which makes me wish I had bothered to register for the free 2nd year warrantee. I think it may be the rechargeable battery which has never taken enough power for a 1 week holiday away from the charger. The Nivia Shaving conditioner is a very expensive consumable which is no real advantage. I used the shaver in the shower and it worked just as well with shower gell. The great advantage over my previous Philips shavers (and the AquaTouch AT890 I purchased as an emergency replacement) is that it gives a very close shave. The disadvantages are that it is prone to blockages caused by longer than average hairs and VERY difficult to clean. The charger base is not very good being very light and difficult to ensure that the shaver is sitting correctly to charge - there is no excuse for such a simple design error. It is also relatively fragile and would probably break easilly if dropped. I don't think I would buy another one but the shave is so much closer than the Philips AquaTouch AT890 I purchased to replace it I think I will try to get it repaired. If I do get it repaired I would still use it as my first choice (which says a lot) but would never take it on holiday or rely on it as my only shaver.