Philips Cordless Electric Shaver S3122/55, 5D Pivot & Flex Heads, 27 Comfort Cut Blades, Fast Charge, Up to 55 Min of Shaving

Positives: Using an electric shaver for the 1st time. Shaver is good, with excellent battery life and quicker charging. Blades give a clean shave, and the battery last at least a week on daily use. Clean shave every time. I may need to change the head every 2 years.
Downside: Trimmer attached at the side is terrible. The shave quality is closer to the razor type but not the same. You must carry a charger everywhere you travel, which may prove bulky. The battery is non-replaceable. Shaving direction needs to be circular, but observed skin rashes at times due to nicks. Applying after shaving is advisable.

The price may appear higher but may get economical if you shave daily. Overall a good buy and a quality product from Phillips.

Good product, gives a good close shave in wet shaving, dry shaving creates irritation, battery life is good could have been better though.

The product is smart and easy to use. But after one month it looses the quality of shave. The price deserves at least a years good shave.

This is a review cum shaving tips for all users who want to switch to / start using electric shavers.

First if all – this shaver series 3000 from Philips – good for regular as well quick shave during travel. Does a reasonable job but in comparison to more expensive to very expensive) shavers, shave quality not that smooth, you can feel small hairs stubs here and there but still performs better than multi blade soap & water razors. Having said that there is a difference in visual smoothness and hand feel. This one delivers look that is flawless unless you tend to use magnifying glass. Decent Battery charge life and convenience to retain charge for longer period when not in regular use is a boon. Long term reliability as of many Philips products should not be a problem. Cleaning is easy, in case you have good water pressure or can device a jet from tap, it is pleasure. My simple and effective setup picture is given

I have been using electric shavers since 26 years and found the rotary blade (Norelco / Philips and many others) superior to the foil and traversing blade type (Braun / Beurer etc.), have used many models of both types from price range of INR 22k to less than 3k. Never thought to switch back to safety razors. All these had service life in excess of five years and one old faithful is still alive after 23 years (having survived battery, head change and many modifications but same motor, used occasionally now). The reason of writing lengthy part below is that I have seen many complaints of skin irritation or unsatisfactory shaves in reviews and as an experienced user want to share some tips to get good smooth shave and pleasure of it without irritated skin from electric shavers.

Mostly irritation occurs due to skin getting into slots and cut. This is completely avoidable. You don’t need to press shaver head hard and thus forcing soft skin into hair cutting slots, pressure causes hairs to go flat with skin, escape the shaver cutting slot and instead skin gets irritated. Shaver works much better with very light touch (but not away), you may feel that it is not doing anything but a hand feel after each pass will immediately confirm actual results and for the first time users its wow.
Second reason is the friction of head on skin especially against hair growth direction. To effectively resolve it, I use small amount of moisturizer mixed with after shave on face beforehand and the shaving becomes a gliding experience. Moreover the hairs collected in shaver chamber tend to stick together, prevent spreading in all places inside of shaver, so it remains cleaner, at the same time it is easier to clean with tap water allowing longer intervals between cleaning.
As far the shaving movement on skin is concerned, short circular and moderate speed motion produces less skin irritation rather than straight and fast moves. Don’t go against hair growth direction until you are experienced and comfortable, rather use cross direction circular movements. It takes some time to get used to it. However once having acquired knack of it, the against growth direction motion will produce really smooth closest shave that too without any skin issues. I am doing it regularly.
Now, the practical difference in safety (including multi blade) and electric shavers – straight blades cut the hair at an angle they are working on skin and resultant cut cross-section is ellipse, not circle. Since this cut surface is usually shiny, face appear whiter due to more reflected light. Rotary blade of electric shavers cut at right angle, circular cross section often recedes into skin and reflects less light. Having said that, the convenience of no messy business of soap and water or foam, its convenience weighs heavily in favor of electric. Almost all design permit shaving of hairs from ears also safely which would be risky with safety razor is an added clear advantage.
I have given three shavers pics – from left, newly purchased series 3000, middle – the expensive close shave work horse with more concentric slots that save time as they cut more every pass, of course additional unutilized bells and whistles of series 9000, I wish Philips could give the same functionality with less price and without unnecessary hype of front runner. And at last – old faithful 2000 something series, works well still, although one head set and the NiCd battery has been replaced with Li-ion along with suitable charging and motor compatibility circuit giving 3 weeks regular use on single charge. I still use it occasionally as it is my favorite old timer.
Second picture is my simple arrangement with reducing plastic pipes to produce a cleaning jet that works very well for cleaning the shaver parts.
Happy shaving !