I hated shaving growing up. I always grow so much more facial hair than my friends, and no- that’s not a good thing.
It was so annoying having to put on that shaving cream and constantly buy those razors. It took forever, I’d accidentally knick myself all the time, and it was just a constant hassle.
I figured there had to be a better way to do this. So, one of my friends actually showed me his Phillips Norelco, and I fell in love with it. It changed my life.
The Phillips Norelco 3500 is my new daily razor. No shaving cream, no knicking myself anymore, no mess, it takes a few minutes and does a great job at shaving my face. I am in love with it and highly recommend you pick one up.
The 3500 is much better than the other versions because at a fair price point, it is waterproof, charges much faster, and holds around 1 hour of charge (great for travel!).
If you’re on the fence about buying one, I highly recommend you make the purchase. I wasn’t sure about it either, since I had been traditionally shaving my whole life, but this thing is AWESOME.
I love just using my Norelco at my computer- shaving while I read e-mails. There’s no mess and it takes a fraction of the time shaving used to.
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Pros:
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No need for shaving cream
- Although, some have said that using shaving cream gets you a cleaner shave
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Waterproof
- You can use it in the shower, etcetera.
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Holds 1 hour of charge
- I travel a lot, so not having to bring another cable to charge it is nice!
- Quiet
- Gets a fairly good shave, while it isn’t a precision shave you can’t really tell a difference unless you’re looking.
- Charges fast
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You can’t really knick yourself with this one.
- I hated accidentally cutting myself before going to an interview or school! Now I don’t have to worry about it.
- Comfortable
- No mess, it stores the hair inside for you to empty into the trash later.
- Pop-Up Straight Razor to make clean lines in your hair or to shave hard-to-reach places.
- Easy to wash and clean (just rinse it with water)
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No need for shaving cream
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Cons:
- Somewhat pricy. Mid $40-50s range, but it’s cheaper than constantly buying razors and shaving cream.
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Doesn’t give as clean of a shave as a razor and cream, but it is not that noticeable. Most people will see that you’re shaved.
- Some people have said using shaving cream with this Phillips Norelco will cause the shave to be basically as clean as using a normal razor.
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There are better options for sensitive skin.
- I personally have sensitive skin and eczema (diagnosed) and I don’t have much problems with this razor. I do feel a little bit of ‘afterburn’, but putting on my Vanicream Lotion usually helps mitigate any pain. I don’t get any rashes or anything though- but there are specific sensitive skin electric razors that would probably be better if your sensitive skin is really bad. (Although, mine is really bad and I don’t see much problems)
I highly recommend you buy this now!
It’s awesome, but let me cover it a bit more in-depth!
How Does It Shave?
The power of the Philips Norelco 3500 shaving has been well- controversial to say the least.
Here’s what I’ll say: it works, and it passes. It isn’t the cleanest shave in the world, you won’t have that ‘baby face’- but you will still look like you shaved. (Which is important, right?)
There won’t be any long hairs, scruffiness, or unprofessionalism when you use this to shave. It does create a somewhat clean shave overall, but compared to a standard razor and shaving cream, it is less powerful.
However, many people have said that if you use shaving cream WITH the Phillips Norelco, THEN you get that clean ‘baby face’ shave. And since this one is waterproof, all you have to do is just rinse the shaver with water after- no disassembly required.
So, if you’re super concerned about having that baby face shave everytime, you might want to get a much more high powered electric razor, or buy some shaving cream with this.
But really, it’s not that noticeable. Nobody (hopefully) is coming up to you and examining your face with a microscope to see if you have a ‘truly clean’ shave. It works, it looks good, it passes.
What Shaving Heads Does It Use?
So, the Phillips Norelco 3500 uses 5D Pivot and Flex heads. It’s basically a triangle with 3 spinning flat razors that adjust as you move the shaver across your face.
While that sounds scary at first, it isn’t.
These blades will basically never cut you!
One of my first concerns with this was- what happens if I cut myself?
Thankfully, these blades will basically never cut you. I have no idea how they do it, but they are incredibly safe, no matter how aggressively you use it.
I was trying VERY HARD to get this thing to cut me because I was convinced it could happen, and after aggressively slamming it across my face, I got a very tiny tiny cut that didn’t even bleed.
While they aren’t going to make you immune to it, as long as you are shaving normally- you basically never have to worry about knicking yourself again.
If you’re someone that always ends up cutting themselves shaving or are scared of getting cut- you should definitely pick one of these up.
Cleaning?
This thing is SUPER easy to clean. Since it is waterproof, all you have to do is just rinse it out with water. You don’t even need to disassemble it!
Does It Make a Mess?
Nope! All the hair that is shaven gets sucked inside of the Phillips Norelco 3500. Then, when you’re ready to empty it, you press a button that opens up the container of hair and you dump it all out.
This means that you can bring it anywhere and hair won’t go everywhere. I personally will use it in the morning when I am reading e-mails or eating breakfast if I am in a rush.
It saves a TON of time, especially since you don’t need shaving cream or water for this to work. You can just use it while doing other tasks, and hair won’t be going everywhere- just inside the razor.
Battery Life and Charging
So, apparently the battery life is the main difference in most of these electric razors.
In fact, that’s why I went with the 3500. It was a reasonable price point from the lowest priced Norelco ($30) to a mid-range $50 or so.
But, the lowest priced Norelco took 8 hours to charge, for 5 minutes of battery life. (I have no idea what’s going on with that? World’s smallest battery?)
But, the alternative for $20 was 1 hour of battery life, after 60 minutes of charging. Which was, 100x better. Plus, it says like 3 minutes of charging is like a 5-minute shave or something I’m not really sure.
Regardless, I didn’t want to get stuck with my electric razor dying before an interview and having to wait 45 business days to charge it up.
So, I picked up the Norelco 3500 which advertised an hour long battery life with quick charging that would take around an hour a month.
But, in my experience, the battery on this one is very good. It does last around 50 minutes total, I usually only have to charge it once a month, which only takes 45 or so minutes.
Plus, it has a LED-Screen Battery Level Indicator
Right above the power button, there is a LED screen battery level indicator. It honestly looks pretty nice and keeps you updated when you need to charge the thing.
The thing will tell you the battery percentage by showing you three bars, the more the merrier.
Comes with a Pop Out Straight Line Razor
You can’t always get every hair with the spinning blade set up. So, the Norelco has a pop-out straight-line razor. This is perfect for cleaning up the edges of your hair, and for getting things like neck hairs out of the way.
I use this all the time to make my sideburns look clean and even on both sides.
Is the Philips Norelco shaver 3500 waterproof?
Yep! It is 100% waterproof. When you want to clean it or rinse any shaving cream out, just pop open the top and rinse some water through- no disassembly required!
The Bottom Line? Buy it!
Here’s the thing, I was someone who was super on the fence about trying this out, but I made the switch and NEVER looked back.
It is awesome, high quality, shaves well, makes no mess, holds a good charge, doesn’t knick me, and takes much less time than traditional shaving. I love it and use it everyday!
