So I have a long and war torn history with shaving. I’m sure any person with sensitive skin has a similar story of ingrown hairs, pain, redness, irritation, etc.
When it comes to electric shavers, I’ve tried everything under the sun, from expensive models in the upper 100s to dozens of medium priced models from every brand.
Some shavers would irritate my skin to no end, and others would do a decent job, but deep down I knew that wasn’t enough.
I kept searching for that unicorn electric shaver that would give me a decently close shave without slicing up my sensitive face.
After doing my daily rounds of reading internet forums geared towards the latest in grooming gear, I saw one user commenting on the success he was having with the Philips Oneblade, he also mentioned he had sensitive skin and this was the perfect shaver for him.
Hmm. This intrigued me quite a bit, and I’m a pretty impulsive person so I ordered a Philips Oneblade to do my own review of it.
It was pretty reasonably priced, so I wasn’t too worried.
Philips OneBlade Review
$: View Price of Philips OneBlade
So the OneBlade is a pretty interesting concept, it’s almost like a hybrid between a traditional wet-shaving razor and an electric shaver.
At first I thought this was a bit gimmicky, because you do have to change the head of the OneBlade after using it for a long time, much like changing razor blades, but I was withholding judgement until I saw how it performed.
So the Philips OneBlade can be used both as a full face shaver or a beard trimmer, which is pretty handy.
It comes with 3 different stubble combs so you can get the perfect length even beard that you’re looking for.
So, we’ve got all that out of the way, let’s talk about the actual performance of the OneBlade.
I have a problem area around my Adams apple, it’s by far the hardest area for me to shave. It’s super sensitive, prone to ingrown hairs, and get’s irritated like nothing else.
I’ve tried using 5 blade razors, safety razors, electric shavers (both foil and rotatory) with no success – that area of my neck is still a huge struggle.
It becomes such a pain to shave that sometimes I avoid it altogether, this doesn’t pan out too well because the hairs get too long and lay flat, making it even harder to shave next time (especially with an electric shaver).
Really, my whole neck area is super sensitive and usually it goes like this:
- Shave the neck with a safety or 5 blade razor, get a clean shave but deal with irritation and ingrown hairs
- Shave with an electric shaver, less irritation, but it never seems to pick up all the hairs on my neck, even after a hundred passes giving a really weird look
Well, the Philips OneBlade easily shaved my neck like I was using a mach 5 razor, and it didn’t irritate the hell out of my skin either.
I was kind of flabbergasted. Had I finally found the shaver for me? A guy with super sensitive skin?
Maybe…let’s keep going.
Another problem area for a lot of men is the mustache area (really the whole goatee area is kind of a pain when you have sensitive skin).
The OneBlade handled it all seamlessly and effortlessly.
I was super impressed with the overall performance I got with this brand new electric razor hybrid thingy mabob.
Trimming
So a big part of the OneBlade is also the trimming aspect. I don’t grow my beard out too long but I wanted to try it out anyway to see how it would perform.
The goatee area of my face tends to grow in thicker, darker and faster than my cheeks, so ideally I’d like to trim that area so my face has an even distribution of facial hair (aka that designer stubble look).
Needless to say the OneBlade handled the ask easily, so when it comes to trimming a good looking stubble, it does a great job.
I do not have a long beard (and don’t plan on growing one) so I cannot say how it would perform in that aspect.
Final Thoughts
The Philips OneBlade is an excellent shaver if you have sensitive skin and are tired of dealing with electric razors that tug and pull on your hairs or regular bladed razors that give you irritation.
The only draw backs I thought was that you’re obviously not going to get a baby smooth shave, which I know is important for some people. (In that case, I recommend traditional wetshaving) and also the fact that you have to replace the head every month or two (if you shave everyday).
But overall for me, the pros definitely outweigh the cons and I really love this razor.
4.5/5
$: View Price of Philips OneBlade