Braun Series 7- 790cc Pulsonic Shaver Review.
"probably the best foil shaver yet" 2007-07-20
By Thomas Pullen (USA)
so i bought one of these from amazon, very early adopter.
it is very similar in general to earlier clean and charge foil shavers from braun,
of which my last one was unceramoniously dumped in the garbage after a year for a rotary
from phillips, which was used for about another year and then dumped for the 4-blade gillette razor.
but now i'm back to trying electric for no particular reason other than it is tiresome buying
razor blade that have been specially engineered to need replacing after a week of use.
plus, while no matter what the manufacturers will tell you, there is no electric razor that
shaves as close as a blade, though sometimes the blade shaves a little too close...causing cuts, razor burn,
ingrown hairs, etc. it's enough to make a guy want to grow a beard.
enter the braun pulsonic. this is basically a very well-made, high end "activator" or "complete 360"
with the added feature that it vibrates. i suppose this is the same technology in the gillette "power" series
and other regular razors that use a AAA battery to vibrate as they shave...it does result in a ever-so-slightly
better shave. so this foil, which uses the nice almost-random pattern of differently-sized holes for diffent hairs (which was avail. only in germany for a long time, for some reason, then appeared in the u.s. with the braun 360) has a nice pivoting head, standard little pop-out trimmer, and vibrates like a sonicare toothbrush while you shave. the vibration is not really noticable over the regular noise and vibration present in a regular electric razor, but the results seem to speak for themselves. it seems to be a much gentler, more effective electric razor than i have used in a long time. the only thing is, it isn't a blade. after spending several passes with it over my cheek, for example, i can still run my hand against the growth and feel a little stubble there, which is never the case with the razor blade. on the other hand, i expect that over time there will be less shaving irritation, so it's not a bad trade off. the thing to note is that it's really made to be used with the little "charge and clean" cartridges, which according to braun last for 30 shaves, so each one lasts a month.
at $4 per cartridge, it's not too great an expense. word of warning though: if you take the razor out of the charger before it's finished the cleaning cycle (easy to do since much of it is silent, if you don't wait for the 'clean' light to come on) and sometimes even if you wait for it to be clean, and just start shaving, you may experience the unique and painful feeling of shaving with a small amount of rubbing alcohol on the razor foil.
i recommend making sure it's quite dry before use, shake it a little or blow on th foil or something.
the clean and charge flud is a lemon-scented alcohol and lubricant solution that you don't want touching newly-shaven skin.
overall, it seems to be a good investment. the razor is well-made for sure, very solid, with a rubber grip handle on the back that is pretty comfortable to hold. it moves very easily over the face, even with 3-day stubble, and is noticably more comfortable than other electrics i've used. i think it will take about 2 weeks for the skin/hair to get used to it again, but...good-bye razor blades! hello pulsonic!
"Just Incredible!!! A Must Buy!" 2007-10-22
By Randy Dorfman (Miami, Fl)
Ok here we go for my first and probably only review on Amazon. I am 50 years old and have tried pretty much every electric shaver known to mankind. Each time giving up due to the pinching,non close shave and pain in the butt cleaning. In the end, I was going back to razor blades and the frequent cuts. I went to Braun's website and read about this shaver and came to Amazon to see the reviews here. I decided after reading the reviews to splurge on another electric shaver.
What a find! This in my humble opinion is the greatest invention EVER! It's the first electric razor I've used which doesn't get hot after a couple minutes of use.Hot razor means sweaty face which trips up razor and adds to pinching. Braun recommends you shave before you shower or wash your face, while you still have a little protective barrier of oil on your skin. A big no-no with regular shaving, this worked well with the Pulsonic. They also recommend you shave against the grain. Again, not recommended for regular shaving. For electric shaving, works great.
I must say I Absolutely LOVE shaving now.(I would let my beard grow for days because I HATED shaving with razors and cutting myself). The Pulsonic is the closest shave ever by an electric razor(IMHO shaves as close as a razor once you master it) and more importantly it does not pinch or burn at all. Even better is the self cleaning which make life easier.
My wife laughs every morning as she now sees me shaving daily with this god send! if you are reading bad reviews on this product it must be I just don't get it.
Bottom line: BUY THIS NOW! I just ordered another one for my son!
I am telling all who read this if you hate shaving GET THIS PRODUCT you will love it.
"Took a Chance and Won" 2007-08-17
By Gene A. Garrison (Thibodaux, LA United States)
I was skeptical reading all the promotional material for this new shaver. I'm 54 years old and have been using a razor all my life. About a year ago, the razor started irritating my skin so I was forced to begin using a Norelco rotary electric shaver that I kept under the counter. The results were far from satisfactory but at least it didn't cause a rash on my face. I figured that was just the nature of electric shavers and was convinced that I would be living with a scratchy, stubbly beard the rest of my life. Then I read a review on this new Pulsonic shaver in the August 2007 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine. It sparked my interest so I researched it more on the internet. I finally decided to take a chance and purchase the highly acclaimed but expensive shaver.
I've been using it now for one month and am convinced that it is not possible for an electric shaver to work better than this one. I't leaves the Norelco rotary in the dust. I would say it shaves about 97% as close as a regular lather & razor shave. It does not leave stubbles and it isn't necessary to shave more than once a day. Yes, it takes a small investment to purchase this shaver but it is a quality item that you can live with for life.
The self-cleaning charger/holder requires replacement cleaning fluid cartriges periodically. The information I read says that a cartrige is good for about a month. However, the razor head can also be cleaned by rinsing it under hot water...which is what I do for two days and then run it through the complete cleaning cycle every third day. After a month doing this the original cartrige still says "FULL". I have purchased three more cartriges for $16. I think those will last me for a very long time.
I have nothing bad to say about this shaver after having recovered from the shock of the initial purchase price. You get what you pay for and you will certainly pay for this one. I don't regret spending the money for this shaver at all.
"Performs as Advertised" 2007-10-22
By M. A. Barker (WA, USA)
Although a bit steep in price, it performs as advertised. I have owned a 7000 series Braun and was getting fed up with the amount of times it took going over my chin, neck and area below the ear on the jawbone. This razor did an excellent job in a minimal amount of time with a close shave I haven't experienced in years. I highly recommend this shaver if you can handle the price.
"Does an excellent job" 2007-10-12
By Alan Wolff (Santa Fe, NM United States)
In the case of this shaver, the hype really does match reality. The shaver is by far the best electric I've ever used, and it's very nicely engineered--from the ergonomics of the shaving unit to the self-cleaning/lubricating mechanism that comes with the shaver. It's a bit pricey, but you get your money's worth out of this one.
----------------------
After nearly two years of using this shaver I can update my original review (above) as follow:
(1) Have replaced the head once, which is right on schedule
(2) I stil love the shaves I get from this shaver.
(3) The trimmer works, but will no longer stay closed (cheap mechanism here).
(4) I'm surprised by the number of people who try to save cleaning fluid by only cleaning the head once in a while. The fact is that you can get as many cleanings as you want until evaporation requires a new cartridge. By not cleaning, you're not saving anything.
Still give it 5-stars.
By Thomas Pullen (USA)
so i bought one of these from amazon, very early adopter.
it is very similar in general to earlier clean and charge foil shavers from braun,
of which my last one was unceramoniously dumped in the garbage after a year for a rotary
from phillips, which was used for about another year and then dumped for the 4-blade gillette razor.
but now i'm back to trying electric for no particular reason other than it is tiresome buying
razor blade that have been specially engineered to need replacing after a week of use.
plus, while no matter what the manufacturers will tell you, there is no electric razor that
shaves as close as a blade, though sometimes the blade shaves a little too close...causing cuts, razor burn,
ingrown hairs, etc. it's enough to make a guy want to grow a beard.
enter the braun pulsonic. this is basically a very well-made, high end "activator" or "complete 360"
with the added feature that it vibrates. i suppose this is the same technology in the gillette "power" series
and other regular razors that use a AAA battery to vibrate as they shave...it does result in a ever-so-slightly
better shave. so this foil, which uses the nice almost-random pattern of differently-sized holes for diffent hairs (which was avail. only in germany for a long time, for some reason, then appeared in the u.s. with the braun 360) has a nice pivoting head, standard little pop-out trimmer, and vibrates like a sonicare toothbrush while you shave. the vibration is not really noticable over the regular noise and vibration present in a regular electric razor, but the results seem to speak for themselves. it seems to be a much gentler, more effective electric razor than i have used in a long time. the only thing is, it isn't a blade. after spending several passes with it over my cheek, for example, i can still run my hand against the growth and feel a little stubble there, which is never the case with the razor blade. on the other hand, i expect that over time there will be less shaving irritation, so it's not a bad trade off. the thing to note is that it's really made to be used with the little "charge and clean" cartridges, which according to braun last for 30 shaves, so each one lasts a month.
at $4 per cartridge, it's not too great an expense. word of warning though: if you take the razor out of the charger before it's finished the cleaning cycle (easy to do since much of it is silent, if you don't wait for the 'clean' light to come on) and sometimes even if you wait for it to be clean, and just start shaving, you may experience the unique and painful feeling of shaving with a small amount of rubbing alcohol on the razor foil.
i recommend making sure it's quite dry before use, shake it a little or blow on th foil or something.
the clean and charge flud is a lemon-scented alcohol and lubricant solution that you don't want touching newly-shaven skin.
overall, it seems to be a good investment. the razor is well-made for sure, very solid, with a rubber grip handle on the back that is pretty comfortable to hold. it moves very easily over the face, even with 3-day stubble, and is noticably more comfortable than other electrics i've used. i think it will take about 2 weeks for the skin/hair to get used to it again, but...good-bye razor blades! hello pulsonic!
By Randy Dorfman (Miami, Fl)
Ok here we go for my first and probably only review on Amazon. I am 50 years old and have tried pretty much every electric shaver known to mankind. Each time giving up due to the pinching,non close shave and pain in the butt cleaning. In the end, I was going back to razor blades and the frequent cuts. I went to Braun's website and read about this shaver and came to Amazon to see the reviews here. I decided after reading the reviews to splurge on another electric shaver.
What a find! This in my humble opinion is the greatest invention EVER! It's the first electric razor I've used which doesn't get hot after a couple minutes of use.Hot razor means sweaty face which trips up razor and adds to pinching. Braun recommends you shave before you shower or wash your face, while you still have a little protective barrier of oil on your skin. A big no-no with regular shaving, this worked well with the Pulsonic. They also recommend you shave against the grain. Again, not recommended for regular shaving. For electric shaving, works great.
I must say I Absolutely LOVE shaving now.(I would let my beard grow for days because I HATED shaving with razors and cutting myself). The Pulsonic is the closest shave ever by an electric razor(IMHO shaves as close as a razor once you master it) and more importantly it does not pinch or burn at all. Even better is the self cleaning which make life easier.
My wife laughs every morning as she now sees me shaving daily with this god send! if you are reading bad reviews on this product it must be I just don't get it.
Bottom line: BUY THIS NOW! I just ordered another one for my son!
I am telling all who read this if you hate shaving GET THIS PRODUCT you will love it.
By Gene A. Garrison (Thibodaux, LA United States)
I was skeptical reading all the promotional material for this new shaver. I'm 54 years old and have been using a razor all my life. About a year ago, the razor started irritating my skin so I was forced to begin using a Norelco rotary electric shaver that I kept under the counter. The results were far from satisfactory but at least it didn't cause a rash on my face. I figured that was just the nature of electric shavers and was convinced that I would be living with a scratchy, stubbly beard the rest of my life. Then I read a review on this new Pulsonic shaver in the August 2007 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine. It sparked my interest so I researched it more on the internet. I finally decided to take a chance and purchase the highly acclaimed but expensive shaver.
I've been using it now for one month and am convinced that it is not possible for an electric shaver to work better than this one. I't leaves the Norelco rotary in the dust. I would say it shaves about 97% as close as a regular lather & razor shave. It does not leave stubbles and it isn't necessary to shave more than once a day. Yes, it takes a small investment to purchase this shaver but it is a quality item that you can live with for life.
The self-cleaning charger/holder requires replacement cleaning fluid cartriges periodically. The information I read says that a cartrige is good for about a month. However, the razor head can also be cleaned by rinsing it under hot water...which is what I do for two days and then run it through the complete cleaning cycle every third day. After a month doing this the original cartrige still says "FULL". I have purchased three more cartriges for $16. I think those will last me for a very long time.
I have nothing bad to say about this shaver after having recovered from the shock of the initial purchase price. You get what you pay for and you will certainly pay for this one. I don't regret spending the money for this shaver at all.
By M. A. Barker (WA, USA)
Although a bit steep in price, it performs as advertised. I have owned a 7000 series Braun and was getting fed up with the amount of times it took going over my chin, neck and area below the ear on the jawbone. This razor did an excellent job in a minimal amount of time with a close shave I haven't experienced in years. I highly recommend this shaver if you can handle the price.
By Alan Wolff (Santa Fe, NM United States)
In the case of this shaver, the hype really does match reality. The shaver is by far the best electric I've ever used, and it's very nicely engineered--from the ergonomics of the shaving unit to the self-cleaning/lubricating mechanism that comes with the shaver. It's a bit pricey, but you get your money's worth out of this one.
----------------------
After nearly two years of using this shaver I can update my original review (above) as follow:
(1) Have replaced the head once, which is right on schedule
(2) I stil love the shaves I get from this shaver.
(3) The trimmer works, but will no longer stay closed (cheap mechanism here).
(4) I'm surprised by the number of people who try to save cleaning fluid by only cleaning the head once in a while. The fact is that you can get as many cleanings as you want until evaporation requires a new cartridge. By not cleaning, you're not saving anything.
Still give it 5-stars.
