Electric shaver

Electric shavers fall into two main categories: foil or rotary-style. Users tend to prefer one or the other. Many modern shavers are cordless; they are charged up with a plug charger or they are placed within a cleaning and charging unit.

History

The first person to receive a patent for a razor powered by electricity was John Francis O'Rourke, a New York civil engineer, with his US patent 616554 filed in 1898. The first working electric razor was invented in 1915 by German engineer Johann Bruecker. Others followed suit, such as the American Col. Jacob Schick, considered to be the father of the modern electric razor, who patented the first electric razor in 1930. The Remington Rand Corporation developed the electric razor further, first producing the electric razor in 1937. Another important inventor was Prof. Alexandre Horowitz, from Philips Laboratories in the Netherlands, who designed one of the first rotary razors. It has a shaving head consisting of cutters that cut off the hair entering the head of the razor at skin level. Roland Ullmann from Braun in Germany was another inventor who was decisive for development of the modern electric razor. He was the first to fuse rubber and metal elements on shavers and developed more than 100 electrical razors for Braun. In the course of his career Ullmann filed well over 100 patents for innovations in the context of dry shavers. The major manufacturers introduce new improvements to the hair-cutting mechanism of their products every few years. Each manufacturer sells several different generations of cutting mechanism at the same time, and for each generation, several models with different features and accessories to reach various price points. The improvements to the cutting mechanisms tend to 'trickle-down' to lower-priced models over time.

Early versions of electric razors were meant to be used on dry skin only. Many recent electric razors have been designed to allow for wet/dry use, which also allows them to be cleaned using running water or an included cleaning machine, reducing cleaning effort. Some patience is necessary when starting to use a razor of this type, as the skin usually takes some time to adjust to the way that the electric razor lifts and cuts the hairs. Moisturizers designed specifically for electric shaving are available.

Battery-powered electric razors

In the late 1940s, the first electric razors that were battery-powered entered the market. In 1960, Remington introduced the first rechargeable battery-powered electric razor. Battery-operated electric razors have been available using rechargeable batteries sealed inside the razor's case, previously nickel cadmium or, more recently, nickel metal hydride. Some modern shavers use Lithium-ion batteries (which do not suffer from memory effect). Sealed battery shavers either have built-in or external charging devices. Some shavers may be designed to plug directly into a wall outlet with a swing-out or pop-up plug, or have a detachable AC cord. Other shavers have recharging base units that plug into an AC outlet and provide DC power at the base contacts (eliminating the need for the AC-to-DC converter to be inside the razor, reducing the risk of electric shock). In order to prevent any risk of electric shock, shavers designed for wet use usually do not allow corded use and will not turn on until the charging adapter cord is disconnected or the shaver is removed from the charging base.

Razor vs. trimmer

An electric razor and an electric trimmer are essentially the same devices by build, the major difference coming in terms of their usage and the blades that they come with.

Electric razors are made specifically for providing a clean shave. It has lesser battery power but more aggression towards clipping hair. Electric Trimmers, on the other hand, are not meant for clean shaves. They come with special combs fixed onto them that aid in proper grooming and trimming of the beard stubs to desired shapes and sizes.