Panasonic think you should grab the man in your life a Panasonic ES-LT6N 3 blade wet/dry electric shaver this Christmas, and in an effort to convince me, and by extension you, they whizzed one over at incredibly short notice by courier on Thursday. I plugged it in to charge, rushed off to our Christmas party on Friday even, was a little too delicate on Saturday (can’t think why) but now, on Sunday, me and my whiskers have spent some time with the ES-LT6N.
I have a love hate relationship with shaving. I can’t manage a full beard- it’s a bit patchy and uneven on my cheeks, which isn’t conducive to looking like a hipster- but I really can’t be arsed with the whole thing. Lathering up and wet shaving is far to much aggravation but my delicate and sensitive skin usually gets ripped to shreds by electric shavers.
What normally happens is I let it all grow for 3 or 4 days, and then struggle. My previous shaver, a fixed head Braun, usually struggled with my neck, where the hairs all grow in different directions but are all flush to my neck. Apparently I’m not alone in this because the Panasonic realises that the line from the throat to under the jaw is the most difficult place to shave. If the head loses close contact with the skin, whiskers are left uncut, but applying pressure can aggravate your skin. The multi-flex 3D head avoids excessive pressure on the skin and always stays in close vertical contact with the skin for a smooth shave.
The LT6N also cleverly detects beard density and adjusts the intensity of the shaving to match.
Of course specs are all very well on paper but it’s how the fancy technology and stuff translates in to practical use that are important. For me the Panasonic did two important things very well. Firstly it didn’t irritate my skin, especially on my neck. Secondly it picked up an awful lot of my neck hairs. I don’t think I’ve ever managed to shave a weeks worth of neck growth without using a pop up trimmer and it was no different with the Panny, there were a few stragglers in the hollow of my jaw that stubbornly refused to yield. The trimmer itself is a bit narrower than the one on my preceding shaver. On the one hand this gives a bit more precision but if you’re attacking a fortnight’s worth of growth like I intend to after Christmas, it might be a bit more of a faff than a shaver with a slightly larger trimmer. Having said that it does do the job nicely and straightened up my sidies well.
It has a built in power gauge, which is also useful as I have literally managed in the past to shave half my face before the battery has given out. Shameful I know but at any moment, I might need to use one of about 7 different chargers so the chances of me remembering to keep my shaver topped up are pretty remote.
The RRP of the Panasonic ES-LT6N 3 blade wet/dry electric shaver is £229 but you can get your hands on one for under £150 if you shop around at the moment. Wet shaving definitely gives the closest shave but in terms of hassle versus closeness trade offs, this does a very good job. I’ve used electric shavers ranging from £10 travel razors to well over £100 for one of those sci fi like Philishaves or a high end Braun. This shaves as well if not better, whilst being a lot more pleasant on my skin.