We chose the Gillette Fusion Proglide razor shaving system as our first five-blade manual shaver. This is a true advance in shaving performance. The five blades along with the flexball technology give this razor a real edge, so to speak, over the competition. It really shaves closely. Yet it does does so with less effort, less skin irritation, and less blade replacement. We like it!
We often hear how five blade razors rank better than those with fewer blades. But we didn’t believe this UNTIL we tried the Proglide. We found that all that good news was true, at least with the Gillette Proglide razor. It shaves more closely than any razor we’ve ever used. This shaving system irritates less, and lasts longer as well. This design works so well in fact, that there are lots of knock off blades and handles. So be careful when buying, to avoid these counterfeits. So many fake it because it’s indeed an awesome shaving system.
The sure-grip razor features genuine chrome-metal parts that give it a substantial feel; neither cheap nor paper thin. It looks classy, with its silver, black, and deep blue colors. With its ribbed gripping surfaces, it does not easily slip from even soapy hands in the shower.
The “FlexBall” technology in the handle features a pivoting hinge. This allows the blade to pivot to many more angles. This way, the blade can better track the “hills and valleys” on the male face. It shaves quite close. You get smoothness even around those “problem” areas beneath the jaw and around the Adam’s apple.
To release the spent cartridge, you press the release button near the top of the razor. This forcibly ejects the cartridge. So aim at the waste can before pressing.
Then, to load a new cartridge, push the razor top tip into the new blade. Then once it latches, pull the new blade out of the package by simply tugging the razor handle. No need to touch the blades prior to loading. Nor need you handle them when throwing away. Big safety gain here.
With our fine beards, these blades last us through fifteen shaves, or approximately one month, before requiring replacement. They’d probably last a week or more longer. But we like to start each new month with a fresh, new cartridge.
The low-resistance coating reduces partial whisker cut-throughs and the resulting blade dulling. Thus, added durability of the cutting edges is typical. So the blades themselves can be honed to thinner, and sharper strips that remain sharp through more shaving sessions.
They space the blade strips closely. Yet they are still far enough apart to allow quick rinsing of even the thickest whiskers.
Very little pulling, tugging, and whisker snagging, even after ten to fifteen shaves with the same blade, enhancing comfort. The five-blade approach seems less likely to cut pimples, moles, and other bumpy protrusions on facial skin. Even sensitive skin rarely turns red or is left “bumpy” after repeated passes. But splashing on the aftershave still burns a lot. *smile*
Five blades, while cutting whiskers more efficiently, nick your skin way less. We rarely if ever draw blood these days while shaving; even near the end of the month when it’s time to replace the current razor cartridge.
Five blades, as compared to two or three, need fewer passes over the skin for the same shaving closeness. You don’t have to press as hard during those “final pass” phases.
Each cartridge has a blue skin lube strip above the blades. With each shave, the blue strip color fades to white. This tells you that you’re almost out. This “lubrastrip,” helps make this razor system safe and effective for even the most delicate skin areas.
On the top back of each cartridge, is a single blade strip. This part of the blade trims sideburns and those pesky crevices under the nose.
Up to now, many of you may feel that you must shave every day to avoid five o’clock shadow. But this Proglide system may change your mind. Yes, it’s true that for a real smooth face we still must shave seven days out of the week. But because this razor shaves much closer per stroke than those with fewer blades. So we often can get away with semi-weekly or bi-daily shaves. Ans shaving less often lengthens cartridge life. Plus it further cuts the irritation many get from shaving too often.
The pivoting cartridge automatically aligns itself at the correct cutting angle when you press it against your face. Thus you needn’t fuss so much with holding it the right way.
The five-blade approach is about as safe as an electric razor. So beginning shavers needn’t worry as much about cutting themselves. Yet they’ll likely get a professional-looking, closer shave than with most any powered, vibrating or spinning razor. Make your strokes perpendicular to the blade strips. That way, you will not cut yourself with the Proglide Fusion razor.
Each blade cartridge costs over $4 at large. But we find that these keep cutting close with very little discomfort, even after twenty shaves. A cartridge lasts us a couple months.
The last bit of slickness disappears from our razor cartridges after roughly ten shaves. You might be able to extend this a bit further by avoiding rinsing the razor too often.
No easy way we’ve found so far, to trim the hairs inside the nose with this blade. Yes, the spacing between the strips in the five-blade system is modest. But this cartridge is too wide to get far enough into the nose. So it does not reach all of those hairs inside. The much narrower, two-blade shavers still work better for this task.
Be sure to buy these from reputable retailers and sellers. The expense of the originals here encourages knock-offs. So be careful buying. Gillette could benefit by lowering the price of their blades. Why? Because this would discourage fake blade makers by lowering the profits they could make from their knock offs.
To guarantee that your blades will attach correctly, you must use a real Gillette Fusion handle. Proglide blades will likely not fit on Schick handles. Nor will they even fit on other series Gillette systems such as Sensor and Mach 3. But Proglide blades do fit on the older Gillette Fusion handles. Too bad these shaving systems are so proprietary.
It’s best to find these blades in “subscription packages”. Look for them at online stores like Amazon.com, that automatically ship them to you each month. Buying them this way does save much cost.
In this razor, you get the smooth shave of a straight razor, with the safety of an electric. This state-of-the-art version of the classic safety razor really does provide the best of both worlds. Plus, unlike the straight, the Proglide requires little to no mastery to use it well. The only drawback we’ve found, is the somewhat higher price per cartridge. But otherwise, we really like this Gillette offering. Thus, we rate it at 94 out of 100.
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