Welcome to Rough and Tumble! In the post below, we’ve got a full discussion about rotary shavers. We’ll start with a quick overview of our picks, provide a brief buying guide if you’ve never bought one before, and then we’ll provide our rotary shaver reviews (including our pick for the best rotary shaver overall).
If you’d like to learn more, at the end of the post we provide an “intro class” to rotaries shavers, where we talk about how they differ from foil shavers, list the pros and cons of each, and so on.
Let’s get to it:
Rotary Shavers: Review Summaries
You’re in a rush, we’re in a rush, everyone’s in a rush. We get it, so here’s an overview if you’re into the whole brevity thing:
Best Dry Rotary Shaver (tie): The Philips Norelco Electric 3800 and The Remington R5000 Series Rotary Shaver. Great mid-range models that can provide a great “dry” shave without gel or shaving cream
| Preview | Product | |
|---|---|---|
 | Philips Norelco Shaver 3800, Rechargeable Wet & Dry Shaver with Pop-up Trimmer, Charging Stand and… | Buy on Amazon |
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
| Preview | Product | |
|---|---|---|
 | Remington® Cordless Rotary Shaver, WETech™ Technology, 100% Waterproof, PR1362C* | Buy on Amazon |
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Wet/Dry Rotary Shaver (tie): The MAX-T Men’s Electric Shaver and The Philips Norelco 7100. Two mid-range models good for dry use and/or in-shower use with or without shaving cream/gel
| Preview | Product | |
|---|---|---|
 | Men’s Electric Shaver – MAX-T Corded and Cordless Rechargeable 3D Rotary Shaver Razor for Men with… | Buy on Amazon |
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
| Preview | Product | |
|---|---|---|
 | Philips Norelco Shaver 7100, Rechargeable Wet & Dry Electric Shaver with SenseIQ Technology and… | Buy on Amazon |
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
“Best Bang for Your Buck” Model: The Hatteker Electric Shaver Rotary. Nothing too fancy, but a solid razor that’s very effective
| Preview | Product | |
|---|---|---|
 | Hatteker Electric Shaver Rotary Razor Men Cordless Beard trimmer Pop-trimmer Wet Dry USB… | Buy on Amazon |
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Rotary for Guys with Sensitive Skin: the Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 7500 with SenseIQ Technology. Surprisingly gentle and can provide a really close shave
| Preview | Product | |
|---|---|---|
 | Philips Norelco Shaver 7500, Rechargeable Wet & Dry Electric Shaver with SenseIQ Technology, Quick… | Buy on Amazon |
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Deluxe Model: The Philips Norelco 8900. A high-end rotary shaver with a lot of bells and whistles. Top of the line, and outdone only by…
The Absolutely Best Rotary Shaver of Them All:The Philips Norelco 9700. Provides an incredibly close shave with high-end tech that “reads” your face. Absolutely fantastic.
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Alright! Let’s get into that buying guide and then we’ll look at those reviews.
A Quick Rotary Shaver Buying Guide
Regular disposable razors / cartridge razors are pretty simple—for the most part, they’re a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” type thing. Electric shavers, and specifically rotary electric shavers, have a LOT of bells and whistles, and there are a bunch of functions, features, and considerations you’ll want to look out for. They include:
Waterproof Properties. If you’ve never used an electric rotary shaver before, the following feature may blow your mind: some of rotary shavers are designed for use in the shower. Yes, that seems insane, and yes, you’ve been taught since you were a little kid not to bring electronic devices near water, because you’ll get electrocuted. But manufacturers actually created many of their rotary shavers to be fully submersible, and you can use them in the shower or the sink.
It’s important to note that “waterproof” is different than…
“Wet/Dry” Capable. Many rotary shavers are made for use without shaving cream (and that’s the “dry” capability), but they’re also designed for use with shaving cream or gel (and that would be the “wet” capability). That’s a pretty fantastic feature, and one that’s relatively new (older electric shavers were all of the “dry” variety). While many shavers are manufactured for “wet/dry” use, there are still shavers that are dry only, and it’s obviously pretty important to know the difference. If a shaver does not designate in its instruction manual that it’s a wet/dry shaver, do not assume it is.
Skin Sensitivity. There are a lot of men who don’t worry too much about their skin, and their skin doesn’t react to all the soaps, creams, and fabrics commonly sold. There a plenty of men, though, who have sensitive skin, and need to be concerned about such things (and many of us who write for Rough and Tumble Gentleman have sensitive skin, so we feel your pain!). If you’ve got sensitive skin, you may want to go with a wet/dry shaver, and use a shaving cream or gel. The cream or gel provides a layer of lubrication—and a little more protection to your skin—as you’re shaving.
You can also seek out electric shaver models that are specifically made for sensitive skin. Some shavers have a “sensitive skin” mode that provides a less aggressive shave, and may result in fewer bumps and red spots.
(By the way, it’s also important to note that if you’re making the switch from non-electric razors (disposables, cartridge razors, or safety razors/straight razors) to electric shavers, you may experience some skin irritation when you make the switch. Using an electric shaver is a very unique way to cut the whiskers on your face, and your face may freak out a little bit. The good news is, for a great deal of men, that skin irritation is temporary, and subsides after a week or two of using the electric shaver. We’ll talk more about this below.)
A Trimmer. These are a fantastic feature. Many electric rotary shavers come with a trimmer that pops out of the shaver itself, and you can use it to trim sideburns and angle any facial hair you want to keep. Most shavers come with a trimmer, but if you’re interested in one, don’t take it for granted that a shaver will come with one—you’ll want to make sure it’s included as part of the model.
Charging / Shave Time. There’s one downside to electric shavers, and one way that they’re inferior to traditional razor blades: they need to be charged. Regular razors are sitting there, steel-out, ready for use at any time. Electric shavers need to be charged, or battery-operated, or they’re pretty much unusable.
So that’s why charge and estimated shave time are actually important buying features. Most shavers can be fully charged over the course of 1 to 10 hours, but some of the high-end models only need to be charged for a couple of minutes and they’re ready for use. If you’re on a pretty regular schedule—up at 7am every day, shave at 7:30am every day, leave for work at 9am everyday—than a mid-range model that takes its sweet time when charging might be fine, and you can simply charge it every night. If you have a more irregular schedule, or are never quite sure when you’re going to shave, it may make more sense to get a charge that can re-energize a shaver quickly. But, again, that’s a personal decision—there’s no “right answer” there.
Automatic shut-off and battery warnings are two other features that are related to battery charge and shave time, so we figured they’re good to mention. Shavers that automatically shut down can save you some headaches—it’s always a pain when you go to shave, and your electric shaver won’t activate because it’s been left on and has run out of juice—and a clear display that shows how much life the shaver has left are both nice features. But again—depending on your situation, you may not need them.
Warranties / Money-Back Guarantees. For the most part, a two-year warranty is the industry standard for rotary shavers, but again, you’ll want to make sure that whatever shaver you’re interested in offers that. It’s also a good idea to make sure that nothing is excluded from the warranty—sometimes certain manufacturers will exclude a shaving head (or another part) from the warranty, and obviously that’s not ideal, but if you can live with it, then there you go.
A Cleaning System. Most electric shavers require manual cleaning, but some higher-end models have a “cleaning station” that does the work for you. Simply stick the shaver into the cleaner (it’s usually the same equipment that charges the shaver, so it cleans the shaver while it recharges it), and come back later, and all the whiskers have been removed from the model, the blades are disinfected, and the parts lubricated. It’s another “not-really-necessary” function, but it’s nice to have, and if you get a razor without one and then later on decide you want one, there are many that are sold individually. Just make sure that you’re buying a cleaning station that will work for whatever model shaver you have.
Available Space. This is such an important aspect of an electric rotary shaver purchase, and most websites dedicated to shaving overlook it. Make sure that you’ve got space for whatever model you’re interested in. Some rotary shavers take up a bit of space—particularly if they include a cleaning station—so make sure you’ve got counter-top real estate in your bathroom (or wherever you shave) to accommodate your equipment.
Last but not least…
Complicated-Sounding Marketing Features. Before we move on, we need to talk about something you’re going to encounter a lot when looking at rotary shavers—or any kind of electric shaver, for the matter: marketing buzzwords. They include “PrecisionPlus Heads” and “PowerFlex” and “AquaTec Technology” and many, many more. Companies that make electric shavers can’t seem to help themselves when it comes to giving their products dozens of mashed-together names that sound descriptive but don’t actually tell you much about the product.
So, what do you look out for? Well, we’ll go through all that below. Just remember that most of those names are actually beneficial, and usually have a very simple description—”AquaTec Technology” simply means you can use it in the shower. Again, we’ll talk about all that below.
Good to Go. OK! That’s a pretty quick summary of the buying features that you’ll probably want to keep in mind, so let’s move on to our discussion of our picks for the best rotary electric shavers.
RECOMMENDED: Shaver vs Trimmer Comparison (which to use when)
Rotary Shaver Reviews
The market for electric shavers is pretty well-established, and the “big names” in the electric shaver game are Braun, Panasonic, Remington, and Philips Norelco. Braun is probably the most popular manufacturer of electric razors overall, but they focus on foil shavers, and rarely venture into the world of rotaries. Panasonic and Remington also have some great models, but the real leader in rotary shavers is probably Philips Norelco. They seem to put most of their effort into rotaries, and they’ve got some fantastic product offerings, and that’s why most of our reviews below feature Philips Norelco shavers. The other three companies all make excellent products—and we’ve included a Remington model in our reviews below—but most of our focus will be on Philips Norelco models, because they truly do own the market.
That said, we’ve gone through dozens of models, and here are, to the best of our estimation, the best rotary shavers out there. In our experience, reading a long, drawn-out review of a product can be a little mind-numbing, so we’ve broken down our top picks into different categories, and we’ll keep the reviews themselves quick and to the point. Sound good? Here we go:
The Best Dry Rotary Shavers: A Tie
Dry shavers are usually “entry-level” models that don’t come with too many bells and whistles, and there are two rotary shavers that fit this category: the Philips Norelco Electric 3800 and the Remington R5000 Series Rotary Shaver. Both are excellent “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” electric razors that can give a great “dry” shave, meaning you can use them without shaving cream / shaving gel / shaving foam.
Not all models are great for “without-shaving-cream” usage, so if that’s what you’re looking for, we usually recommend…
The Philips Norelco Electric 3800
The Philips Norelco Electric 3800 is one of our favorite go-to models. It…
> Is designed for cordless use, so it’s a great option if you’re the kind of guy who maybe shaves in front of a mirror, and maybe roams around his house;
> Has three shaving discs, each capable of flexing in five different directions, designed so the shaver can shave those hard-to-reach areas of your face; and
> Features a “Comfort Cut Blade System,” which is fancy talk for rounded edges on the blade of each disc, to provide more comfort, and less “rigid”-feeling shave.
While the Philips Norelco 3800 is our favorite dry shaver—no shaving gel or foam or cream needed—you can actually use it in the shower, and with gel / foam / cream, too.
- Enjoy a clean shave that follows your face’s contours with 5-directional pivot, flex and floating movements. The head reaches your face at the ideal angle and adjusts to the curves of your face and neck, creating smooth contact with your skin.
- Get a convenient dry shave or a refreshing wet shave with gel or foam, even in the shower
- With ComfortCut blades, you get a clean shave that’s comfortable on your skin. Rounded caps shield 27 self-sharpening blades to gently cut hair just above skin level and help the shaver glide smoothly over your skin.
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Our other favorite dry shaver can also be used in the shower:
The Remingon R5000 Series Rotary Shaver
The Remington R5000 Series Rotary Shaver has got a few features that other mid-range rotary shavers don’t usually have, including:
> A pop-out trimmer that’ll allow you to do some detail work on sideburns and mustaches or beards;
> A lithium battery that can last up to an hour after only an hour-and-a-hour of charging (that’s actually pretty impressive for a mid-range model); and
> Two tracks of blades in each of the discs, for a closer shave.
Another good option if you’re looking for an electric rotary that can deliver a great dry shave, but that you can also take in the shower, and use with gel/foam/cream.
Remington® Cordless Rotary Shaver, WETech™ Technology, 100% Waterproof, PR1362C*
- Titanium coated twintrack blades – Stay sharper longer
- Precision plus heads – shaves long hairs and short stubble
- Advanced cordless power – up to 60 minutes cordless runtime
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best All-Around Wet/Dry Models: Two Picks
Remember we discussed fancy marketing terms in one of the paragraphs above? We’re about to get to the part of the post where those buzzwords get a lot more common. There are two best-all-around rotary shavers we recommend:
The MAX-T Men’s Electric Shaver
Not all shavers are made for both at-the-mirror AND in-the-shower use, and The Max-T Men’s Electric Shaver is a solid mid-range option, that can go wherever you need it to. Here’s what we like about it:
> The stainless steel blades are hypoallergenic. If your skin is prone to redness and irritation, you may have trouble with a lot of rotary shavers, and that’s because the blades can do a number on your epidermis. This isn’t our top pick for best sensitive skin rotary shaver—we discuss that below—but those hypoallergenic blades are VERY good, and you don’t see too many mid-range models made for dudes with sensitive skin. So—bonus!;
> This model has a pop-up trimmer. Specifically, this trimmer has double blades for quickly and precisely trimming your sideburns or other parts of your beard, so you can save yourself a trip to the barber. We’re big fans of multi-tools, because when you need a shaver, AND a trimmer, AND a body groomer, your bathroom sink starts to look a little overburdened—that this is a “dual-use” feature is fantastic; and
> It’s got a great battery. The battery is actually our favorite thing about this shaver, and you can get TWO hours of runtime for just one hour of charging, which is something you rarely see (in even the most expensive models). On top of that, battery life is easy to gauge with the LCD display that also tells you if the shaver is locked, and charging itself is very simple via a USB plug.
Finally, the MAX-T shaver is IPX7-rated waterproof. You can use it in the shower, and even with shaving cream if you want. A lot of guys absolutely love that, because shaving raw-dog on skin without shaving cream can be a little bit rough, and that shaving cream can further prevent irritation and discomfort.
This is another model that “punches above its weight,” and if you’re looking to shave in the shower—even with shaving cream—it can be a great pick.
- Painless Close Shaving < < Painless, low noise, hypoallergenic, 3D rotary close shaving acomplished by high speed powerful motor, 4 direction flex heads and hypo-allergenic double-track stainless steel blade. It glides gently along your curves and contours and give you a closest shave without any residue
- Pop-up Trimmer < < Upgraded double-blade pop-up trimmer, one touch to open, helps precisely trim and detail your beard and sideburns in seconds
- Battery Countdown and Smart Safety Lock < < Designed with battery status countdown in percentage on large LCD display to remind you of recharging when necessary; Easily active smart safety lock by continously press on/off button for 3 seconds to avoid unexpected starting up on a trip
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Philips Norelco Shaver 7100
We like to consider the Philips Norelco 7100 a sort of “gateway to luxury” when it comes to rotary shavers: it’s not quite a high-end electric shaver, but it’s really getting close. For a mid-range wet/dry rotary shaver, it’s got a lot of things going for it.
Most notably, it’s got the SenseIQ technology, which includes a few different features:
ComfortGlide rings (which circle the shaving heads, and are covered in an anti-friction coating to smoothly glide over your skin), the Motion Control sensor (which actually tracks how you shave, and guides you to develop a more efficient shaving technique(!)), and the Hair Adapt Sensor (which intuits how thin/thick your beard hair is, and adjusts intensity to meet the needs of your face). Later motels have some further features, but those are pretty fantastic perks. It’s also got the pop-up trimmer to trim mustache and sideburns—also great—and it’s got a flip-top shaver head for easy cleaning.
The batter on the 7100 is pretty remarkable, too—after about an hour of charge, it’s good to go for about 20 shaves. If you only shave before school or work, that’s about a month’s work of shaves on one charge, and that’s FANTASTIC. Battery power is where a lot of the high-end models really shine, so it’s neat that this mid-range model has such a capable battery.
And, of course, it’s shower friendly, and you can use it under running water with shaving cream, gel, or foam. That’s pretty fantastic, and if you’re new to electric shavers, it seems almost mystical that you can use these things in the shower. Of all the wet/dry in-shower rotaries we’ve used, this is one of our favorites, and it’s not as much of a commitment as some of the higher-end “deluxe” wet/dry shower shavers.
- Philips Norelco Shaver 7100 delivers a smooth shave while reducing skin irritation. Only Philips has ComfortGlide rings, a special coating to protect your face from irritation.
- Shaving heads are surrounded with ComfortGlide rings, a special protective coating with skin gliding properties, to shield your face from irritation.
- With up to 90,000 cutting actions per minute, the SkinProtect blades deliver a close shave with fewer passes for more comfortable skin.
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
“Best Bang for Your Buck” Rotary Shaver
The Hatteker Electric Waterproof Rotary Shaver is our “best value” pick, and if you don’t want a bunch of frills and extra features but still want a clean, comfortable shave, this is the one we usually recommend. It’s got a lot of great things going for it:
> The shaving head, while basic, offers 3D pivoting to adapt to your face and its curves, and that can allow you to get a closer, more consistent shave. It also helps prevent irritation, since the blades are less likely to pull and pinch the skin;
> It’s got a pop-up trimmer. Most “barebones” models don’t come with a pop-up trimmer, and we love that Hatteker included it. A pop-up trimmer can be really useful—it can let you do detail work around your sideburns, it can help you trim and shape your beard a little bit (which isn’t really possible on a pop-up-less shaver), and it can even let you get a little more creative with your shaving styles. If you want to trim your goatee area down to stubble, or give yourself an anchor beard, you can give it a shot.
> It’s waterproof! That’s something you don’t often find on budget models. The waterproof feature lets you use it in the shower with or without shaving cream, decreasing both irritation and shave time. Unfortunately, Hatteker didn’t make the grip particularly slip-proof, which means you have to be careful if you do use it in the shower (and really, that’s the only thing keeping it from being one of our picks for best wet/dry in-shower shaver).
Finally, the Hatteker gets a good hour of runtime, which is pretty decent—although it does take a full 90 minutes to charge, which isn’t fantastic.
Electric shavers—especially rotaries—can you run you a pretty penny, so we always make an effort to include models like this. It’s nothing fancy, but it can be a great little workhorse.
- 4-DIRECTION FLOATING ULTRA-ADVANCED SHAVING HEAD: The 3D rotary shaver head follows every contour of your face to remain in close contact with the skin for a fast shave that’s also gentle on the skin
- POP-UP TRIMMER: Trim and detail your beard and sideburns for a clean-cut look to complete your facial hair grooming routine
- WATERPROOF/WET DRY SHAVE: Fully washable design for easy cleaning，allows you to shave wet with gel or foam for extra skin protection or dry for convenience
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Rotary for Sensitive Skin
The Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 7500 with SenseIQ Technology can be a great option if routine shaving with an electric razor irritates your skin. The 7500 features ComfortGlide Rings that have a smooth, anti-friction surface designed to reduce interference on the facial skin, and that sets it apart from most other Norelco models—we haven’t been able to find one that also includes them. A very nice feature. Plus, it has more flexibility than previous models, with 360 Contour heads (read: the discs at the top of the shaver) that can adjust to the terrain of your sin. In our experience, that added flexibility translates to a little more comfort when shaving, and a closer shave, as well. Your results may vary, of course—everyone’s skin reacts differently to shaving—but if you’ve got sensitive skin and you’re looking for a rotary (that’s also good for wet and dry shaving), the Philips Norelco 7500 can be a good pick.
- Philips Norelco Shaver 7500 delivers a smooth shave while reducing skin irritation. Only Philips has ComfortGlide rings, a special coating to protect your face from irritation.
- Shaving heads are surrounded with ComfortGlide rings, a special protective coating with skin gliding properties, to shield your face from irritation.
- With up to 90,000 cutting actions per minute, the SkinProtect blades deliver a close shave with fewer passes* for more comfortable skin.
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Our Pick for Best Deluxe Rotary
Most of the time, when shaving manufacturers create a new product, they don’t create entirely new features—instead, they improve all of the features on the old model. You see that strategy with the Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 8900: the shaving discs that could only flex in four directions with the Philips Norelco 3100 can move in eight different directions on the Philips Norelco 8900, and that”s designed to create a much better “feel” of the shaver on your face.
As for totally new features, the Philips Norelco 8900 has a beard styler with five length settings. That’s a fantastic feature—a lot of guys like to switch things up instead of being clean-shaven every day, and converting the 8900 to both an electric shaver and a beard trimmer is pretty clever. You can’t shape a longer beard with it—the settings range from somewhere around “stubble” all the way to “very long stubble/short beard,” but it’s a fantastic feature nonetheless. A great wet/dry rotary, in our humble opinion.
Our Pick for the Absolute Best Rotary Shaver…
…is the Philips Norelco Shaver 9700. It is (at the time we write this post) Philip Norelco’s most advanced model, and it’s got some features we find incredibly helpful:
> Improved contouring capabilities, called Contour Detect Technology, to cut 20% more whiskers with every pass than previous models did, resulting in the need for fewer passes—and possibly less skin irritation;
> V-track precision blades, that cut whiskers 30% closer to the root; designed to result in smoother skin than previous Norelco shavers; and
> Different comfort settings, including a setting for sensitive skin, one “normal” setting for everyday use, and a quick-use setting if you’re in a rush and need to get the job done quickly.
Those are all fantastic options, but all that aside, the Norelco 9700 provides (in our experience) an incredibly close shave. That’s perhaps the most important characteristic of all, so the 9700 earns our vote for best overall rotary shaver.
Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 9700, S9721/84 Standard packaging*
- Each shaving head independently moves in 8 directions to follow your face’s every curve. This superior contouring helps capture up to 20% more hair in a single pass
- The state-of-the-art shaving system cuts hairs up to 30% closer.* By collecting hair in the optimal cutting position, the newly designed blades shave closer and more comfortably
- Choose the speed setting that best fits your skin and hair type: Slow (for an even more skin-friendly shave), Medium (for a thorough shave), and Fast (for a high-powered shave)
Last update on 2022-11-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Rotaries and Foils: A Closer Look
OK! We promised an “intro class” to electric shavers, and here it is. There are two types of electric razors: foils and rotaries. Foil shavers look like this:
and they have a rectangular-shaped head that’s covered in a thin layer of metal—that’s the actual foil—and that foil has very small holes in it. Your whiskers enter the holes in the foil, and are sliced away by oscillating blades located underneath the foil. Foil razors have gotten pretty sophisticated, and do a great job of guiding whiskers into the holes of foil, where they can be cut.
Rotary shavers look like this:
and they have three or more circular discs on the head, and those discs also have little holes in them that guide whiskers towards the cutting blades below the surface. Rotary shavers are also pretty-high tech, and they, too, do a great job of providing a clean and close shave.
Pros and Cons of Each Type
In this section, we’ll go over the pros and cons of rotaries and foils. They include.
Shaving Frequency. As a general rule of thumb, rotaries are better for guys who have irregular shaving patterns. Rotary shavers are generally better at handling longer whiskers and whiskers of varying lengths. The points of entry on a rotary’s discs are longer and wider, and can accept more hair than the very thin, somewhat narrow points of entry on a foil shaver. So if you have an irregular shaving schedule—sometimes you shave every day, and then sometimes you skip a day here and there—and that results in longer whiskers and patchy spots, rotaries are usually the better choice.
Shaving Style. This is a frequently-overlooked aspect of shaving, but it’s definitely something to think about if you’re interested in electric razors: whether you like to stand in front of a mirror (whether at your bathroom sink or at the fog-free mirror in your shower), or whether you like to roam around your house while you shave.
Believe it or not, rotaries are the better choice for guys who like to roam while they shave. Foil shavers require a little more precision and a little more concentration, because the shaving head is rectangular, and you need to shave in straight lines over your face. Rotary shavers are designed for a more “freestyle” shaving technique, where you drag the rotary across your skin in any pattern you like. If that describes your shaving strategy—and for those of us how run around the house in the morning scrambling to get ready for work or classes—rotary shavers are the way to go.
Shaving Hard-to-Reach Areas. This is connected to the last issue we discussed. Because the heads of foil shavers are rectangular and less flexible than rotaries, you need to shave along reasonably straight lines when you’re using them. That makes them difficult to use on areas of your face that are three-dimensionally curved, like the area around the Adam’s Apple and underneath the jaw. Rotaries are a little more adept at cutting the whiskers in those areas, because they have three circular discs that can better contour the skin in those areas.
That also makes them a better option for…
Shaving Your Head. If you’re looking for an electric shaver that you can shorten the hairs on your head, a rotary shaver is a better choice than a foil shaver. You’ll be able to get the curves on your head a little more easily.
“Bite.” After extended use, the foil on a foil shaver may wear thin and tear, and nick the skin on your face. That is a very, very unpleasant experience, and it doesn’t happen with rotaries—after extended use, they simply become less effective, and you’ll need to replace the disc in the shaver’s head.
NOISE. Depending on your situation, this is a big one. Foil shavers—even the new, high-tech ones—can be notoriously loud. They’re better than they used to be, but they’re still loud, and a heck of a lot louder than rotary shavers. If you live with a spouse, roommates, kids, or anybody else, and you want to shave and have them stay asleep, that’s a difficult trick when you’re using a foil shaver. Rotaries are definitely the quieter of the two options—even if they’re not 100% quiet, either.
Sensitive Skin. There’s a LOT of debate about whether men with sensitive facial skin do better with rotary shavers or foil shavers, and at long last, we can offer a definition answer: it depends.
Hey, it’s not a good answer, but it’s an answer. It honestly depends.
Some men experience skin irritation, red bumps, and ingrown hairs when they use a foil, and experience relief when after they’ve been using a rotary for a while; other men experience the exact opposite, and experience irritation with a rotary, only to find they have no problems when they switch to a foil shaver.
We’re sorry we don’t have a better answer, but results truly do vary person-to-person when it comes to skin sensitivity and electric shavers. You’ll have to experiment and find what works for you.
Coarse, Thick Whiskers. Men with dense whiskers tend to do better with rotary electric shavers. As we discussed above, the indentations in the discs on a rotary’s head a little wider and deeper, and they’re fantastic at gathering and cutting thicker / courser / wider whiskers. If you’ve got thin whiskers, a rotary will also do a great job, but rotaries are usually the electric-razor-of-choice for guys who have thick mane of facial hair.
Irregular Growth Patterns and Swirls. This is another difference between rotary shavers and foil shavers: rotary shavers are usually a better match for whiskers that grow in multiple directions.
If you let your whiskers grow out for a couple of days and take a close look at them, you’ll notice that many of them grow in a number of different directions, and they don’t all grow straight out from the skin. Some of them lie flat, and some of them grow in an almost circular pattern. Those swirly locations are a challenge for an electric razor, but because you use a rotary in a circular motion over your face, they’re a little more adept at cutting whiskers that grow in non-linear directions.
There are some new foil versions that tackle swirls a little bit better than older foil models—the Braun Series 9 is one of them—but for the most part, rotaries are a better option for tackling whiskers that grow in multiple directions.
There you have it! As a quick review, rotaries are better for men who:
don’t shave every day;
have a looser, “freestyle” style of shaving;
need to shave over hard-to-reach areas;
also want to shave their heads;
have thick, coarse whiskers;
want a quieter shaver; and
have irregular whisker patterns, or whiskers that grow in a circular formation.
…and foils are better for men who:
shave every day;
need to do detail work; and
want a super-close shave.
If you find that you’re actually interested in foil shavers rather than rotary shavers, we’ve got a full review of our favorite foil shavers here.
That Wraps Up Rotaries
We hope that helped inform you about your choices, and the options you may want to keep in mind if you’re purchasing a rotary. We tried to keep it relatively short, because we have a tendency to write some ridiculously long posts. If you have any questions, hop over to our “Contact” page and send us a note. Happy shaving, amigos!
Michael Morris is the head writer here at Rough and Tumble Gentleman. He's got a ducktail beard and loves Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He's married to the woman of his dreams and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
