Dec 16, 2003 06:31 PM
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(Updated Dec 16, 2003 07:08 PM)
Product reviewed: Norelco ReflexPlus 6423LC
The Background
“You know Saddam hasn't been caught, yet”.Startled at this sudden remark I turned around to see my bubbly pal with a pair of scissors. “Yeh kisliye”(What are these for?) ”I asked. “Khud ko aaine mei dekha hai recently? (Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately?). I could only chuckle and came up with my standard set of excuses-exams, projects blah blah. “Haan haan ,pata hai”(I know blah blah), he said before heading to the ladies section to check out what was the latest there.
Yeah it was true that I was in a mess, although I kept consoling myself that handsome men like (umm..well who? , nevermind..) sported a stubble, it was a pity that no one else agreed with me on this one, especially with the one I had, with each strand competing against each other to stand out. It was a mess and I knew it. It wasn't my fault though. I had exhausted my blades and the end of semester schedule didn't permit me to go out and shop for new ones. I took a look around and wanted to try out those four blade ones that were the latest in the market. 'Hmm, four blades, what next', I pondered. My friend came up with a valid answer. “Kal lawn mover thama denge, ke le bhai daadi banao (One of these days they would hand over a lawn mover to run over your face).” I looked around for some time. The genial creature came back, “We don't have much time. Mandir mei khaana hai, tujhe kahin pujari na banade”(Dinner in the temple, hope you are not mistaken for a priest or something).
I proceeded to the shaving section of Walmart hoping to find something of use as well as something novel, after being tired of those three blade wonders from the guys who claim to give a man the best he could get everytime. There was some kind of sale in the electric shavers' section. Harrying through the huge pile of shavers from Norelco, I picked one that was fairly affordable, something that I could use and throw in case I didn't like it. I had never used an electric shaver before and was pretty paranoid about the fast moving blades rolling over my skin in a hurry. Before my pal complained about the time lost, which he could rather use in getting to know those desi girls better in the temple, I ran towards the checkout. He was there, waiting for me. He took a look at the product and couldn't help asking, “Yeh kya sirf daadi banane ke liye hai?( Is this for the beard alone?)”.Surprised at his query all I could say was, “God didn't intend men to shave below their necks”.He gave me a sly grin,”No ,what I meant was, can this trim your goatie?”. I looked for it and saw that it had a built in trimmer too. After checking out, we hurried on. After all there was an all important free desi meal at the temple late that evening.
The Experiment:
Armed with the new weapon, I proceeded to give my face the much deserved look. There was some problem, it wouldn't work on batteries. It had to be plugged in all the time. 'Well, works for me', I thought as I switched it on and let the trimmer glide over my hair infested face. It did a fair job, though I felt it would have been better if I shaved pretty often. Atleast I wouldn't have to deal with the hair flying all over the room. The manual said it usually took around 21 days for the skin to get used to the shaver, so I wasn't too optimistic. (Yeah, I do read the manuals!). I switched over to the shaver and let it work on my skin for some time, and I must say that I was impressed. 'Not a bad job', I thought as I trusted it to do repeat the performance all over my face. (not above my nose though) The shave was decent, although there was some irritation on the skin, which according to the manual was normal. The shaver hugs nicely to all parts of the face especially at the jaw area where shaving is generally difficult. In the beginning you have to get used to the circular motions and shaving against the direction of the hair, which in normal circumstances would be unthinkable. The manual claims that it lifts and cuts out the hair, which sounds a bit frightening but in reality you hardly feel anything. It took my skin around a week to get used to this novel way of shaving sans the shaving gel or the blades and gallons of water wasted each time. But in conclusion, I can say that this has been a nice change and I would recommend it to anyone who is tired of the age old way of getting rid of the facial hair.
If you really interested:
Norelco advises you to use it for 21 days and if you are not satisfied, they will refund you for the full amount.
It comes with a two year replaceable warranty.
It has a protective razor cap, a cleaning brush and a pop up trimmer.
It is comfortable to use and adjusts pretty well to the contours of the face. Overall the experience is very comfortable.
It cannot be unplugged and used in the sense it is not rechargeable and cannot run on batteries.
It works on a range of voltages from 110-240V. So if you are a frequent traveller, it might come in handy.
The razor blades have to be replaced once a year and cleaned once a month. The replacements usually cost around 20-25$.
The whole kit cost me around $32, which is quite inexpensive as compared to the other high end models in the market.
In all, I would encourage anyone to try this atleast once. If you are not satisfied you can always send it back for a full refund. Happy Shaving.
