Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power Razor

You know when you've made a decent product, when it sells like crazy because it does what people want it to do and at a very high standard while being affordable to most people. Well the biggest problem with this razor is there's too many blades that are never used, the head is very bulky and the battery thing just doesn't make any difference in my opinion.

I bought this as a present for my father, needless to say after the first few shaves he told me he didn't like it and gave it back to me. I used it a few time and agreed with my father that the head was too bulky and had too many blades. Added to that the blades for these things are expensive. So i get back to my first sentence, why change something that was popular?

I have since binned this razor and have since bought myself a Gillette Sensor Excel, which is very slimline and features just two blades and a aloe strip underneath. It cuts closer to the skin and is easier to use around your face, the blades also last longer (added to this the blades for the sensor excel are cheaper)

But as for this razor here is my round up

PROS: initially you do get a close shave, single blade on the reverse of the head is handy for trimming sideburns and under your nose

CONS: Very bulky so it's not that easy to shave under your nose (reason why they put a blade on the reverse), Battery thing seems a waste of time, Blades are ridiculously expensive, blades don't last as long as you think

VERDICT: This is a step back from razors of the past in my opinion, my advise is instead buy Gillette Sensor Excel Razor With 2 Replacement Sensor Excel Cartridges and 1 Replacement Sensor3 Cartridge ....It's far better value and does exactly what you want and because the sensor excel is slimmer you don't need a blade on the back for doing under your nose!

If you use it regularly, this is an okay electricrazor that will give you a relatively close shave (though it works best going against the grain), but if you've got two or three days' growth you're going to have to work at it more than you would on an ordinary electric razor. Unfortunately the design isn't particularly sympathetic to trimming beards or moustaches and the price of replacement cartridges makes this a rather more expensive item in the long run than it first appears (you can easily pay a lot more for the cartridges than the razor itself). Where it does score is in size, making this perhaps more useful as a travel razor when you're travelling very light than as a regular day-to-day one at home.

Before I get to the review of the product, I should lay my cards on the table. I have been using a double-edged razor for ten or so years now. I moved to DE shaving because multi-blade systems give me in-growing hair and razor burn. I have never really looked back since switching. I have to shave every day and I have a fast-growing, thick beard, which grows in various different directions. Couple that with sensitive skin, and I think my mug offers up a pretty decent test for any razor.

The Fusion ProGlide's ergonomics are well thought out. Although the razor is very light (I prefer a little heft), it is well balanced in the hand and offers excellent grip. The cartridge is also very well designed, allowing water to rinse stubble out of the blades and allowing them to continue working optimally. The single blade on the rear of the cartridge is a good idea and comes in handy for "precision" trimming around sideburns and any other facial hair you like to sport. However, this single blade is solution to a problem that need not exist... The proliferation of blades on the front of the cartridge seems totally superfluous to me. At the very least, the height of the shaving surface means that not only can you not see precisely where the blade is on your face, but it offers very little "travel" over the moustache area. Seems an obvious and silly oversight to me. So, you shave some of the moustache, and then have to switch to the "precision" trimmer to do the rest.

The styling is not to my taste but then, I do prefer the classic lines of DE razors. The styling reminds me of 1980s Nike Air trainers. Not necessarily in a good way. Comparing this with the Goodfella Open Comb Safety Razor in Chrome razor I use, it lacks elegance. Before I lose you and you criticise me for pointing you towards an expensive razor, I only want to highlight the difference in styling here. There are, of course, after-market products which will allow you to use Gillette cartridges, so if you are sold on the system, you will no doubt be able to get a sturdier, better-looking handle. A better handle will be made from quality materials and last a lifetime - the Gillette razor is not meant to last a lifetime. Gillette are far more concerned with people buying into the cartridges than the handles, though - that's where the real money is.

As for all those blades on the cartridges, I have read why Gillette (and the other brands) believe that multi-blades offer a closer shave. Well, they certainly don't for me. Here's why: multi-blades do indeed pull your whiskers and cut them at a deeper point than a tradition razor. This leads to a far sharper shaved tip to your bristles and as this starts to grow, the beard feels uncomfortable to you and anyone else who rubs up against your face. The initial shave might feel closer, but once the beard starts to grow back, it feels a lot worse. These sharp edges are also what leads to the painful in-growing hairs I have suffered from in the past. In comparison, a traditional, single bladed razor shaves the beard at a right angle, pretty much. This is way more comfortable during and after shaving. While shaving, the single blade feels far smoother; the ProGlide feels like it's pulling and scraping. After less than a week of using the ProGlide, I started to suffer from razor burn - something I haven't had since I switched to DE shaving.

So - how well does it shave? Well... not very. In order to get a decent shave, I found that I had to make multiple passes. I found that I had to shave against the grain. Things I don't have to do with my DE razor. I can't see that is in any way better than DE razors. The ProGlide is a long way from gliding. After using the ProGlide, my beard was very uncomfortable and my face was stinging with razor burn; I got an unsightly rash on my neck and my face felt raw. This is progress?

I have no idea if the vibrating function offers any benefit. I personally couldn't feel any difference between using the razor with the vibration on or off. The vibration might help in shaking stubble off the blades.

I came to this product with an open mind. However, it has not changed my mind about the benefits of a DE razor over the cartridge based systems. And then, we get to the difference in price. A pack of ten high quality DE blades costs between £2-5 depending on brand - and even with my beard, 1 blade lasts a whole week. That's ten weeks' worth of shaving. Compare that with the cost of the Gillette cartridges. The comparison is worse still when you compare it to a "bulk purchase" of two years' worth of blades at £8.50 such as 100 Derby Extra Stainless Steel Double Edge Safety Razor Blades.

Perhaps cartridges may be fine for people with less complicated beards than mine, but I won't be switching to the more modern system. Or perhaps, for the last 30 years, we have managed to convince ourselves that a bad shave is the norm, and been conned into buying all sorts of ointments and treatments to problems that can be avoided altogether by DE shaving. When I see so many positive reviews for this product, I surmise that one, or both of these assumptions is true.

If you are interested in trialling a DE razor, be sure to read up on how to use them. With the right technique, they will serve you very well and maybe even make the shaving routine something you enjoy. Based on this review, I created my first Listmania list for shaving products. You might want to look at that to see the alternatives I would recommend.

I know that DE shaving is a minority market and that the ProGlide will no doubt top the sales... but that doesn't necessarily make it the best razor.

I expect that this review will prove to be unpopular, but I can't recommend a system which is more expensive and poorer performing than the alternatives. FWIW, I'm not a hater or a fanboy, but after 20+ years of shaving experience and plenty of experimentation, I like to think I have a considered opinion. I hope you take this review in the spirit it is intended.