Philips Philishave 6605 shaver review

Will this keep you looking good?

22 October 2004 15:44 GMT / By Chris Hall

If you are tired of scraping away at your face with a blunt Bic, and don’t fancy the foam and blade approach, then Philishave has a range of shavers to brighten up your mornings. We tested the Philishave 6605, a middle of the range model.

It is probably best to explain the battery situation. Philips makes a range of shavers that are all basically the same - the different in price depends on what power option you take. You can have the version that only runs off the mains, or has a rechargeable battery, but won’t run whilst charging, or will run off the mains and charge the battery at the same time. The more flexibility you want, the more you pay. At £39.99, you get the 6605, which takes 8 hours to charge, but runs for 30 minutes of shave time - about a week in practice. You have to charge the battery before you can shave, as the mains power doesn’t flow all the way through to the actual shaver. Now that is clear, let’s move on.

Having been a wet shaver to date, the change to electric was for convenience, and to reduce the damage caused by raking a blade across skin. The great advantage of the Philishave system is that you can just grab it and shave - no foam, no water, no problem. It means that you can shave walking round the house, in front of the TV and so on. The triple rotary lift and cut system is quiet compared to the twin foil design, so you won’t wake up the whole street before you dash off to the airport.

The actual shave itself is probably not as close as a new blade on a wet shave, but the chance of catching the nose round your skin is nil. It says in the manual that it might take a few weeks to get used to the shave, but we found that we could just shave and go - with no razor rash. However, it does still wear your skin, so a good aftershave lotion should also be applied. The contour following system does a good job of hugging your face, meaning that all the undulations get a good shave.

Verdict

The 6605 comes with a travel pouch and cleaning brush. The shaved hair is collected in the shaver and needs to be cleaned once a week. The travel pouch keeps it safe, so sitting feeling grotty in an airport can be a thing of the past - its all about convenience, and the Philishave does it well. Having given it a few weeks of shaving, I’m converted. However the terrorist-style approach to escalating prices for different battery options is a pain, especially when you’re getting the same shave - and for this reason, I have to knock a point off.

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Review Recap

Made by: Philips
Price as reviewed: £40
The good: Quiet operation, excellent shave
The bad: Lack of power options
Quick verdict: A good shave from the Philips, but for more flexible power options, you need to spend more money.
Score