What is the best electric head shaver? Full Buyers Guide
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Want to know which electric head shaver is the best?
I'm here to tell you exactly which electric head shavers are best, and which ones to avoid.
I've tried loads of these over the 9 years I've been shaving my head, so let's get straight into it.
Best Overall: Braun Series 9
The best overall electric head shaver, by far, is the Braun Series 9.
You can usually pick it up for around £200/$200, especially when there's deals going on like Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day. I know that might seem on the pricier end, so I've got other options below if your budget doesn't quite stretch that far.
But if you just want the best thing on the market that ticks most of the boxes performance, value, reliability, and how comfortable the final shave feels it's the Braun Series 9.
There's now a Braun Series 9 Pro Plus too. I saw this on a recent trip to Hong Kong and it looks beautiful, after digging into it a bit, the benefit of the Pro Plus is the portable charging case. If you're on the road all the time, that could be worth the upgrade.
Slowly the original Series 9 is becoming harder to find. You'll mostly see deals on the newer pro + version. Shaving performance seems to be exactly the same on both models.
Quick rundown on why the Series 9:
- Gets you close, comfortable cutting, every time
- Replacement heads are easy to find and reasonably priced
- Works fine on 3-day growth
- You can add extras like the cleaning station if you want them
Best Budget Option: Remington RX7
If your budget doesn't stretch to the Braun Series 9, the next best thing is the Remington RX7.
This became my go-to electric head shaver for a long time. Great turbo function, and I was using it every two to three days.
Every time I wanted to use an electric shaver (usually because I didn't have time to get in the shower) I'd reach for the RX7
Can you really shave your head in 90 seconds like the marketing claims? No. Not really. It takes more like five minutes. That's marketing hype, and we'll come back to that.
Overall though, great performance and good value for money. The only real downside is that replacement heads can be harder to find, although there are a few retailers that stock them now, plus some decent aftermarket versions.
Also Worth Considering: Philips 9000 Series
I did a full dedicated review on the Philips 9000 Series as well, and it's genuinely close to the RX7 in a lot of ways. If you forced me to pick one, I'd probably go with the Philips, but only by a small margin.
Here's why it earns its spot:
- Comes really nicely packaged with a 5-year warranty, which you don't see much in this category
- Includes a little mirror for checking the back of your head. Thats a small thing, but I'd never seen that before and it's genuinely useful
- Replacement blades are included in the box, and you can easily get another year and a half of shaving out of them
- Charges unbelievably fast I'm talking about 5 minutes for a full charge, giving you around 90 minutes of run time
- Very comfortable on the head. Contours well, spring-loaded head and blades, and it handled a bump I have on my head with zero issues
- Works dry or wet, though wet shaving needs you to keep it well hydrated throughout
There's also a cheaper 7,000 series version. The shaver itself looks identical, the only difference is you lose some of the accessories.
Where it doesn't quite win: it's not on par with the Braun Series 9 for power, and the final closeness of shave is genuinely very similar to the RX7. It's not USB-C charging, which is a small annoyance.
I'd call this one an 8/10. It's a very safe, comfortable, well-made option that sits right in that middle-to-top tier alongside the RX7. Try to grab it around the £100/$100 mark rather than £150, and watch for deals, because I've seen the price swing by £50 in a single day.
Closest Shave: Babyliss Pro Foil Titanium
If you want an electric head shaver that cuts as close to a razor as possible, this is as good as you will find.
I have never used anything that cuts closer than the Babyliss Pro Foil Titanium. There are a few similar ones out there. I've reviewed the Andis and a few others but this one cut the closest, full stop.
If you're going down the foil route, you want to be someone who's happy shaving every day or every other day at most.
The main downside is comfort. It's not as comfortable to use as the Braun Series 9, and definitely not as comfortable as the RX7. Nothing cuts closer than this though. The Series 9 comes close, but the Babyliss Pro Foil Titanium is just ever so slightly closer.
I really am splitting hairs on that though!
What About The Cheaper Ones?
I've tried a load of the cheaper head shavers too, so let's talk about where they fit in.
I tried a cheap generic head shaver that you will have seen all over Amazon. They are best used if you just want to try shaving with an electric shaver to see if you might like it. If you just want to try it then spending £20 - £30 on a "bald head shaver" on Amazon or Temu is fine but it wont be the best overall experience.
Then There's the Skull Shaver, which in my opinion is overpriced. I do respect them for being leaders in the field though.
The actual shave performance is probably similar to something like the RX7, it just costs a lot more. If you're going to spend that much, you're better off going straight for the Braun Series 9.
Then there's the huge wave of other bald head shavers you'll see advertised everywhere on Facebook and Instagram. Here's the truth: they're all very similar. Cheaply manufactured, and there hasn't been much real innovation in this space for a while. I say that as someone who actually wants to see these brands improve, not just push minor tweaks with a new box and useless accessories.
You'll see a lot of these come with a ridiculous number of "heads" or attachments. It doesn't really improve the shave. Who really needs a facial massager?
I Actually Tried Making One
Full transparency here. About 5 years ago looked into bringing out a Bald Cafe electric head shaver myself. I went onto Alibaba, where most of these things are manufactured, and tried to find something genuinely good, powerful, and innovative.
The performance was decent, but it wasn't groundbreaking. It wasn't any better than what's already on the market. So I made the call not to bring one out at the time.
Marketing Hype To Watch Out For
A couple of things worth knowing before you buy:
- The "shave a patch with a razor" trick. Some brands will shave a section of hair with an actual razor first, then film the electric shaver going over it afterwards to make it look like it shaves that close. It doesn't. It just looks good in the social media Ad.
- Useless bundled extras. A lot of the cheaper shavers come loaded with things like a facial scrubber or a nose trimmer thrown into the box. It's there to make the price feel justified, but it's usually cheaply made and not something you actually need if all you want is a bald head.
You can cross-reference a lot of these on the Alibaba app yourself. You'll often find you're buying a $50-80 head shaver that's really only worth $15-20.
If You Just Want To Try One
If you've never used an electric head shaver before and you're not sure it's for you yet, my honest advice is to pick one up as cheaply as possible. The non-big-name brands are all very similar in performance, and you'll get around six months of decent use out of them perhaps.
The Bottom Line
- Best overall: Braun Series 9
- Best value / budget pick: Remington RX7
- Also great, slightly edges out the RX7 for me: Philips 9000 Series
- Closest possible shave: Babyliss Pro Foil Titanium
- Just want to try one out / gift? Grab a cheap generic one on Amazon or Alibaba and don't overspend.
I've got in-depth reviews on a lot of these individual products if you want to go deeper, so check those out too.
If you want to see these products in action then check out my demonstration review video HERE.
Please note all links in this post are affiliate links.
Thanks for reading, guys.
Harry