The 9000 Series uses Smart Technologies to improve the overall shaving experience. The most visual of these experiences is the LED light surrounding the top of the handle that indicates the pressure you are applying with the shaver. The light will change colour to indicate that you are applying the right pressure and, should you press too hard, the colour will change. But another smart technology is happening at the blade level, where the shaver detects the thickness of the hair and adjusts the power accordingly, allowing you to shave through a beard that is several days old as easily as if you weren’t lazy like me and shaved every day.
But let’s get deeper into how lazy I am with my shaving. When I am working long hours, I can go a few days without shaving, easily, leaving behind a short beard with very coarse hair. The Philips 9000 Series went to work and shaved my face smooth. It took a little longer, but it was in no way a struggle. There was also no pain involved with this type of shaving as well, which I cannot say about other shavers I have used.
When shaving daily, this is where I was most concerned about my skin. Previous shavers have left my face red and feeling raw. I was reluctant to test the shaver for this reason. What I found, however, was that my skin looked and felt just fine. The reasons for that are in the design of the shaver’s head. First among them is the protective coating on the shaver heads. 2000 micro-spheres per square millimetre cover the heads to reduce the friction on your face. The movement of the heads, contouring to your face and capable of turning 360 degrees, again to reduce resistance when gliding the shaver across your face.
“The Philips 9000 Series went to work and shaved my face smooth. It took a little longer, but it was in no way a struggle.”
The next step is another smart technology that connects to an app. Using the GroomTribe app, the razor tracks your shaving technique and after as few as three shaves, it will provide you with a more improved technique which should shave off (See what I did there?) several passes over your face, once more reducing the amount of friction.
Last but not least, is the fact that the Philips 9000 Series is a wet and dry shaver, meaning that you can use this shaver like you would a standard razer with shaving cream and water. You don’t need me to tell you that the use of these lubricating foams, gels, shave butters and more will help you reduce the friction of these blades on your face.
I know that the idea of using those materials with an electric shaver seems like a messy ordeal, but it washes out quite easily. To take it one step further, the 9000 series comes with a cleaning pod where you place the shaver in head first and the Philips will take over from there. A cleaning liquid is required to fill the pod, but it comes as an insert, so you can simply remove the liquid in its packaging and dispose of it without needing to clean the cleaner.
The $279.99 CAD price is in line with a lot of premium shavers. Given my experience with the Philips 9000 Series, I would say that it is worth the price and, provided you take good care of it, will be a sound investment for a long time, saving you over the cost of razors in that time.
