Panasonic Electric Shaver and Trimmer for Men ES8103S Arc3, Wet/Dry with 3 Nanotech Blades and Flexible Pivoting Head

This razor is way superior to the Norelcos, Remingtons, Sunbeams and a variety of lesser known razors I've had in over 70 years of shaving. It shaves closely and comfortably, has had same head/blade and battery for the last 7 years. It recharges in about an hour and goes 8 or 9 days on a charge. The only problem I've ever encountered is that I can get razor burn on lips if I''m careless.

This is just a simple trimmer with no fancy tricks , I've been using this item for almost 9 years now and still working very good. In fact I've purchased second one for my dad after couple years of using it.

I have owned 2 other electric shavers previous to this one: another Panasonic, and a Remington. The Remington was a higher end foil model and it did well (but to be fair, I used that one when my beard wasn't as rough/thick so I can't compare), and my old Panasonic was a cheap $20 one that shaved surprisingly well. Anyways, about a year and a half ago I switched to razors. I used Schick hydro 5-blades, and while it cut close against the grain, it severely irritated my skin and caused moderate acne and razor bumps (me being an acne prone 18-year old guy). Then about six months ago, I switched to double edged safety blades. I bought a Merkur handle, feather blades, proraso shave soap, and I even put oil on my face before the soap, basically I had all the equipment I needed to provide me a supposedly superior shave.Well, let's just say I was tempted to go back to Schick quite a few times. I kept trying DE, but in the end I think I had more irritation and nicks than with Schick. Don't get me wrong, I know some guys respond very well with the double edged (and even straight razor) shaving, but my face is just too sensitive and dry, and my beard too thick, all of which is a bad combination for any razor shaving. So about late February, I remembered my old electric razors and thought maybe a good foil razor would be the answer to my problems. I spent a couple days researching different brands and models and going through all of the "verified purchase" reviews, and I finally decided on this Panasonic.Week one: I did it completely dry. I noticed that there was absolutely no drag or irritation, but it did make my skin very flaky and slightly bumpy (I attribute these to having sensitive skin and going through the adjustment stage).Week two: I started shaving after my showers and it seemed to not shave as close, not really sure why. But I was getting maybe 90% less flaky skin, and only a few bumps on my jawline and neck when I pressed to hard.Week three: I am now shaving in the shower (I should mention that every time I wet-shaved, I never used my proraso or anything else on my damp face). My shaves are now as close as they were when I dry shaved, and even more comfortable and smooth thanks to the steam. The shaver also doesn't break my skin if I go over any raised acne bumps, which was a huge problem with the manual razors. In fact, I am not getting nearly as much inflamed acne anymore caused by irritation, mostly just hormonal acne now. I've even shaved dry a couple times this week as a quick touch up, or due to time constraints, and no more flaky skin! After shaving, I rinse my face a couple times with warm water and then splash it with some cold water to close the pores and prevent ingrown hairs.I haven't started week 4 yet, but I expect my results to continue getting better. A few more things about the razor:-After all of my shaves, my stubble still appears to be a little dark, even though it is smooth to the touch. I actually don't mind the dark look, it's only minimal anyways. And like I said, my face still feels smooth which is what's important.-One full charge lasts me about 6-8 shaves, but I also take longer to shave than what the instructions recommend, which is just 3 minutes. I usually take about 10 minutes to shave in the shower.-It. Is. So. Loud. Every time I dry shaved, I put cotton balls in my ears because my ears would ring a little after using it. I have no problem with the noise in the shower though.-I have not had any problems with steam getting under the battery screen even though I've held it completely under water a few times.-Cleaning is very easy. The head easily pinches off and it just needs a rinse. Use soap every once in awhile to keep it most fresh.-I find it very annoying that I can't use the shaver while it's charging, I could with my other electric shavers which is what extended their lives past what they probably should have been.-I have absolutely no problem shaving on my neck like other reviewers have experienced. I have a pretty protruding adam's apple, and not even that gets irritated when I glide over it.I ended up giving this shaver 4 stars instead of 5 for a few reasons:-One, I can't shave while it's charging.-Two, it requires multiple passes for me since it doesn't seem to lift my hairs. I have to stretch my skin around more than I expected I would, and a couple hairs don't get cut at all if they are laying down completely flat. Since I shave every morning, the longer shave time is a slight bother, but only when compared to my old Panasonic. When I was using a safety razor, it would take upwards of 30-40 minutes to shave because of the 3-4 passes + touchups I needed to get close, and the extra slowness I took to minimize irritation.-Three, the pop-out trimmer is relatively weak compared to my old cheap Panasonic, so I still use that to trim my sideburns every once in awhile.Other than these few cons, I am really enjoying this shaver, and my sensitive face is even more thankful that I made the switch!I plan to update this review in a few months or so after I've spent more time with it, but feel free to make any comments.EDIT: I have now had this razor for a little over 5 months and it is still great. It doesn't shave my upper lip/cheeks as close as I'd like, but it does shave my neck really close. I now only shave dry at night time unless I forget, then I shave in the morning during my shower so my skin doesn't get flaky. Overall, I would still recommend this razor highly, but look at other razors to see if you can find a closer cutting one.

It's been years since I have used an electric razor exclusively and the last one I owned, a Norelco from the late 90's, was a real workhorse. It was a rotary razor that I picked out for a Christmas present when I was barely 18 years old. I used that razor till the batteries no longer charged and it was left in the bathroom closet as I began to alternate between a regular razor and my dad's cheap rotary electric razor. Frankly, both of them would tear my face up when I used them. After awhile, I finally found a triple bladed razor that did an excellent job and I stuck with it.Fast forward nearly 2 decades, I have been through several variations of razors, including a 65 year old safety razor that did an amazing job, but was hard on my skin if I got in a hurry. After some more experimentation I settled on a relatively cheap razor system that worked well. You see, I find that anything more than 3 blades in a regular razor irritates my skin and causes unwanted ingrown hairs on my face. Since 3 blade cartridge razors seem to be fading away in favor of 4, 5, and even 6 blades, I needed an alternative. That was when I started looking into electric razors again.I knew I wanted a foil razor since past experience showed me that a foil style razor did a good job on my face/skin without irritating it. But when you start to read reviews most say to go for the Braun foil razors, but for the money I just didn't see the point. Im sure a 100-300 dollar foil razor is nice and very advanced, but Im just cutting hair, all I need is something that can handle that. So I sat down and made a list ...1. It needed to be a foil razor2. It need to be Lithium Ion powered3. It needed to have >30 minutes use on a single charge4. Some sort of battery meter5. Good reviews from people who use it.6. Less than $1007. Wet/Dry usageAfter much research I found this Arc series from Panasonic. All of them have good overall reviews and meta-analysis on the reviews shows very few paid reviews for these razors, meaning people actually liked the razor enough to log on and write about. This fulfilled requirement #5. For the price, I paid roughly 60.00 for mine, it satisfied my #6 requirement, and the other details of the razor covered #7, #4, #3, #2, and of course #1. So I bought it.Day #1The first day it took about 20 minutes to charge to 60% before I used it. I have about 2 days growth, so it wasn't a beard, but no where near mere stubble either. Total shave time about 4.5 minutes and I had to go over 2 small spots again due to the fact I wasn't shaving with a mirror. After some aftershave lotion and some time to calm down my face was just as smooth as it is when I shave with my safety razor and more smooth than the time I got a straight razor shave. As for day #1, I give this razor a 9/10. The 2 point deduction is from having to do my jaw line twice since I couldn't seem to get it to cut around the radius of the jaw bone without missing some hairs. I assume this is due to my lack of experience with this razor. Overall, the shave was excellent.Day #5I have shaved 3 times this week, which is a definite an increase from my normal routine of 1-2x per week. The razor is doing an excellent job. The one thing I have noticed is the foil gets warm the longer the razor is used, which I clearly a side effect from what little amount of friction there is. Because of this, I have found that it is far better to shave the more sensitive areas of your face first, then proceed to the other places. Also, this thing is really loud! Not "wake the baby" loud, but very noticeable by those nearby.Day #10Today I utilized the wet/dry functionality of the Arc 3. After wetting my face with hot water, I applied a run-of-the-mill $1-$2 shave foam and allowed it to soak for approximately 10 minutes. I then applied a second coat of shave foam and proceeded to shave. I extra lubrication was nice and allowed the razor to glide much better than when I shaved dry. However, the vibrations of the cutting head basically threw water all over the place while I was shaving. Another downside is that with the shave foam, it is difficult to actually see where you are shaving, or what you have missed. Overall, the outcome, at least for my face, wasn't any better or worse than a dry shave. Perhaps a longer soak to soften the stubble or perhaps shaving after a shower would yield better results, but I doubt it would make that much of a difference. Another test I plan to try later on is using a product designed specifically for putting on prior to shaving with an electric razor.Overall, I have to say the Arc 3 is the best razor I have every used thus far. It cuts clean and close, which is saying a lot with the barbed wire I call facial hair. For the price I feel it is a clear winner and a good compromise between cheap razors that mangle your face and ones that cost several hundred dollars.