Philips Norelco PQ208/40 Travel Electric Razor

Original Review (Aug 23, 2014): I am a woman with excessive facial hair. Fortunately, it's not a lot, and it's blonde, so most people don't notice it. But over the years, the hair on my chin, and around my lips has gotten increasingly frustrating to deal with. I will NOT wax, I loathe the pain and tedium of plucking with tweezers, and every depilatory I've tried didn't do jack squat. Eventually I was down to using hair-cutting scissors to continually trim the hair - when I realized the old wive's tale about cut hair coming back in more coarse and thick, was just that, an old wive's tale. But cutting them with scissors was its own challenge, because these obnoxious hairs are also very curly, and trying to get them down close to the root I would occasionally catch skin in the scissors.A few months back, I was looking at the reviews on a new hair-remover product, that supposedly worked on fine, thin facial hairs - and someone mentioning using this shaver, as an alternative. What a difference it has made. This simple little device is always in my purse, so if I'm out and about and I suddenly realize the hairs have gotten stupid again, I can quickly fix it in the car or a bathroom.Sure, I'd rather find a way to make the hairs stay away for longer periods - or laser them off entirely - but this is such a better pain-free alternative to anything else I've done before. It take two AA batteries, has a little plastic cover over the heads, and fits discreetly in my purse. I noticed some reviews mention it has a weak motor - that may well be true, and so it may not be appropriate for men or women with a lot of coarse facial hair. I don't have much experience with men's electric shavers, to gauge it that way, and obviously women's electric shavers aren't a good comparison.But for my little fine hairs, it works perfectly. My sister and I will even occasionally use it for our legs, if we are in a hurry.FIRST UPDATE::::::::::I just thought I'd toss additional comment out, since I happened to be perusing old reviews today. As of 6/14/2015, I still love this shaver. And my sister has now bought her own. It's actually been incredibly helpful, because she's had a major sciatica problem the last 6 months, and normal shaving of her legs has been nearly impossible. But this keeps her from feeling embarrassed in shorts, in addition to her own chin hair.My little shaver has been such a great find. It was the first small item to have its own pocket in my ThinkGeek Bag of Holding (a.k.a. my purse). At this point, I pull it out in traffic if the hairs on my chin are annoying the crap out of me - I'm so much less self-conscious of my facial hair, that now I don't feel self-conscious using a shaver to deal with it. In the whole time I've had it, I use it fairly regularly and I've only had to change the batteries once. I haven't yet had to look for replacement heads, since I only had my first tug of one hair a few weeks ago - just another reminder of why the EpiLady should've been qualified as a form of torture under the Geneva Convention.If they don't make replacement heads and the tugging continues, I'll just buy another. Even buying one a year, it would still be the cheapest and most successful hair removal option I've ever tried.SECOND UPDATE::::::::::Well it's now 11/13/2018, and I felt this could use a few new details. I finally had to buy a new one of these in June of 2017, because the blades had dulled to the point where it was pulling more hairs than it was cutting.I was momentarily disappointed last month, when I noticed it was starting to occasionally snag a hair again - though again, I couldn't argue with the value of paying $15 for something that works very well for 1.5 years. But while once again researching replacement blades - and realizing they're more expensive than just buying a new razor -I made some new discoveries.These blades can be polished (i.e. sharpened) and made to last longer. Obviously I can't link to the videos I found online for how to do this. But it basically involves buying some metal polish and using it on a flat surface, like a mirror. If you do a search for >sharpen replacement heads< you'll find it. I also found a video for dismantling the razor to sharpen it. Which is where the biggest Duh comes from. Yes, I'd taken the head assembly off before and cleaned it, but I hadn't actually pulled the blades out previously, until I found a video that showed how to do it, and I realized how easy and non-risky it is. I'm the kind of person who is paranoid about breaking something that I'm not clear on the design of - my sister is the tinkerer, not me.But by having never completely disassembled the head area, all the way down to the blades, I wasn't really cleaning it properly. There's hair that gets into the blade assembly that you cannot remove without fully disassembling the thing. But it literally takes seconds and is pretty hard to screw up.To find the video on disassembling the razor, you have to search for its European model number. In fact just put >Phillips PQ203< into the search box on YT and it should come up at the top. The video is from a survivalist, but there is nothing extremist or unfamily-friendly in the video. The whole video is actually pretty interesting, because he unintentionally makes the point that if you are someone who uses this shaver instead of regular razors, and you invest the effort in sharpening the blades, it can last for years and years - thereby being a much more ecological choice than any razor that is either disposable or has disposable blades.I know that eventually, if nothing else, the motor will give out on this shaver. But the first one went 3.5 years and I only stopped using it because the blades were dulled. So I worry about the day they discontinue this puppy and I can't get new ones at all. But for now I am so happy with having discovered this shaver. Going on five years now, and it's one of the best purchases I ever made, in terms of simplifying my life without costing me a fortune.

*See 2024 update below.* I've been shaving with full size Norelco shavers for 30+ years, and love them. When I took on a gig last year (2015) shooting video for a North American sports car racing team (Rolex24, 12 Hours of Sebring, etc), I knew I was going to be traveling enough to need something smaller and lighter than my regular razor. Had to be dependable, easy to clean, and last a long time on a set of batteries. I have pretty average facial hair and no mustache, so didn't need a pop-up trimmer. Last requirement was a reasonable price -- just wasn't going to shell out the same $$ as a full size razor. This one fit the bill in every way, and after over 10 months I'm pleased to say it's performed every bit as well as I'd hoped. One caveat for those who have not used a Norelco rotary razor before: the first few shaves will probably not be as close as you'd expect, but they will get better as your face gets used to the way the rotary blades cut. My Norelcos (both of them) give me as close a shave as I could ask for. You just have to give them a little bit of time, and the results are worth it. Highly recommended.*2024 update: I still have this razor, and it's still working well (amazing!). Granted, it only gets used when I'm on vacation or away on business (a total of maybe 14-20 days a year), but it still gives me a shave to rival my full sized Norelco. I use rechargeable NiMH batteries with it, so have never had the whole thing die because a built-in non-replaceable battery stopped holding a charge. Small, easy to travel with (it's been to Europe at least twice, Canada once, and many stops all over the US.) Still highly recommended!

Wow, I was very surprised by this little unit. It is fairly quiet and the battery life is very good. Easily cleaned, the parts are easily removable. The cover is garbage since it comes off with just the smallest nudge, but that was solved by adding a rubber band when storing. Literature included with the unit is very informative and clear, minus the most important info I really needed- that this unit lifts before cutting. I have thick, dark hair (even the gray is thick!) so as a full-on test, I allowed my beard to grow for 4 days (between 3/16 and 1/4 inch), and then went for it. Perhaps the manufacturer does not recommend this, but I wanted a real-life test, and it passed with marks! While the area of shave isn't large (no stars removed as I expected this from other reviews), it still took only an extra pass or two to get about 98-99% of the facial hair, leaving a very smooth shave. Because of that, razor burn is very much minimized. I have since tested it on 1, 2 and 3 days growth, and it performs exactly the same! I will only use this for travel, because of the caveat I listed below. Nice Job, Philips-Norelco!DISCLAIMER: If you have thicker hair, this unit does actually lift before cutting, so be aware that for a few days you will quite possibly have painful shaving bumps and/or pseudofelliculitis in some areas while the hair grows back out through the skin. For me, this was the chin area under the lower lip and the underside of the jaw, which lasted until the hair broke through the skin. Definitely an ouch! So, 4 stars for a terribly designed cover, and lack of text in the literature and description stating this razor will lift before cutting, something I definitely take into consideration when looking for electric razors.