Panasonic Close Curves Electric Shaver for Women, Cordless 4-Blade Shaver, Bikini Attachment, Pop-Up Trimmer, Wet Dry Operation - ES-WL80-V (Purple)

This is a life saver for someone who hates shaving! I apologize for the long review beforehand, but I promise you, the details will help you make an informed purchase!------------------------------------------ BACKGROUND------------------------------------------------------I'm used to getting my legs, arms, arm pits etc. waxed professionally once a month, back when I was in India. When I moved to the US, I realized how super expensive it is to get it done here, especially on a student budget! I tried waxing at home but there were always difficult patches which would turn sore and red because I couldn't hold the skin taut. Hence, like every one else, I started shaving!The problem was that I had never shaved before. Maybe once or twice in high school but that too when my mother was supervising me. I hated it. I hated spending extra time in the shower. I hated that it had to be done more often. I hated the cuts and razor burns. I tried shaving my arms once and it was a disaster. That's when I thought that I should probably look up electric shavers, and I found this one!------------------------------------------ REVIEW------------------------------------------------------Close shave:I think the main issue most people face with electric shavers is getting a close shave. If done right, this can give a close shave. Hold the shaver perpendicular to the surface, so that the foil and both side of the trimmer are touching your skin. The trick is to go back and forth several times over the same area. There is a little bit of a spring action, so that you can, very gently, press it down on your skin, giving a closer shave. If you have longer hair, apply some baby powder and run a dry towel across the area in the direction opposite to the hair growth to lift the hair up. If you have really long thick hair (or if you are a guy shaving his legs), use the pop up trimmer to trim first.Battery life: Even though it said that it needs to be charged for 12 hours before the first use and between every use, I used it right out of the box to test it out on a small patch. It shaved well. I decided to wait 24 hours just to make sure I'm not getting any reaction, and charged it in the mean time. The blades did spin faster. So I believe it's a good idea to charge it between shaves. The manual says that 12 hours of charging gives about 20 minutes of shave, which sounds ridiculous at first. However, it took me, the amateur shaving person, 10 to 12 minutes to shave both legs, both arms and underarms. I think 20 minutes is more than enough.Wet shaving:UPDATEAfter a few months if use, I tried out wet shaving and I loved it. It became my preferred method over dry shaving. Since there was no risk of cuts like a regular razor, my main issue of not being able to see in the shower with my glasses on was no longer a concern. I could go over the same area multiple times. Being in the shower already meant I could quickly rinse off the shaver instead of brushing the hair off after every section, and allowed me to get a better shave overall.I used some shower gel or soap, not shaving cream. I found that keeping the skin and the shaver super wet and slippery helped it glide on the skin easily. I shaved against the direction of hair growth to get a good close shave. This method took me maybe a few minutes lesser than dry shaving.Before the update: ___________________________Since I hated shaving, I don't think this is a feature I want to try. The manual says I can use this with some shaving cream, and I lot of reviews say that your skin needs to be soaking wet to shave. If I ever do try it, I will update this. I think it's unnecessary to wet shave when I'm getting very good results shaving it dry, however, I feel it's a good feature to have in case that's your only option, for example, if your sharing a hotel room with friends and don't have the privacy.___________________________Regrowth: Surprisingly, the regrowth was not as blunt as normal shaving, which is what gave me the confidence to shave my arms! You do have to let it grow a little longer than usual to shave well.Cleaning: It is extremely easy to clean. It comes with a dual ended brush to brush of hair during the shave. After I am done shaving, I pop the head off and rinse both, the head and the blades inside in water. It's a good idea to press your finger onto the faucet so that it gives out a sharp forceful stream. I first rinse the head, then put a some hand soap in some water in a cup, and leave the head in that to soak while I clean the blades inside. I first rinse the blades in the sharp stream, then I dunk the blade only in the cup full of soap water and swish it around, and then rinse both the head and the blades. I use a q tip to get into the corners of the plastic inside. To dry off, I sort of shake both the parts vigorously so that the water falls out, put the top back on to protect the blade, and leave it to air dry for a few hours. Once I know it's fully dry, I put it for charging.Ergonomics: For dry shaving and washing, it's very easy to hold. It fits well in my small hands and doesn't slip out of my grip. I don't know if the surface will become slippery if you're shaving wet with shaving cream. The placement of the buttons is good so that you can start and stop the shaver or open and close the pop trimmer with the thumb of the hand you're holding it with. I believe the design is good for both, right handed and left handed people. The side of the the blade is big enough for quick shaves, and small enough to get around difficult areas.Portability: If you have the right case to carry it in, it's easily portable. The case that comes with it is too small to fit both the shaver and the charger. This is my only complaint. Other than that, it's not too bulky and heavy to travel with.Longevity: Only time will tell. I have had it only for a few weeks and used it 3-4 times, and so far it's great. The blade and the foil are replaceable, so that's a good think. Other than that, if you read the manual, follow the instructions, keep it clean and charge it timely, you're doing everything on your side to maintain the product. If anything goes wrong or I face any issues, I will come back and update this.Overall, I think it's a good product, very affordable (I bought it for 14.99, the original price is 29.99, which is still great if it lasts for more than a year), it does the job well without nicks and cuts, and it is FAST!If you found this review helpful, give it a thumbs up! If you have any questions, please comment below and I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge. Have a great day! :)

PLEASE READI have never left a review on anything in my life before but this was so good I just have to.[also purchase aquafor and gel baby oil…you won’t regret it]I am a chronic sufferer of razor burn. I’ve tried everything. EVERYTHING. Clean razor, shaving with the hair, against, side to side, not shaving at all, everything. I’ve tried coconut oil, special shaving cream, and conditioner. I’ve tried girl razors, men’s razors, neutral razors…nothing worked. I’d either get bumps and burns or not a close enough shave. HOWEVER, this razor has changed my life. I found it on some article comparing women's electric razors and I bought it in a pinch thinking what the hell, it’s cheap, I’ll just buy it.Upon first review, I thought it sucked. I have dark, sometimes curly, sometimes not, thick, course black hair everywhere. It’s important to me to get a close shave. When I used it at first I tried it, I used the same pressure and motion as a mechanical razor- that’s where I was wrong. It left visible hairs and I was so disappointed. A couple days later I tried again. I figured out how to use it to my advantage.Here are so key notes I’ve discovered:1. It works much better on dry skin. Everytime I use in the shower it doesn’t glide like it’s supposed to and I’m afraid of cutting myself, although I feel like the shower may get a closer shave but idk how that effects razor burn.2. You have to go up and down on the same strip multiple times to achieve the goal you’re looking for. I’m talking- apply some pressure and go up and down until you feel what you’re looking for.3. Visually, it gets as close as a shave as a normal razor, but if you’re feeling your legs, it can still feel a little rough. This also means that you have to use it more frequently in order to maintain the appearance that a normal razor may keep for a couple days. Considering that I dothis on my bedroom floor while watching TV, Im fine with that.4. It takes me about 20 minutes to do my entire legs combined. I’m 5’10 and 70% legs so I have a lot of space to cover.5. Apply lotion generously afterward. Especially if you’re dry shaving, it doesn’t really hurt you to not use lotion (on your legs only), but they may get scaly and dry if not.6. BIKINI:most important:make. sure. your. hair. is short. before. using. this. razor.i usually hop in the shower and shave with my hair growth direction (we all know that doesn’t get rid of the hair) to shorten it. Then, I wait for it to dry and go right in with the Panasonic razor. I would be more carefully with the pressure you use and I only recommend using the popup trimmer for the bikini line. (I learned this the hard way)Now, for the bikini line, I usually use the big razor area, get my skin as flat as possible (BE CAREFUL WITH PULLING YOUR SKIN TAUGHT, it will cut you if you get the wrong angle…I learned that the hard way too), and I go over the line with the large part several times. THEN I go back over with the popup trimmer. I do this until my skins feels hairless (I can only get this way with diligence and patience on my bikini line only) If you see razor burn- DON’T BE ALARMED. all you need to do is lather up a bunch of Aquafor and let that sit for a while and then use the gel baby oil (you can get it anywhere, I get mine from target) and put that on there after the Aqua for sits for a while and let the oil soak for a little, then I put on soft, loose, shorts and go to sleep. Before you go to bed you may notice a little bit of the darkness or little hairs under the skin since this razor doesn’t get as close as a normal one, but as long as it feels smooth when you run your finger in the opposite direction of the hair growth, it won’t look like that when you wake up in the morning.Now, I am an avid believer that aquafor solves everything so I’m going to assume that it moisturizes and heals your skin and prevent razor burn but this method is soemthing I swear by. ALSO, only do this at night or when you have several hours to lay around the house and do nothing. Any sort of irritation can cause razor burn, ingrown hairs, or bumps.5. Ingrown hair situation. This razor DRAMATICALLY reduces the amount of ingrown hairs I get. Occasionally I will get one or two when I use this but I will take that over my chronic ingrown hair problem from before.