Braun Series 5 (8985) Men's Shaver

I purchased this shaver to replace the Remington Triple Screen that I've had for years, and despite some niggly little things that have gone wrong with the Remington over the last couple of years, it's been maintenance-free, and I've been very happy with the closeness of the shave.

The second reason that I purchased this shaver was the high (highest) rating that Consumer Reports gave this product. Instead of following my gut instinct and replacing the Remington with another Remington I purchased this shaver, only to later realize that in order to properly maintain this shaver, you are required to purchase the Clean and Renew Refills, so Braun has you digging into your pocket for the life of the product.

And finally, the day after I purchased this product on Amazon, I discovered that Costco sells the same product at the same price, but includes 3 free refill catridges, a $15.50 value (plus tax & shipping).

But the kicker is...the shaver does not shave very closely! (or anywhere near as closesly as my Remington). In fairness to the product, they suggest you use the shaver 'multiple' times prior to eveluating it's performance. I've used it about 9 times already and it does a terrible job of shaving on my neck, and only an average job on my face, despite having followed in close detail all of the recommendations in the instruction manual on how to use and maintain the product.

I'm anxiously awaiting the highly rated performance from this shaver, but at this stage, the jury's still out.

WOW. WAS I SURPRISED. I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD GET SUCH A CLOSE SHAVE WITH AN ELECTRIC SHAVER. THE REAL TEST TO ME WAS THE FACT THAT MY FACE STILL FELT SMOOTH 4-5 HOURS LATER. I WAS NEVER ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT WITH MY NORELCO.

Was a loyal Norelco user until Consumer Reports strongly touted this product. Got it and love it. Great shave and great convenience. The cleaning solution will cost $60/year and that may be a consideration to some. It's a financial sacrifice but no worry shaving and charging and cleaning make it worth the expense.

I tried several electrics in the past and could never get a shave that was even close to adequate. My dermatologist wanted me to try an electric again, so I decided to spend the bucks and get the best I could find, and hope it worked. After about 3 weeks of practice, I was finally getting a decent shave. If I want to stay fairly smooth, I'd have to do it again in the afternoon sometime, but usually once in the morning is fine. It isn't an instant shave. It takes me a while to get all the stubble growing in the different directions, but I can get there.

I either didn't read it or forgot it, but I noticed the other day that the head wasn't swiveling. Then I saw there were two "on" positions for the razor, plus one for the clipper. It goes: off-> on (w/swivel)-> fix (no swivel)-> clipper. Can't believe I didn't notice that for several months.

I love the auto clean but hate the expensive disposable cartridges.

I take the foil off after each shave and tap it and the razor lightly on the sink to knock out the hairs before putting it back in the base. Then I hit the clean button about every 3 shaves (or immediately if it registers 'intense' on the base).

I decided to refill the cartridges instead of spending $5 or $6 a piece and throwing away the perfectly good plastic cartridge every time.

Ingredients in the cleaning solution are: denatured alcohol, limonene, citral.

Denatured alcohol is just ethanol (same as liquor) with a poison added to make it undrinkable. Really - a poison. If they denature it, they don't have to pay liquor taxes. The denatured alcohol in U.S. hardware stores is denatured with Methanol (wood alcohol). Methanol is seriously toxic. But I'm not sure that it would be a problem. The razor has a drying cycle that would evaporate both the ethanol and the methanol. Besides - the concentrations we'd contact from the razor and base are very low. "Dose is the difference between medicine and poison". Get too much of one thing and it can poison you (salt, caffeine, water,...), small doses are usually not a problem for many toxic substances. They use this ethanol methanol mixture as the fuel to heat chafing (keeps food warm) dishes and fondue pots also. I'm really not sure what to think about it.

The other ingredients are Limonene and Citral. Limonene is a terpene. Terpenes are great. They get them from plant oils. The most common is d-limonene. It is usually extracted from orange peels and smells wonderful. It works as a solvent in full concentration (a couple of wipes with a paper towel, took some adhesive goo off my kitchen floor that I'd tried to get off with many different cleaners) and a general purpose cleaner when diluted. It even shows up in cosmetics, some foods and is in some hand soaps to add that nice citrus smell, and lots of other places. They can use it to clean factory machines. It's a great degreaser and doesn't release CFC's like the chemical cleaners. It's safer for the staff also.

I'm guessing the limonene, besides cleaning away the skin oils, is a lubricant also. It has a bit of an oiliness to it. It adds a great orange citrus smell too. I don't use much. Really only about 1/100th of a cent worth, but I have no idea what the proper amount to use is.

I'm also using the denatured alcohol with methanol. I don't know if it's safe yet, so don't trust me on that. The denatured alcohol doesn't smell as nice as the cleaning fluid. They probably use another agent to denature the alcohol in their cleaning fluid. I wish I could get pure ethanol. Maybe I should try Everclear?

After the cleaning/drying cycle, the razor smells almost exactly the same as with the purchased cartridges. The citral in the ingredients is a fragrance and I decided - for me - it was probably optional, so I haven't tried to track it down. I bought d-limonene at greenterpene dot com. (d-limonene smells like oranges, l-limonene smells like turpentine - I'm pretty sure they use the d-limonene).

I rinse the cartridge with a little alcohol to get the hair out - I don't use water - because water can corrode metal. Then I fill it with about $1.25 worth of the alcohol and a tiny amount of limonene. The cartridge holds 175ml-it's on the label. I had a full one and just scratched a line on the side so I'd know how much to add. Seems to be working well for me, but I really can't recommend it as I don't know about the methanol issue. I'll let you know if my ears fall off. Or if the razor has problems.

I wouldn't use drugstore Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). It has water, acetone, methyl isobutyl ketone, denatonium benzoate - a bittering agent, sometimes fragrance and coloring agents, plus other stuff - there are different recipes depending on the manufacturer. I'm afraid of all those extra ingredients harming the razor.

Well, that's my recipe. I really can't recommend it though until I find out about the methanol issue, although I like it. If someone finds a pure ethyl alcohol that is denatured with something milder, let me know. Thanks.

And I do love the razor.

I started shaving with a Remington foil razor years ago. I then switched to a rotary by Noreco almost soley because it squirted lotion out, and after that broke I started using a Gillete Mach 3 blade razor. I've found the Braun 360 to be better than the rotary but not quite as close as the blade. However, the ease of use of the Braun vs a blade more than makes up for it. The cleaning process is a bit loud, but only for a few minutes. I do not clean it after every use, but every 2-3 uses. I've had the unit for about a month, and have plenty of cleaning fluid left.