For men who are lucky enough to have relatively slow-growing beards, achieving a quiet shave is easy. They can just use a standard razor. However, those among us who have to shave every day would benefit from getting one of the quiet electric shavers I’ll talk about today.
The products I’ll review in this article are some of the best ones on the market. As always, before we get to the shavers, I’ll present a brief shopping guide so you’ll be able to know a quiet shaver when you see one. But first — why would you need a quiet electric shaver at all?
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Why You Need a Quiet Electric Shaver
For the longest time, we were all shaving with standard razors. Actually, those were pretty good as far as their noise level goes — but not very great at much else.
Standard razors tend to nick your skin an awful lot. On top of that, even the ones with flexible heads can’t seem to navigate both your cheeks and your neck at the same time. Usually, you’d just end up with a chopped-up face, so many men with sensitive skin just let go completely and started growing full beards and just trimming them.
Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s a good look if it works for you. Still, men who work in professional fields with strict dress codes have limited options when it comes to facial hair. It’s either a smooth face or a neatly trimmed and styled beard. Both options would be just as time-consuming to maintain, especially if you were having to shave with a standard razor every morning.
Fortunately, we have other choices nowadays. If you’re too busy or even too lazy to stand in front of a mirror for 20 minutes every day only to have a blade irritate your skin, you’re not alone. After all, that’s why we have electric razors. Generally, they are:
- Much faster than standard razors, taking only a few swipes.
- Easier to use, since they don’t need shaving cream or foam to work. In fact, some of them can work on wet or dry skin.
- Safer and better for sensitive skin, in particular.
- Economical in the long run. Although the initial purchase of a shaver can be a bit pricey, it will last for years. You’ll only have to change the heads periodically and maintain them between those times.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Quiet Shaver
If you’ve already decided to step it up and get yourself a quiet electric shaver, there are a couple of things you ought to keep in mind.
Among the general category of electric shavers, there are certain types that are quieter than others. But I’ll also mention some of the things you should look for when you’re shopping for a shaver, no matter how loud it is.
However, since we are looking for a quiet shaver, let’s state the obvious first.
Noise Level
If you have a bit of prior knowledge about electric shavers, you’ll know that there are two types you’ll often come across:
- Foil shavers have two parallel barrels that push the hair toward the blades that are hidden beneath a thin comb.
- Rotary shavers usually have three round discs with angled grates. As the discs spin, the hair falls into the grates and gets cut.
What does the typology of electric shavers have to do with the volume of noise they produce? Why, everything. You see, foil shavers need a huge amount of cycles per minute in order to be effective. We’re talking about tens of thousands of rotations. Rotary shavers, on the other hand, seem to have a much lower revolution count, which may result in a quieter shaver.
I’ve also mentioned speed settings in plenty of my other quiet product reviews. Typically, the lower speeds would be less noisy than more powerful ones. So if you’re really in a hurry, you can use that turbo mode. However, if it’s a regular day, lower speed settings would do you just fine.
Power Source
Although electric shavers started out with cords, that proved simply too inconvenient to last. So as everything else went cordless, so did shavers. Nowadays, most shavers operate on rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries and have either a charging cord or a charging station.
In fact, some of these charging stations also automatically clean the device, which is always a nice touch. However, cleaning stations can also add to the noise, especially if they use fans to dry off the razor. But then, if you’re that sensitive to noise, you could always manually clean the device. I actually think that you can clean the blades better manually, anyway, but we’ll discuss that in a moment.
Extra Features and Attachments
Most electric razors try to distinguish themselves by adding a special feature or blade technology into the mix. They can be entirely waterproof or at least able to operate with shaving foam or gel. Waterproof machines would be great for men who like to shave in the shower.
Some of the electric shavers also have different attachments. For example, flat attachments for sideburns, beards, or mustaches are fairly popular, as are nose and ear hair trimmers. Some of these attachments are completely replaceable heads, while others are of the pop-up variety.
Although some of the products I’ve picked out have stable heads, most of them are able to flex to the shape of your face and neck. Obviously, you want that kind of flexibility in your blades. However, if the build isn’t of high-quality having that flexibility may leave these shavers more prone to breaking than static ones. And of course, all of the products I’ve listed are rotary shavers since we’ve concluded that they’re the quietest type of product.
Maintenance and Cleaning
As I’ve previously mentioned, some electric shavers do come with cleaning stations. But what should you do if they don’t?
Actually, in this case, foil shavers may be better than rotary ones. However, both should be easy to clean if you pay attention and do it regularly.
You do want to make sure that you get all of those hairs and gunk out of the device. Obviously, they shouldn’t rust the metal, but they could clog the blades and cause a lag in performance. And they might get back onto your skin and cause irritation and even full-blown breakouts.
Even with the cleaning, you will have to buy new heads every once in a while. Most manufacturers recommend doing so yearly at the very least.
5 Best Quiet Electric Shavers
This time around, I’ve decided to group the reviews by the type of shaver head. So I’ll start by reviewing two quiet electric shavers with static heads and follow that up with three flexible shavers. Let’s begin with the crowd favorite.
1. Philips Norelco Shaver 3800
Phillips has been putting out consistently amazing electronic gadgets for decades. So of course, they also have a whole line of electric shavers. Indeed, I’ve included 3 of their products on this very list. At a risk of sounding even more biased than I already do, I should admit that my list only has 5 products.
The Norelco Shaver 3800 is one of the simpler rotary models Phillips has on offer. While it doesn’t have the fully flexible head some of the other models do, the 3800 does have a slight pivot. There are two bolts on the sides of the head that allow it to shift back and forth a bit.
The rotary blades have ComfortCut technology and run smoothly over your skin. What’s more, the blades are designed to lift the hairs and cut them, so you can count on having a fairly close shave. The device is also fully capable of performing with or without foam, or even on dry skin.
The handle of the shaver is fairly thick. Inside, there’s an excellent and notably quiet motor, as well as a pop-up trimmer that comes out from the top. According to the manufacturer, the blades should also be easy to clean. You can just flip them outwards and wash them under a sink — although I’d consult the manual first.
The silver power button is on the bottom half of the handle, right above the three LED battery indicators. The powerful battery allows you to shave for up to 60 minutes with just a one-hour charge, which is equivalent to around 20 shaves. If you’re in a hurry, a 5-minute quick charge can get you enough power for a single shave.
And lastly, the shaver comes with a charging stand which provides a neat and organized way to keep your shaver and its accessories in one place, making it easy to find and use whenever needed.
Features:
- Simple rotary shaver
- 5-directional pivot and flex heads
- Charging stand
- LED battery indicators
- Pop-up trimmer
» Philips Norelco Shaver 3800 (Amazon) «
2. SweetLF 3D Rechargeable IPX7 Electric Shaver
The SweetLF 3D shaver is another minimally flexible device. Like the previous shaver, it does have some give, though. However, unlike the first machine I reviewed, this one was specifically made to run silently.
The handle of the shaver is slim, although it too has a pop-up trimmer on top. On the underside of the handle, there’s a power button, as well as five LED lights that indicate the battery percentage.
The 3D part of the product name refers to the 3 floating blades at the top of the shaver. They spin in 4 directions, sweeping up hairs and cutting close to the skin. Moreover, both the blades and the entire body of the shaver are waterproof, so you can even use it in the shower. And of course, you can also use it on dry skin.
The device uses a USB cord to charge, which means that you’ll be able to charge it anywhere. A full charge would take about an hour to achieve, although it should last for 2 hours of use, which is twice as much as the previous product. But similarly, you can get a single shave out of a 5-minute charge.
Features:
- 3D rotary shaver
- Waterproof
- 1-hour USB charging
- LED battery display
- Pop-up trimmer
» SweetLF 3D IPX7 Electric Shaver (Amazon) «
3. Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 5570
The Philips Norelco 5570 is here to take us to another level of head flexibility. The Norelco line of shavers is certainly one of the quietest ones on the market — which is why I’ve reviewed another one of those further down the line.
Like the previous Philips shaver, this one can work on wet or dry skin. The blades also work in a similar way, raising then cutting both long and short hairs. The head can actually flex in 5 directions, adapting to the natural contours of your face. When you need to replace your blades, Phillips also sells these shaving heads separately.
But before you buy new blades, you should take good care of the ones that come with the shaver. Fortunately, that shouldn’t be difficult, as you can flip open the top of the head and run water directly over it.
In addition to the main flexible head, the device comes with 2 additional trimmers. The flat head is for adding finishing touches to your beard or sideburns, but we’ve seen that add-on before. The novelty comes from the narrow trimmer for ear and nose hairs.
As always, the power button is on the inside of the handle above the LED battery indicator. The battery should last for about 60 minutes, but you can do a quick 5-minute charge for a single shave. And it also has a Turbo mode that temporarily speeds up performance.
Features:
- 5-directional flexible rotary shaver
- Turbo mode
- LED battery indicators
- Flat sideburn trimmer
- Ear and nose hair trimmer
» Philips Norelco 5570 (Amazon) «
4. Hatteker 4-IN-1 Electric Rotary Shaver for Men
This device proved to me that shavers don’t need to be from a big brand in order to be effective. Like the previous one, this Hatteker shaver has a flexible rotary head, as well as a few other additions.
The 4-directional main blade attachment will get you a nice, smooth shave, whether you prefer to shave with a gel, foam, or on dry skin. The other attachments that come with the shaver are the flat trimmer, the narrow nose trimmer, and even a cleansing brush.
There’s also a guide comb that can fit onto the flat trimmer attachment, as well as a tiny cleaning brush. When the time comes to clean your razors, you can flip open the top of the rotary head, dust the hairs out with the cleaning brush, and run some water over it, for good measure.
As usual, the power buttons and the LED indicators are at the front of the handle. However, these battery indicators are somewhat different than the others we’ve seen, showing a glowing digital percentage of battery, a faucet, a plug, and a lock. Naturally, the faucet is there to indicate that the shaver is, in fact, entirely waterproof — so you can even use it in a shower.
Also, the device gives you an hour of runtime after an hour and a half of charging with a USB cord. However, if you’re in a hurry, you can get a single shave out of a 5-minutes charge.
Features:
- 4-directional flexible rotary head
- Flat hair trimmer and guide comb
- Nose hair trimmer
- LED indicators
- USB charging
» Hatteker 4-in-1 Shaver (Amazon) «
5. Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 9700
As you can tell from the product name, the Norelco 9700 is the most advanced Philips shaver on this list. So here’s what you get if you buy a top-of-the-line product like this one.
To begin with, let’s talk about the build. The primary attachment this device uses is an 8-directional head with the standard 3 rotary blades. However, the shaver also comes with a flat trimming attachment, as well as a round cleansing brush. The body of the device is fully waterproof, so you can take it into the shower with you.
There are speed settings controls on each side of the power button on the handle. There are 3 speed options ranging from slow to fast — the slow setting will be the quietest and the gentlest on sensitive skin. However, the higher speeds should still be quieter than, for example, the average foil shaver.
Under the power and speed settings, there’s a digital interface not unlike the one on the previous product. It shows the battery level, as well as cleaning and replacement indications.
As it happens, this device also comes with a cleaning system, the SmartClean PLUS, which is essentially a dock that cleans hair, gel, or foam from the blades and lubricates them to keep everything running smoothly.
Features:
- 8-directional flexible rotary head
- Flat trimmer head and a cleansing brush
- Cleaning dock
- Waterproof
- 3 speeds
» Philips Norelco 9700 (Amazon) «
Final Thoughts
So there you have it, my picks for the best quiet electric shavers for men. As I always say, if you’re going to be doing something every day, why not make it an enjoyable experience? That’s the whole point of my articles on quiet products, and it’s also the reason why I just recently wrote about quiet hairdryers and toothbrushes.
I hope that this article will prove just as helpful as the ones I’ve done in the past. When in doubt, just remember to keep in mind the type of the shaver, and refer back to the shopping guide I’ve provided. So whether you’re shopping for yourself or for a loved one, you’ll always be prepared!
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