Braun Series 9 Review

The Braun Series 9 Pro Electric Shaver is a serious investment – there’s no getting away from that. If you are going to spend this amount of money on a shaver, you are going to want to be sure that it is the right razor for you – and that is where this Braun Series 9 review can help.

Braun claim that this razor produces their ‘Best Shave’, and that is quite a claim. They first designed an electric razor before the Second World War, and have been perfecting their products ever since. When they joined forces with Gillette in the 1980s, it brought together one of the world’s best electric manufacturers with one of the world’s best male grooming producers – it has been no surprise that they have gone on to dominate the male grooming market since then.

So when they claim that this is their best yet, we sit up and take notice. The Series 9 is the latest in a long line of quality shavers, many of which we have reviewed on this site. As a general rule, they have all rated highly against the competition, so we were excited to see how this one performed.

In this article, we are going to run through exactly what you can expect if you decide to purchase the Braun Series 9 – first we will look at what is included in the box and what features the shaver has. Then we will put it to the test to see how well it performs and look at its pros and cons. We will also offer some alternative products that you might want to consider – it is always important to look at your options before making a purchase like this – before delivering our final verdict.

Let’s get in to this Braun Series 9 Pro review and find out if this is the shaver for you…

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Braun Series 9 First Impressions

I don’t know about you, but I still get a tingling sense of excitement when I open the box of a new product. It doesn’t even matter what it is, a new toaster, a new laptop – even a new mop. With a shaver, you get all the little accessories in there as well – let’s see what you get in the box of the Braun Series 9.

First of all, there is the shaver itself – we’ll pop that to one side at the moment and look at the rest. First up we’ve got the 5-in-1 SmartCare Centre, which is much more impressive than you might think.

Its primary function is to charge your shaver, which it does automatically and very efficiently as soon as you dock the device, but there’s more to it than just being a charging dock. It will detect how much cleaning is required and then proceed to clean, lubricate and dry your shaver – all at the touch of a button. One thing to consider, though, is that it comes with a two-pin bathroom plug, so you may need to get a three-pin adapter to plug it into a regular UK socket.

There are three different cleaning settings: short, normal or intense, and this is indicated by the number of droplets (one, two or three) that are displayed on the machine. The docking station will determine how much cleaning is needed based on how long it has been since it was last cleaned, so you don’t need to worry about this too much. You are also provided with a cleaning cartridge, which you should insert before loading the shaver into the dock.

While we’re talking about cleaning, you’ll find a cleaning brush in the box as well. This is to be used after you have finished shaving, just to give the inside of the cassette a quick brush so that you don’t get it clogged with hair. It takes seconds, and is well worth doing every time to make sure the shaver is well maintained.

Finally, we’ve got the power case. This is the start of the WOW factor with this product, a feature that really separates it from the competition and makes it high end. Basically, this is a hard travel case that has an inbuilt charger, so your shaver can remain charging when you are on the go.

What this means is that you don’t have to take additional chargers away with you, saving you space, and it even has space for the little brush. You’ll need to remember to keep the case itself charged, which you can do with the same plug that is used for the docking station. It is heavier than a regular travel case, but that is down to the battery inside.

Right, that’s enough about what’s included with the Braun Series 9 – let’s see what it can do.

Well, the first thing it can do is look very nice in your bathroom! It’s a very attractive shaver – the silver casing gives it a real look of quality, and the shape is both attractive and ergonomic. It’s not huge, so it fits comfortably in your hand, but it is solidly built and is reassuringly weighty. The plastic of the panels looks better than you may think when you say the word ‘plastic’. They actually compliment the chrome of the body very nicely.

Braun Series 9 Specs & Features

Now let’s get on to the features. Braun calls this their most advanced shaver yet, and it’s not difficult to see why.

Let’s start with the innovative shaving head. In terms of the amount of flexibility the head has, this is one of the simplest and best that I have come across. While it only moves up and down (as opposed to some shavers that claim 360 degree shaving) you get a great range of movement.

There are four blades on the shaver, and each of them moves incredibly smoothly across the contours of your face. Each of them are able to move within the shaver’s head which means that you should always get a close shave – the blades will be in contact with your face at all times.

The head can be locked into place, using the Precision Switch, to give you more control to capture tricky hair. This is designed for the areas that are difficult to get to or when you need very precise lines.

The blades each oscillate 10,000 times a minute, so you get 40,000 cuts every minute that you are shaving – which is a lot. This isn’t quite the most that you can get in a handheld shaver, but it’s not far off. It feels very powerful when it is in full flow.

Speaking of power, using the Series 9’s AutoSense technology, the power of the blades will be altered depending on the thickness of your beard. Even if your beard is very thick, you have enough power to get a close shave.

The foil blades are designed to cut hairs below 0.05mm, which is incredibly close for an electric razor. If you have a thick beard, you are probably not used to being able to get a shave that close from anything other than a wet shave – this might change all that.

As you would expect from a shaver in this price category, it is 100% waterproof so you can use it in the shower and avoid domestic disputes about why there is hair all over the sink! It can be used with foam or gel as well, which is comforting to know for people, like me, who have very sensitive skin.

There is an LED display on the front of the device which both looks great and is also helpful. It will let you know how much battery is left (you will see a 9 when you have 9 minutes of shaving left, and it will count down from there), and when it will require cleaning. This is particularly helpful if you don’t have the docking station out and plugged in all the time.

The battery is very good. It is an inbuilt Li-Ion battery which they claim will give you around 60 minutes of shaving time. If you were to charge it from the mains, it will be fully charged within 50 minutes, and of course you have the travel case as well which can charge it. They estimate that you could go 6 weeks without having to plug anything in, if you were to use the travel case to charge the shaver between shaves.

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Using The Braun Series 9

Having opened the box and investigated all of the accessories, I was excited to try the Braun Series 9. I have long been a fan of the Series 7, so I was anticipating an excellent shaver. This is what I found.

I decided to load it onto the docking station before I shaved, just to ensure that it was fully charged for the first go. Before long, the display was indicating that the battery was full, so I was good to go.

As I mentioned above, I have quite sensitive skin, and often find that using shaving gel helps to prevent irritated skin when I shave, but I decided to give it a go without anything else, just so I could see how it performed. Spoiler alert – it performed very well.

The first thing I noticed was just how powerful the Braun Series 9 is. As soon as you flick it into ‘On’, you feel the power. There is a roar and you can feel the force of the motor inside the device. It is a great first impression – you know that you have a great quality shaver in your hand.

The next thing I noticed was how comfortable the shave was. It was an incredibly smooth shave, which seemed to contradict the power. I didn’t feel it pinch or nick my skin, even on my neck where I tend to find it is quite uncomfortable to shave. The best thing though was that I didn’t have any rashes after I had finished. I usually get red blotches on my neck, but there was nothing at all after using the Series 9, and I was delighted with that.

The power is most apparent when it comes to the speed of the shave. Combined with the flexible head, the blades manage to catch all of your hairs in one go – you don’t have to keep doing the same areas over and over again to make sure you have a full shave. One glide should do it. Before you know it, your whole face is done!

Then comes the true test – how close the shave is. It’s fine to get it done quickly, but how good is the shave? Well, the Series 9 produces one of the closest shaves that I have experienced with an electric shaver. On every part of your face and neck, you will find that the closeness of the shave is excellent. Even on a thicker beard (I have used it on a beard that I needed to tidy up), I found that the cut was incredibly close to my skin, all the while remaining very comfortable.

I have since tried the Series 9 with shaving gel and the performance was, as you would expect, excellent. Just make sure that you are only using a light lather.

I would expect that most people would use this shaver dry, but it is good to know that it performs well when used with foam.

All in all, I was delighted with the performance of the Braun Series 9.

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Pros and Cons

Alternatives To The Braun Series 9

While this shaver is a great option, it is far from the only one. There are plenty of other electric shavers that offer something slightly different, so it is always good to consider the competition before diving in:

Panasonic ES-LS9A Wet & Dry 6-Blade Electric Shaver: An elite shaver, but priced accordingly.

Braun Series 3 ProSkin Electric Shaver: A distant cousin of the Series 9, this offers a good shave at a more affordable price.

Philips Series 5000 Electric Shaver: A multifunctional shaver from Philips, with detachable beard trimmer.

Verdict

If you are considering buying a top-end electric shaver, I am not sure I can say much about the Braun Series 9 that would put you off spending your money on it. The performance is almost unrivalled, with a close and comfortable shave, and the travel case to make life much easier.

The only thing I can think of that may put people off is the price. It is big, but if you have already decided that you are willing to spend a decent amount of money to get the very best, then I think that the Series 9 should certainly be on your shortlist. It will take a hugely impressive shaver to beat it.

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