Healthy shaving habits are not confined to our skin, hair and body alone. It includes prudent handling of your shaver and taking care of the potential wear and tear effectively to achieve excellent overall performance. So, apart from shaving the right way and taking care of your skin, proper care and maintenance of your shaver is vital to keep your foil or blades in a good shape. We would like to mention some unwanted habits that will kill your shaver’s foil well before the anticipated time frame of 12 to 18 months estimated by most manufacturers.
- You ignore overheating. Continuous operation of the shaver heats up the foil, as a result of the friction between the metals, which often leads to overheating. To compensate, you may want to use a small drop of oil to lubricate the metal.
- You are applying too much pressure during the shaving process. Foils are made of ultra thin metal, and are delicate. As the foils are perforated, the tension is shared only across a closed, honeycomb like grid, that is very thin. Here, gentle use is the way to keep the foil free from damage.
- You are tapping the shaver into something (palm/sink/counter) to shake off the residue, when cleaning or shaving. Tapping you shaver’s head can break the honeycomb-bonded grid easily.
- You are forcing your way through a heavy beard. It is a good idea to trim off the access hair with a trimmer before the final shave so that the upright stubble and hairs will find their way through the holes easily.
- After the cleaning is done, you reassemble the parts and store away the shaver before it is completely dry. After the shaver’s parts are thoroughly cleaned, I lightly shake off the access water and place them on a dry clean towel and leave to dry, before storing away safely. You might want to apply a drop of oil if you are packing it away for an extended period. This avoids a dull foil and cutter for the next use.
- You clean your cutter foil with a brush. To clean the foil thoroughly the most common way is under running water. However, application of cleaning spray is an effective way to clear off the excess oil specks/ and residue. The spray helps permeate the debris for easy cleaning. It is best to avoid using a brush when cleaning the cutter foil.
- You don’t follow manuals to dissemble and reassemble the shaver heads. Avoid rough and faulty handling during the detachment and replacement process. A little patience will help you in the long run.
- You ignore the importance of a protective cap. Don’t neglect the importance of the protective cap whenever you travel, or when putting your shaver away at home. Traveling without the protective cap and cover will not only cost you a the expense of a replacement, but a broken foil can give you a nasty cut.
- You don’t have time to clean your shaver. Cleaning your shaver after every 2-3 shaves is a must to keep your shaver’s foil and cutter like new.
- Finally, (as we all know) keep the shaver away from kids. It is not a toy. If your shaver is accidentally dropped onto the floor, the major impact will be on that sensitive foil..