demiCouture | VANCOUVER FASHION & STYLE BLOG + VANCOUVER FASHION + GLOBAL FASHION

“Let’s first preface this with the fact that I’m not an electric razor fan. My dad uses an electric razor and I’ll never understand it. I used a Mach 3 for a number of years and recently switched to a Merkur safety razor which takes forever to shave with, but is gets the closest shave I’ve ever had. That being said, I was fairly intrigued with the Phillips BodyGroom; as it is marketed as an electric razor specifically for body hair and can be used in the shower.

I’ve always considered myself a relatively well-groomed individual, and although I’m not one of the waxed-chest set, I do like to keep things under control. I’m not sure if you have seen advertisements for the BodyGroom, but it largely sold itself as dealing with *ahem* ‘bathing suit area’ hair. For most men this is an extremely private matter and it was quite a shocking ad campaign for a lot of us. However (for the sake of science) I was willing to put the BodyGroom to the test in three key areas: face, chest, and “area”.

Face

First impression: This is like any other electric razor. It works, just not very well. It’s loud and obnoxious which is exactly what I don’t want in the shower. Admittedly the Bodygroom is not meant for facial shaving, but this wasn’t a great start.

Chest

The shaver clogged immediately with chest hair in the shower and became totally useless. I’m hardly bearish but the razor seemed completely unable to deal with actual hair. Nonplussed, I tried it again when dry and although it performed better (and dutifully dispatched a decent patch of hair), it was hardly a close shave, and barely better than what a standard beard trimmer could accomplish. A second pass on the same spot revealed no better results.

“Area”

As an item aimed expressly at taming the ‘hair down there’, I was anticipating some serious results. If the BodyGroom was to perform, it was certainly here. It did indeed perform best in this “area”, with it’s design particulars certainly playing their parts well. It became instantly clear that the BodyGroom was really only designed for shaving one part of the male body. That being said, the BodyGroom performed no better than your standard beard trimmer, and certainly wasn’t able to get a very close shave by anyone’s standard.

In conclusion I would have to give the BodyGroom a pass. Although it performed decently in it’s expressed purpose, any well-appointed man’s bathroom will contain a beard-trimmer which performs just as well; especially once you realize that the “in the shower” application of the BodyGroom is completely without merit.”

-Charles