I found it did take a little longer just because i had to keep rinsing it to stop the headslick from foaming even more. Not at all complicated to use at all. There is an on/off switch and if you press and hold it it goes into sonic mode but that is for cleaning only it says in the book that it can damage your skin. I believe it the blade is moving so fast it looks like it isn't moving at all. There is also a selector on the side to lock the head like a normal electric or soft mode that allows the head to move left and right up and down, then each of the 3 cutting heads and move left and right and up and down.