Over the past two or three years I've developed some frustrating skin problems that began with red bumps on the top of my scalp. These were primarily in the bald areas that never came into contact with the razor so I knew they were unrelated to shaving. Unable to get them under control, I finally went to a dermatologist, was diagnosed with rosacea,and prescribed some meds to keep it under control. It's been a struggle to keep it under control but it's a lot better than it was.
More recently I started breaking out on the sides of my head and nothing, including a round of antibiotics, seemed to bring it under control. These were different kinds of bumps from what I had on top of my scalp, so the dermatologist gave me a different type of topical cream to put use. It helped at first, but the problem never really went away.
I began to think that perhaps I had more than one type of skin problem going on, and to consider the possibility that the problem on the sides of the head was related to -- or at least aggravated by -- shaving. I reluctantly decided to switch to an electric razor to see if it made any difference. I'd tried this a few times before, but never for more than a day or two because the friction caused by the electric razor against the skin can also cause some redness, and in my opinion, was no kinder to the skin than the blade. However, I'd never really tried electric shaving for long enough to know for sure. I decided it was time to find out. I already had a
Conair Cleanhead, so I started with that. After a week, I noticed a huge improvement. The blemishes began to fade and my skin looked better than it had in a long time.
I got curious about the
Philips Headgroom after reading about it here and decided to give that a try. I've been using it since Tuesday or Wednesday, and I have to say that it provides a much more comfortable shave than the Conair Cleanhead. It just glides over the scalp with very little friction, resulting in very little redness or irritation. It doesn't get all the hair in a single pass, but truth be told, neither does a blade. However, it does clear away more than the Conair, and I can shave my entire scalp a lot more quickly and easily with the Headgroom.
No electric razor will ever cut as close to the scalp as a blade, but I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth I was able to get my scalp with the Headgroom. There wasn't a whole lot of difference between and the blade. The main difference is that the smoothness doesn't last quite as long; I'd say the stubble grows back about 2 or 3 hours sooner -- which still gets me through the day. I can feel some slight stubble after 10 hours or so, but it's a good 12 hours before anything visible appears. But after two weeks away from the blade, the blemishes are nearly all gone, and it's more important to be blemish-free than to have an extra hour or so of smoothness each day.
The Philips Headgroom isn't designed for wet shaving, but I'm not really interested in that anyway. I try to avoid using any unnecessary products that might contribute to skin flare-ups.
Just thought I'd share, since I've always been somewhat of a skeptic when it comes to head shaving with electric razors. I've concluded that they
are more gentle on the skin, and worth giving a try if you're having a problem with razor bumps or pimples.