GilletteLabs Heated Razor review: A very different electric razor

When I say electric razor you’re thinking of a buzz shaver, plug it in, charge it, and then buzz buzz buzz away shaving your face.

The Heated Razor from Gillette’s crack team of engineers they call GilletteLabs is a very different take on things.

If you’ve ever had a barber shave you, it’s a strange feeling – a bloke with a blade in hand let loose on your face and neck.

The other key factor of the barber shave is the hot towel, constantly bringing a warm and soothing sensation to the experience.

Could a heated razor do the same? The idea is to take a standard looking blade and add a metal plate to it which is heated by power in the handle.

There’s no replaceable batteries, this unit sits upright on a charger so it’s always got heat ready to go.

It takes almost no time for the shave head to heat up, then you just do your normal thing.

Now, as a bearded man, I used this for my neck, for which I normally use a traditional “electric” trimmer.

Been a while since I used a razor, and it was good. And here’s why I put that down in a large part to the Heated Razor. Having not used a blade a while, I expected irritation or the odd chip of skin. Nope, a smooth shave.

To be honest, the warm sensation wasn’t overwhelming – I’m pretty big on the pre-shave wet-down with warm or hot water, and using hot water to rinse the blade, so – I really can’t say for sure that it made the difference.

You can choose either 43 or 50 degrees for your own level of comfort, and the whole thing is so well designed it’s comfortable in the hand, pivots and tilts for a close shave, so even without the heating it’s a premium razor.

Available online at Gillette Direct and shavershop.com.au it will set you back $299. A refill of four razor heads will cost $39.

Not a bad gift for dad!