Panasonic ARC5 Electric Razor for Men with Pop-Up Trimmer, Wet/Dry 5-Blade Electric Shaver with Intelligent Shave Sensor and Multi-Flex Pivoting Head – ES-LV65-S (Silver)

I wet shaved for over 30 years. I tried some electric razors (rotary and foil) when I was younger and my skin was more soft/sensitive, and they were all terrible. The ARC5 has finally changed my perception of how good and comfortable an electric razor can be! I usually shave dry and use some Lectric Shave (or similar) before, and some Nivea post shave balm after. This is worth noting right off the bat as I think they are both important parts of my shaving routine and I recommend them both to any electric razor user. It should also be noted that you have to let your skin get used to an electric razor if you've never really used them before. For some that can be a week, for others it may take a month. I totally understand why people get frustrated with electric razors because the first few times can be tricky... you just have to stick with it. But once you do... man, this thing is great. Does it shave as close as a wet razor? No way, but it's good enough and gets pretty damn close with very little irritation or burning... I know I sometimes miss spots, but I used to do that when I wet shave too! After a while, you get to learn where the tough spots are on your face and how to work with them. I still find the whole process more enjoyable, quicker, and more comfortable than wet-shaving. The ARC5 wins for me too in how easy it is to clean. You don't need to use cleaning cartridges and all that nonsense, just some liquid soap after each shave is all you need to keep the blades clean and sharp. The way this comes apart for easy rinsing and cleaning using the in-built cleaning mode is so helpful/useful and mean no silly extra expenses. Overall, a great product with good battery life, excellent performance and comfort, and easy clean up. Highly recommended! Update: After over a year of use, this shaver is still performing well. I do add a touch of oil to the blades and foil every few weeks, but I still just use liquid soap to clean it after every shave, and sometimes give it a bit more of a thorough soak or brush. This shaver still performs well. I am starting to feel a little less closeness, so have ordered a replacement foil and blade set... I think swapping these out every 18 months is a good idea (Panasonic recommends changing the foil every year and the blades every two, so 18 months seems like a happy medium). My only con with the Arc5 over the year is that it definitely performs best if you shave every other day, maybe three times a week. With extended beard growth over, say, 4-5 days, and it does struggle a bit. It's not uncomfortable, it just takes a little extra time to prune your face. I could imagine if you have a very thick or wiry beard, this could be an issue and there may be better options out there.

I shave my head completely to the baby skin point so this review will be from that perspective. First let me start by saying DON’T buy those gimmicky rotary razors with 5+ heads that make all sort of claims about ease of use and closeness of shave. I’ve tried them all - Remington, Pitbull Skull Shaver, Freebird - and they are all garbage. They take forever, do a terrible job, and always leave patches you have to clean up, and dang are they pricey for such a poor product. They suck, period. This razor is the real deal. I have extremely sensitive skin so using clippers or cartridge razors always left red blotchy spots on my head for days due to the irritation and took forever to get the close shave and look I wanted. That caused me to wait weeks to shave my head, letting it grow out to shave less frequently and save my skin. I wore hats and beanies way more frequently than I wanted to cover the growth, then the irritation. That’s a thing of the past with this bad boy. I use this every day, every other day, or every 2nd/3rd day depending on my schedule and I can keep the fresh shaved bald look with zero irritation in a matter of 2-3 minutes. And the shave is the closest I’ve ever had from an electric razor, it’s practically at blade shave level. I don’t use shave product and I go directly against the grain, however you can use product with this razor. As a note, this thing *can* handle slightly longer hair but it takes a while to get through it and it isn’t where this thing shines. If you shave your head, the best way to use this is to use clippers or a blade to shave your head once, then use this as your maintenance razor to easily keep your look. It’s super easy to clean!! Just a few drops of dish soap, a little water, and turn it on until the soap lathers through the blades. Rinse and you’re done!! This is comparable and, in my opinion, superior to Braun’s offerings with a slightly higher initial cost. This is offset by the fact that you don’t have to constantly buy cleaning cartridges for it like Braun requires. Pros: -Extremely close shave, very close to a blade -Long battery life -Great on sensitive skin, leaves no irritation marks -Easy to clean -Ridiculously fast shave if used as a head maintenance razor -Can be used with or without shave oil/cream -Excellent razor for my fellow bald kings Cons: -Not as great on longer hair -Slightly higher up front cost but offset by ease of cleaning -Not mentioned/discussed nearly enough in forums where men are doing the razor hunt This razor took my head shaving to a whole new level and is worth every penny. If you’re on the fence and this review resonates with your needs, take the plunge, you won’t regret it! *Update* - Almost a year later and this thing is still my favorite razor I’ve ever owned for head shaves. I’m in the process of filming a quick video to show how quick and effective this really is. I would add that getting a good Tea Tree face wash to use on your head, as well as a snail mucin moisturizer to rub on after shaving is excellent. For the Tea Tree I recommend Aromatica’s Tea Tree wash, and for the moisturizer I recommend Cosrx or Mizon’s snail cream.

TLDR: I am very, very pleased with this shaver and would buy it again. It is not perfect. About me: I have owned and used many electric shavers. Have always disliked electric shavers and prefer using a razor. However, I no longer have the desire to deal with lathering, shaving, and then cleaning up all that mess every single day. So I'd been using a Panasonic double foil electric shaver that I did not particularly like, until it abruptly died, and I bought this one to replace it. My beard is thick/dense, and I could shave twice a day (would if I needed to put my best self forward in the evening). Pros: Best shave I have ever gotten from an electric shaver. Also the fastest shaves I have ever had an electric shaver - less than 3 minutes to a "socially acceptable" shave, and if taking my time, 6 minutes gets to a "damn fine" shave. No need to go back and forth over the same spot 30 times before it has done anything noticeable. If shaving daily, one pass is all I need. Obviously, it can not get as close as a razor, but it's not far off, either. The pop-up trimmer is very effective, and great for getting the spots that the head can't reach. Also, cleaning it is super easy. Cons: Someone else mentioned and I agree - this thing is LOUD. Wow. Coming from other shavers, this thing is higher-pitched and sure seems higher decibel. Also, it is not particularly gentle on the skin (sometimes less comfortable than using a razor). And the trimmer is not comfortable at all on the skin. Also, the head is HUGE - you will need the trimmer to clean up spots the head won't reach. Advice: Get it and accept its quirks. Also, if you don't have them already, get a block of alum and some aftershave to soothe your skin after using it. Your face will appreciate it. Use a light touch while shaving. Also, just go for "socially acceptable" for the first few shaves - unless you like feeling chewed up. Panasonic says use it for 30 days before judging. I have done so, and I have to admit it has been worth the money.

I bought my first Norelco in 1994 and loved it. Some years ago, I replaced it with a model 8240XL and also loved that one too. Both cut very well and the batteries seemed to run forever. On an impulse, I bought a model S8950 a couple of years ago, because the advertising depicted the swivel head as the greatest invention since the TV remote. This new shaver turned out to be a great disappointment. The cut was awful and after a while, the head fell apart and I had to replace it. The cut from the replacement head was so bad that I decided to buy a new head for my old 8240XL. The new head arrived and low and behold, the cut was even worse than the newer model S8950. I have now come to the conclusion that a senior bean-counter at Phillips Norelco has discovered he can save a few pennies by out-sourcing the blades to a cheap maker and the result is that the quality is now awful. So, buyers don't be persuaded by the reputation of Norelco and older reviews. Look at the current reviews and you will see what I mean. So far as I am concerned, Norelco's reputation is now dead. For me, changing from Norelco was a bit like a change of religion, but I carefully researched the reviews on various brands and models and it came down to either the high-end Braun 7 Series, or the Panasonic Arc 5. In the end, I bought the Panasonic Arc 5 and I am amazed at the incredible cut this shaver gives me. It appears to be well-made and I can now get a very close shave after just a couple of minutes. Love it and my skin feels like it has had a very careful wet shave. I have only used the shaver so far in dry mode. The latest fad is for high-end shaver manufacturers to offer cleaning stations. I bought this model without the cleaning station and I am absolutely convinced that the cleaning station would be a waste of space, money and time. Why complicate a daily chore? The instructions for the non-cleaning station version, that I bought, don't mention the cleaning station at all. Instead, the instructions state to squirt a little liquid hand cleaner and water on the head and then to run the shaver. The result is that a little foam starts exuding from the head and after a 10 seconds or so, I remove the head (easy) and rinse it and briefly dry it. The whole cleaning episode takes maybe 60 seconds. Maybe, after some period of time, I will have to replace the head, but no drama and not very expensive. As a sales and marketing professional, I can tell you that every maker of long-lasting products dreams of offering a product where the purchaser has to continuously buy refills, cleaning packs etc. (Hence printers and vacuum cleaners and expensive fridge filters). If you buy this Panasonic with the cleaning station, you will need to buy packets of cleaning chemicals. If you buy the Braun, you will have to buy expensive cleaning cartridges. Don't waste your money on those gimmicks, they may work, but in my opinion, are completely unnecessary. UPDATE 5/15/2019 I have used this shaver for 2 months now and it is absolutely the best shaver I have owned and used in 50 years. I find the speed I shave is much faster than ever before. A few light strokes over an area and my skin is like a baby's bottom (without the smell!). With my previous Norelcos, I used to pound away with shaving cream and the result was nothing like this Panasonic. I did not buy the cleaning station and it is absolutely unnecessary. A quick squirt with liquid hand soap and 10 seconds running cleans it 100%, followed by a quick rinse in warm water. The Norelco is a classic example of a bean-counter buying cheaper components and ruining what was the Rolls Royce of shavers and companies, like Panasonic, quickly jump in and take over the business. UPDATE 11/25/2019 I have now used the shaver every day for the past 8 months and I can not praise it enough. In all my many years of using electric shavers, I have to say that this is absolutely the best of all of them all. Even after 8 months, it appears to be as sharp as when it was new. I did not buy the gimmicky cleaning kit and instead, put a few drops of hand washing liquid on the blades a couple of times a week and then run the shaver and the soap bubbles and removes any residues. I have tried using the shaver in the shower a few times, with shaving foam and the result is my skin feels as smooth as a baby's bottom. However, using the shaver dry does give an almost similar shave. UPDATE 5/14/2020 I noticed that after 15 months, the shaver still works very well, but has lost its initial amazing performance. It still gives a very good shave, but I have ordered a replacement foil/blades set, as I want it to deliver its original fantastic shave. Leaving it longer would be like running a Ferrari on regular gas when that incredible performance is only available with Super, if you see what I mean?

I've been using a few Norelco shavers for the last 17 years or so. My last one was able to accept HQ9 SpeedXL Replacement Heads which I think are great. The time has come for a replacement and this time I decided to try something else mainly because on the new Norelco shavers the shaving head must be removed in order to use the trimmer. I use the trimmer quite often and I know this will be an inconvenience for me. I've only used the Panasonic Arc5 for a few days and while my previous experience with the Norelco is still fresh I would like to point a few advantages that I've encountered. 1. The trimmer is just as easy to pop up and use as it was on my older Norelco. However, the teeth that cut the hair are much finer and I've found cut the hair closer and cleaner than the teeth on the trimmer of the Norelco. 2. Being a rotary shaver Norelco is supposed to be moved across the face in a circular motion. In theory this sounds easy enough, but in practice it doesn't feel very natural or easy to do and I've found myself using it more up and down. This is not a problem and from my experience I have found that it doesn't make any noticeable difference to how fast or clean it shaves. It seemed good enough, until I tried the Panasonic Arc5 with its foil shaving head design. The difference is subtle, but definitely an improvement. - foil shavers perform best when moving up and down along the direction of the way the hair grows, which happens to be much more intuitive and natural to do - because of the foil design, the skin gets slightly stretched over the foils from the movement up and down, which results in a slightly cleaner shave - my beard doesn't grow in all areas on my face in one direction, but it is very easy for me to follow the growth direction with the shaver, which results in being able to shave much faster 3. Because of the shape of the active shaving area (foils in a horizontal line vs 3 circles) it is much easier to both control the shave line and achieve a clean shave around areas like sideburns or a desired beard shape. 4. I'm not sure if it's the case with other foil shavers, but Panasonic Arc5 is much easier to wash and clean than a rotary shaver like Norelco. The way the circular blades are held in place on the Norelco makes for a tedious procedure to disassemble and clean, which must be done at least once in a while. It is very easy to drop and damage the blades in the process, and overall it's not one of my favorite things to do. So far the Panasonic Arc5 seems incredibly easy to wash, once the shaving head is removed everything washes out perfectly clean. There is even a short cleaning function that runs the shaver for a short amount of time and helps breaks down build up of any oil residues with some soap. One concern I have is the durability of the foil and blades. The Norelco that I've used have proven extremely durable and lasting much longer than the one year replacement period suggested by Norelco. The drop in performance is very gradual over time. I will try to come back and update my review after using it for some time and report the long term durability of the foils and blades on the Panasonic Arc5. EDIT: I have been using the shaver for about 1.5 years now, and I still haven't replaced the foils or the blades. The drop in performance has been so far almost imperceivable. However, most recently I have noticed a little bit of "biting" by the blades when shaving through the denser part of my beard. It is definitely not uncomfortable and it doesn't affect the shaving performance, if anything it probably just makes me slow down my movements a little. I have only noticed this in the last few weeks and I wonder if the drop in performance of this shaver will be less gradual than the Norelco after a certain threshold of wear has been reached. All in all, this is not really an issue however, as a year and a half is more than long enough. The durability and performance over time of the blades and foils was the only concern I had after my initial experience of this shaver, and I'm happy to report that I'm more than happy with it without having to do any replacements. Highly recommended!

I picked up the Panasonic ARC5 Palm-Sized Foil Shaver mainly for travel, but it’s quickly become something I use even at home. What really stands out is how much power they packed into such a small device. Despite the palm-sized design, it delivers a very close, smooth shave comparable to full-size electric razors. The 5-blade system and high-speed motor make a noticeable difference—it cuts efficiently without needing multiple passes. The size and design are a huge win. It fits easily in your hand and takes up almost no space in a carry-on or gym bag. Perfect for trips, but also great for quick touch-ups when you don’t want to pull out a larger shaver. Battery life has been solid, and the USB-C charging is extremely convenient—no need to pack a separate charger when traveling. Cleaning is also simple; just rinse it under water and you’re good to go. Another thing I appreciate is how comfortable it feels on the skin. It glides well and doesn’t cause irritation, even with frequent use. Overall, this is an impressive combination of performance and portability. If you travel often or just want a compact, high-quality electric razor that doesn’t compromise on power, this is an easy recommendation.

All I can say is, "Wow." I have been using electric razors on and off for over 30 years. It's always the same story - a trade-off of convenience vs. closeness and comfort. In the end, I always end up going back to a razor because closeness and comfort win the day. After decades, I think I can finally say that Panasonic has solved the debate with the ARC5. This isn't just the closest shave I've ever had from an electric razor, BY FAR, it rivals and even beats shaving with a razor once you get used to it. As an added bonus, it's even more convenient than any other electric razor I've ever owned because it takes half the time to shave than it took using my trusty Norelco. The other great benefit that I really appreciate is the way it cleans up with soap and water. There is a special cleaning vibration setting for cleaning - you just add a little soap and water and turn it on, and in 20 seconds it's like brand new! If you use any other technology for shaving, STOP NOW, and buy this product. Final word for those with sensitive skin. I have sensitive skin and another benefit of shaving with a razor is the lack of irritation. The Panasonic ARC5 is still not as good as a Gilette Fusion razor with shaving gel made for sensitive skin, but it comes close. It's probably somewhere in the middle of the scale on irritation, but for me, all of the other benefits clearly weigh in favor of this product.

I NEVER write reviews but really had to for this. Strap in. I used to be in the military and couldn’t have facial hair. Then I left and immediately grew a beard. I had that for almost ten years. Then I joined the fire department and couldn’t have a beard (I’m just rocking a mustache instead). When I’ve needed to shave, I’ve taken it REALLY seriously. I’ve used straight i.e. cutthroat razors, I’ve used safety razors, I’ve had badger brushes and shaving creams. You name it, I’ve tried it. I REALLY wanted a straight razor shave to be unbelievably close and awesome. Don’t get me wrong, using one of those feels badass but it was never incredibly close. Anyway, here I am, a couple of months in on a mustache-only regime and due to time and travel (hand baggage only), I thought an electric shaver might be a good idea (despite thinking it absolute sacrilege to go this route). I looked up all the reviews and just about every single one said Braun series 7 or 9. I suspect that Braun have put down some serious marketing cash but I won’t slate them because I haven’t used them. Then I looked at Which? magazine (a U.K. review magazine, which is a paid for subscription and therefore more impartial). Anyway, they recommended a Panasonic that’s a few years old. This one was new and cheaper, so I went with this. Dear reader, I’m devastated to tell you that despite my hours and hours of time, a lot of energy, and cash to get an amazing wet shave, this shaver blows it all out of the water. It’s incredibly quick and genuinely the closest shave I’ve ever had. It’s really annoying. I feel like a total sell-out but it really is that good. A couple of notes: 1. Yes, you will get the occasional hair that refuses to get cut but I found that with wet shaving and eventually they all succumb but it might be on the next shave. 2. I didn’t get the cleaning station. This seems like a blatant up-sell. I got myself a tiny brush and will just use that and the occasional dab of mineral oil. In my experience, these sorts of ‘automatic’ cleaning devices rarely work well. 3. Personal experiences may vary. I have pretty thick hair and get 5 o’clock shadow. My first shave was about 3 days growth and I felt no snagging. 4. I’ve found (perhaps unsurprisingly) that you get a better shave from the middle of the foils, so in tricky places - like around the ear lobe and mustache - you have to get stuck in a bit closer than feels comfortable to get it all. Don’t worry, it won’t hoover up your cookie duster or Van Gogh you. Simply amazing. Honestly, I was shocked. Give it a try (and tell no-one). Update: I’m a few more days in and still amazed on the daily. Battery power is great and yesterday I was pushed for time and ended up shaving in the car; can’t do that with a wet razor. Update - 15 months later: Still happy with the razor but wondered when I should look at changing the blades/foils. General advice seems to be 12-18 months and I’m right in the middle of that bracket. I shave most days and have fairly thick stubble, so figured it’s about time. The new blade and foil set is around $85, so I wanted to be sure. I kept the old set just in case and gave the new ones a go. Unreal. Like a new razor. So close and so fast. It’s annoying to lay out that kind of money but it comes out at about $5.60 a month, so really not that bad. If you’re around the 12-18 month point and aren’t sure, go for it. Oh, and clean your razor daily with a little brush, wash it in water once a week and use mineral oil to keep it lubricated. It’ll extend the life for sure.