Philips HQ6707/16 COOL SKIN

...time my husband enjoyed his Philips HQ5620, but when it started to die, I decided I should get him a new Philips for his birthday. The requirements we had were that the new shaver would dispense moisturizing cream with his shave, be rechargeable and be waterproof so he could clean it under the tap (or use in the shower, if he so wished). After looking at several possibilities, we went with the HQ6707, and here's how it compares with his previous ...
...types of creams and that Philips has given the consumer the ability to try each one. Still, four vs ten seems a bit of a letdown.

With the previous shaver, the charger was a slightly bulky item, that we weren't all that pleased with until we saw that you could mount it on the wall, and it was easily detachable. This model, however, doesn't let you mount the charging base on the wall, and it seems pretty lightweight, looks like it will ... more

My husband has very sensitive skin, and has never been able to use any blade razors because of this. In addition, he has a fairly tough beard, which only exacerbates the problem. He's always liked Phillips shavers, and over the years we must have bought him about eight different models. We were thrilled when they started producing rechargeable models, and when they came out with ones that dispensed cream with the shave, we thought we had reached shaver nirvana. For some time my husband enjoyed his Philips HQ5620, but when it started to die, I decided I should get him a new Philips for his birthday. The requirements we had were that the new shaver would dispense moisturizing cream with his shave, be rechargeable and be waterproof so he could clean it under the tap (or use in the shower, if he so wished). After looking at several possibilities, we went with the HQ6707, and here's how it compares with his previous Philips.

Our first problem was price. Of the different models we looked at, this one seemed to be the best price for what we were looking for. We actually paid only the equivalent of just over £62, which, if you look at the prices in the technical stuff below is a very good price indeed. So, that seemed to be a good thing to begin with.

The shaver comes with a charger stand, a cleaning brush, the required covers and some of the special cream. While the previous model came with a very attractive travel case that was big enough to take everything inside it, with room to spare, this one has a pretty flimsy zip case which my husband will probably never use, since he kept his old one. That was our first disappointment.

With the previous shaver we got two boxes of the shaving cream, with a total of five tubes of cream in each box. Our next disappointment was that this shaver came with only one box with four tubes of the special cream - two which are called "extra fresh shaving gel" and two called "moisturizing shaving lotion". Mind you, its nice to see that Nivea has more than one of these types of creams and that Philips has given the consumer the ability to try each one. Still, four vs ten seems a bit of a letdown.

With the previous shaver, the charger was a slightly bulky item, that we weren't all that pleased with until we saw that you could mount it on the wall, and it was easily detachable. This model, however, doesn't let you mount the charging base on the wall, and it seems pretty lightweight, looks like it will fall over and does so, quite often. Not their best engineering. However, one good thing about this shaver is that it has a wrist strap so if you're using it in the shower, you can put it on your wrist thereby allaying any fears that you'll drop it and smash it to bits. This wasn't available on the previous shaver and while my husband finds the strap annoying when he's not in the shower with it, this is actually an improvement and a very good idea - especially if you tend to be clumsy.

Whereas the previous shaver needed an initial charging of only about 5 hours, this one needed a full 8 hours before it could be used. Also, while the previous shaver notified us that it was ready with a little blinking green light, and would flash red when the battery was low, this shaver only has a green pilot light when it is charging and doesn't have any indicator to tell you that the battery is full or that its running low. Moreover, with the previous shaver, after the initial charge of 5 hours, the machine only needed one hour of subsequent charges to work for 40 minutes of shaving time. This machine needs a full 8 hours of charging every single time, for the same 40 minutes of shaving time.

While the previous machine seemed very quiet to me, and I could hardly hear it in the mornings, this one is even quieter, and even when I'm awake, I can hardly hear it unless he's wandering around the bedroom while he's shaving (and he's way too considerate a husband to do something like that! Right sweetheart?).

Now, down to the essentials - how good is the shave it gives? Firstly, my husband tried it on a wet face without the cream. The results were identical to his previous shaver - which continued to give him the smoothest, most comfortable and quickest shave he's ever had. Because his beard is so heavy, he usually has to go over his face several times before he is satisfied with the results. Not so with either of these shavers. When he uses the cream as well, his skin is not only well shaven, but smooth as well. In fact, when he has to shave but can't get to water, he finds that using just the cream is a great way to get a good dry shave. That is something he never dreamed could happen with his difficult combination of sensitive skin and heavy beard. In short, this shaver is everything it advertises itself to be as far as the shave is concerned.

Remember, since this shaver can be used with water, it can also be cleaned that way. Rinsing the shaver under the tap has to be not only the most convenient way to clean a shaver, but also the most hygienic. Mind you, the previous shaver still got clogged up with hair and muck after many years of use, but that's probably my husband's fault more than the shavers. This is because of my husband's very oily complexion. Every couple of months, he has to open this machine up and give it a good brushing down. Still, it seems just as easy to take apart and put back together as the previous one, and the little brush that Philips gives you with the shaver seems to get into most every nook and cranny.

One final note about this machine compared to the previous one is in regarding the cream. With the older model, my husband accidentally put the dispenser in upside-down so that it couldn't dispense any cream. In this model, you can't do that, and it does seem much easier to change the cream than in the previous one, so this is an improvement.

Bottom Line: After using this for some time, my husband has the following complaints.

1. The charging takes too long, and there's no indicator that the battery is full or that its running down - this takes off one full star from my rating!
2. The carrying case is a bit flimsy (so its good he kept the old one) - I'm taking off half a star for this.
3. The charging stand can't be wall mounted, and tends to fall over - another half a star off for this problem.

Other than that, my husband is pleased with this shaver, but not as happy as he was with the previous one. Perhaps if we had spent more time researching the new models, we would have chosen one that takes less time to recharge. I'm giving this only three stars. However, if you are looking for a reasonably affordable, rechargeable, wet/dry shaver that dispenses cream, and you don't mind the long charging time or not knowing if its fully charged or the battery is about to run down, then I'd say I could recommend this shaver. It's a good basic shaver that gets the job done, without fail. Recommended.

Thanks for Reading!

Davida Chazan © April 2006

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Technical Stuff:
Official web page for Philips in the UK is http://www.consumer.philips.com and the information about this product in particular can be found at http://tinyurl.com/ftj85

Available at Boots for £70, or online via Amazon.co.uk for £85.97 or at Agros for £69.99!
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