If ever there was a cult gadget, it's the Philips OneBlade shaver. Those not in the know look at it and think, 'What the hell is that, and how can it remove my hair?' But those who have used it sing the OneBlade's praises. Although not too loud; sometimes it's very hard to find replacement blade, and we don't want a bunch of OneBlade noobs vacuuming them all up.
Today, in some of the best Black Friday around, a small but perfectly formed range of Philips OneBlade products is on sale. You should buy one – but form an orderly queue behind me first, please.
Philips OneBlade was little short of revolutionary when it first appeared a few years back. It looks a little like a manual razor, but it is electric. The secret to its genius is that it vibrates extremely fast – 200x per second, apparently – without ever quite touching your face.
The first time I used one, I was absolutely amazed at how rapidly and aggressively it removed my 4-5 days of stubble. In fact I would really recommend using it in the shower – or keeping a vacuum cleaner to hand – because it really does send hair everywhere. It's more reminiscent of using a lawnmower than a standard razor.
What impressed me even more was that there was almost no irritation – something I'm normally very prone to, in every sense, including facial. This is because, as noted above, it doesn't quite touch your skin, thanks to a narrow plastic guard. Admittedly this means it doesn't give a perfectly smooth shave. However, an increasing number of men don't want that totally clean-cut look anymore. Also, if you do want completely smooth facial features, it's easy to finish off with a standard razor once the OneBlade has made mincemeat of your several-days' growth.
Each blade lasts 3-4 months, so Philips describes a replacement three-pack as a year's supply. Obviously, depending on how often you use your OneBlade and what your hair growth is like, you might get slightly more or less than this.
Find out more about OneBlade after you have perused these deals…
Philips OneBlade: was £56.99, now £24.99 at Amazon
The Philips OneBlade has a revolutionary technology designed for facial styling and body grooming. It can trim, edge and shave any length of hair. Its dual protection system – a glide coating combined with rounded tips – makes shaving easier and more comfortable.
Philips OneBlade Replacement Blade - Pack of 3: was £30.50, now £21.99 at Amazon
There you go, a whole year's supply of replacement blades. This price is the cheapest they've been this year. It's possible that around Black Friday they may be even cheaper. Given the rate of inflation, however, probably not. Fill your boots!
Battery life is really impressive on the OneBlade as well – you get a solid 60 minutes from a four-hour charge. As you can tell from the various combs that you get with the Hybrid model, above, it's also not limited to doing only your face. It's excellent for body grooming, manscaping and lady gardening because, again, irritation and the amount of time required are really minimised.
OneBlade can seem a little overpriced if you're not already a convert, but with these Amazon Prime Day deals, now is a great time to try one out. In the war against unwanted hair, the OneBlade is a Stealth Bomber and AK-47 rolled into one.
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Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.
Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years.
A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."