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According to a recent survey, conducted by a sock subscription service for gentlemen (I had not realised that such an establishment existed), men have now overtaken women in what previously was considered to be an area that they dominated.  According to this survey, a man can now spend up to 75 minutes over his daily getting ready routine.  Women, on the other hand, only spend 70 minutes on their beauty regime.  How many of the 75 minutes is taken up with shaving, I have no idea although 88% admitted to grooming their private parts once a week.  Nor do I know whether the Philips AquaTouch shaver, the subject of this review, was their chosen instrument of choice.

There are a number of models in the AquaTouch range.  My review sample is the AquaTouch Plus AT890 model that has metallic blue and matte silver strips decorating its black body.  This shaver is supplied with a 2-pin power lead, cleaning brush, head cover for use when travelling and various items of documentation.

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Philips has described the AquaTouch Plus AT890 model as “the affordable wet shaver” which can be used either for dry or wet shaving.  While the product's generally appearance is that of a standard electric shaver, this model, along with others in the Philips line-up, features the company’s Aquatec technology.  This shaver has a built-in seal which allows the user the versatility to switch between a dry or wet shave as the need or opportunity arises.

As with the company’s SensoTouch 3D model I reported on recently, the AquaTouch Plus has three shaver heads.  These heads are mounted flush against the top of the shaver’s body.  Each head is individually mounted and flexible so that it can adjust to the contours of the face.  Inside of the heads are dual-precision blades whose purpose is to tackle both the long hairs, by raising hairs prior to cutting them, and short stubble.  In use the shaver moved smoothly around the face with barely any instances of hairs being pulled rather than cut.

I found that this shaver was more proficient at removing the short stubble using the main heads.  When dealing with long hairs I tended to switch to using a pop-up trimmer which is located on the back of the shaver’s handle.  A slider switch releases the pop-up trimmer.  It was noticeable that the AquaTouch Plus was slightly nosier when the trimmer was being used.

The body of the shaver is modelled in such a way that it fits comfortably in the hand whether you are right or left handed.  Conveniently positioned, within easy reach of your thumb in a rubberised panel on the front of the shaver handle, is the unit’s on/off button to activate its Li-ion rechargeable built-in battery.  The shaver is meant to be used cordlessly and not when attached to the mains.  A warning sticker, to this effect, is attached to the rear of the shaver.  Like most of the documentation supplied with the AquaTouch Plus, this warning message is in pictorial form rather than text.

Straight out of the box, the unit’s battery is partially charged.  A full charge can take up to 90 minutes.  An indicator light on the front of the shaver will inform you when charging is taking place and when the task is completed.  Philips estimate that each shave should take three minutes but I generally felt that on average five minutes was more nearer the mark.

After each use you should clean the shave heads for the best results.  Cleaning can be carried out either using water or the supplied cleaning brush.  A small push button on the front of the arrangement of heads needs to be pressed to flip out the heads’ covering thus giving you access to the collected facial stubble.  For even more intensive cleaning, you can remove this top cover and extract the individual blades for up close cleaning.

While I would be quite happy using this product for a dry shave, I am yet to be convinced that it can out-perform a traditional razor for a wet shave.  Generally I found a traditional wet shave was quicker although it did require more shaving foam.  Philips has priced the AquaTouch Plus at £100 on their online shop.  A quick check of the internet revealed that this product is advertised at £64 by Amazon.co.uk.

http://www.philips.co.uk/c/mens-shaving/aquatouch-with-pop-up-trimmer-flexing-heads-at896_17/prd/