In this article, ProvocativeClothing.com tests the most popular product that our visitors buy from www.BeaverShaver.com   (see our "Meet the Merchants" article about them.) This is a package containing their flagship product, the Seiko Cleancut razor, the Seiko Shavy Femini trimmer and their recommended lotion to prevent ingrown hairs, Tend Skin.

This package is the most popular with ProvocativeClothing.com buyers.

Dessert First

People on the internet like to get the answers fast, so I'll present our conclusions first:

The Shavy Femini

My kids call it "Janglish" -- that funny almost-English language that you find in Japanese technical manuals bound for English-speaking countries. My best guess is that "Shavy," of course, refers to shaving and "Femini" is a play on words combining "Feminine" and "Mini." In any case, the package it comes in calls it a "Ladies Face Shaver." Let me digress here for a moment (too late) and recall my childhood when Parade Magazine used to have endless "Facial Massager" ads that looked like this:

Remember those? The ad copy would talk about how this massager was specially-shaped for the face and would provide a deep, satisfying massage? OK, I'm thinking this "Ladies Face Shaver" comes from that same school of writing.

To get back to topic, let's compare the Shavy Femini with the only competition I'm aware of, the "Finishing Touch" trimmer sold on TV and in various department stores. Check out the size difference:

Size matters here, on several counts: The Shavy uses an AA battery and the Finishing Touch uses a smaller AAA battery. Larger battery = more power. Also, note the difference in case size. The bigger case of the Shavy houses a bigger motor to make use of the extra power. Finally, notice the trimming edges; the Shavy's is almost half-again the size of the Finishing Touch, so you can trim a larger area.

Test models note that you can nick yourself with either one of these trimmers. It's important that you keep the flat side of the trimmer against the skin and "skim" the cutting edge over the area to be shaved, against the direction of growth. A little talcum powder helps a lot (but don't go overboard.)

Why a trimmer?

So why would you need a trimmer if you're going to buy a razor? Because the razor will only cut stubble. It won't work with long hairs. If you're only interested in keeping your pubes trimmed (instead of shaved,) then the Shavy Femini is all you'd need.

The Shavy Femini is $35. The Finishing Touch cost about $20 in the stores, I'm seeing it for $15 on the net. The Finishing Touch pictured above wore out in about a year's intermittent use. We've only had the Shavy Femini for a few weeks, but it feels like it's probably going to last longer than that. My gut feeling is that it's worth the price.

The Cleancut razor

I don't know why, but the photos on www.BeaverShaver.com make me think the Cleancut is about the size of a hairspray can. It's not. It's a little bit bigger around than a "C" battery and about twice as long. I can hold it in my fist and only half an inch or so sticks out either end. This is a good thing, because you'd have a hard time navigating a hairspray can-sized thing around your nethers. Here's a photo comparing the Cleancut to my regular Braun shaver:

So why would you want to use an electric razor instead of a blade? The two biggest issues are ease and comfort. A dry shaver is easier to use on a regular basis, and if you're committed to a pube-free lifestyle, you want to use this shaver every day or every other day at least. It's meant to cut stubble, remember. Wet-shaving that often gets to be trouble. In terms of comfort, a blade will nick you frequently. It's just not designed to be "down there."

So how does the Cleancut stack up? The test models give this one a thumbs-up! The shave is smooth, the razor easy to maneuver and no nicks. None. The "C" battery provides plenty of power and the razor plows through stubble. You can tell by ear when it's hitting stubble and when things are smooth.

It's interesting to note, that again, the instructions for the Cleancut show a guy shaving his face with it. Why do they always claim crotch tools are facial implements? Personally, I wouldn't recommend this as a face shaver -- a good face shaver has a much more powerful motor and stronger blades. Is a face shaver good for the pubic area? Not really; they're too big, the shape is wrong and it just isn't designed to be around delicate skin. You get nicks. Trust me.

Tend Skin

It's interesting that I'm apparently the only person on the planet who didn't know about Tend Skin. In fact, I didn't even know that I was getting razor bumps (on my neck) until I saw the photos at the Tend Skin website! When I talked to Steph (daredevil test model) about testing this outfit and mentioned that there was a lotion to prevent ingrown hairs, she said, "Oh you mean something like Tend Skin? Hurts like hell, but it works great."

Well, of course, it hurts because it has an alcohol base to it and that's gonna hurt if you have nicks from a razor blade or if you apply it around the peri-anal area (yes, some people do shave there. You need a really, really good friend for that sort of thing. Or years of yoga classes.)

The Tend Skin website has lots of testimonials for the stuff. It's hard for me to say if it works -- after all the absence of ingrown hairs could be natural, right? It would take a scientific study that I'm not equipped to pull off. All I can say is that people say it works.

Shipping

You buy stuff on the net, you pay shipping. I've seen really good deals go 'way bad once the shipping charges were added in. In May 2004, the package above has a shipping charge of $10.60 for USPS Priority Mail. (Priority Mail got if from their warehouse in Salt Lake City, Utah to my office just outside of Boston Mass in three days. That seems plenty fast to me.)

If you want, they'll ship FedEx 2-day for $25.40, Overnight for $43.78 or FedEx Priority Overnight for $49.82.

The Package