Make No Mistake: The Braun Series 9 Pro+ Is the Best Electric Razor (2024)

I'VE MADE NO secret about how much I love the Braun Series 9 Pro electric shaver. As a dedicated electric razor user, I stand by my proclamation that the Series 9 is the best shaver on the market. I’ve tried nearly every electric shaver out there in my years since converting exclusively to electric shaving and the Braun Series 9 Pro still stands heads above the rest. But nothing lasts forever and I am here to confidently tell you that another razor has taken the throne: the Braun Series 9 Pro+.

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OK, I know it’s a little bit of a cop-out to say that a newer version of the same razor is better. That’s exactly what updates are for, right? But any iPhone user knows that updates to tech gadgets don’t always make for a better experience.

That’s why I was skeptical that there really was all that much room for improvement to my beloved original. It was already the most efficient, powerful electric razor I had ever used (and don’t get me started on the genius Power Case), so I wasn’t convinced it could actually be improved. Man was I wrong. After testing the Braun Series 9 Pro+ for the past year (it released in October 2023), I can absolutely say that this razor offers an industry-leading shaving experience, and is truly the best you can possibly find.

The Braun Series 9 Pro+ is nearly identical to the original Series 9—at least on the surface. The casing has the same ergonomic design, which I love because as I said in my original review, it’s like the Goldilocks of electric razors. The razor itself is shockingly light, but still hefty enough to fit well in your hand without feeling like you are going to drop it.

The sleek design also doesn’t have many bells and whistles on the outside—namely just an LED screen that shows battery life, a swiveling head and a lock button, which gives it a slick, elegant appearance. Other standard features are still there as well, such as 100 percent waterproof usage, a 60–minute battery life and a quick charge option.

The razor technology inside the device is largely the same as well. The Braun Series 9 Pro+ features Sonic Technology with 40,000 micro-vibrations per second to help gently lift your whiskers, allowing for a closer shave and a better glide across your skin. It also still has the AutoSense technology that made the original Series 9 razor so great—it automatically senses the density of your beard and automatically adjusts to powerfully cut through all thicknesses of facial hair, even up to seven days' worth of stubble (yes, really).

The meat and potatoes of every electric shaver is, of course, the actual razor head itself, and like the original, the Braun Series 9 Pro+ has five shaving elements that cut your whiskers to a baby-smooth 0.05mm. New to the Series 9 Pro+, however, is that these blades are now made from surgical-grade stainless steel that stays sharper, allowing for a more effective shave for even longer (the original blades were titanium).

The Braun Series 9 Pro+, like the original version, features an ultra-thin ProLift blade (which looks like a gold bar on the razor head itself) that helps to lift hair away from your skin allowing for a closer shave and more thorough cut.

The original Braun Series 9 has a built-in pop-up detail trimmer for sideburns and other facial hair detailing, but the Series 9 Pro+ also updated that feature to make it more effective. The original was slightly curved, but the new detailer is straight—more like the kind of trimmer professional barbers use—as well as 35 percent wider openings between prongs and 30 percent thinner tips to make the trimming and detailing more precise and efficient (less of a need to go back over the same area multiple times).

The other new features of the Braun Series 9 Pro+ are outside of the razor itself, but no less exciting. Included is a new and improved Cleaning Station that not only charges your razor, but also features an updated cleaning solution that lubricates the razor’s blades to help them work better immediately while keeping them sharp and protected in the long run.

And, of course, we can’t forget my favorite accessory, the Charging Case (also included with the Series 9 Pro+) which is an essential for anyone who travels a lot or doesn’t have room on their countertop for the full cleaning station.

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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I wasn’t convinced the Braun Series 9 Pro+ could really beat the shave of the original. The Series 9 was already the most efficient razor I had ever tried, which cut my whole-face shave down to about three minutes, even with several days of stubble. I can now confirm that I was wrong.

Shaving with the Braun Series 9 Pro+ still takes me about three minutes (sometimes less, if I don’t have much stubble to power through), but where it really shines is the closeness of the shave. Most of the new features focus on more effectively lifting facial hair away from your skin allowing for a closer, smoother shave.

I found this to be absolutely the case. Immediately after shaving, my skin feels baby smooth—like I don’t have any facial hair at all—and I found that signs of shadow show up later in the day than they do with the original version, and sometimes I have absolutely no shadow at all, even as I head to bed.

I also found the new and improved detail trimmer to be more effective than the previous version, thanks to an easier-to-use straight-across design and more space between prongs. It’s ideal for larger detailing like sideburns, but unfortunately is still not ideal for crisp lines or very specific detailing like around my mustache.

It has more to do with the design of the overall razor, where the trimmer pops up to be perfectly in line with the razor head. It’s fine for larger areas, but not effective for detail work because of visibility issues. I found that to trim and shape my mustache, I still needed to use a separate trimmer like a t-blade.

Like the original, the Braun Series 9 Pro+ is a luxury razor and you’re going to pay a top-shelf price to match. The current version retails at $350, however, you can grab it right now on Amazon 26 percent off at $260. I know that’s still a ton of money to spend on an electric razor, but between the top-of-the-line razor itself and the additional accessories—especially the Power Case, which I find to be the most innovative and essential razor accessory out there—it’s a worthwhile investment.

And if you’re already a Series 9 user, but don’t want to completely upgrade, the replacement razor heads for the Pro+ will also work on the original Series 9. You’ll be able to upgrade your shave itself, you just won’t have the additional design elements of the Series 9 Pro+.

The easiest and most efficient way to clean the Braun Series 9 Pro+ is to use the SmartCare Center, which uses the updated solution to not only deep clean the razor but also lubricate and protect the blades. If you don’t use the SmartCare Center (frankly, I don’t always use it because my counter space is very limited), you can clean the razor-like any other—by running the blades under hot water and adding a little liquid soap). Don’t forget to keep the included cleaning brush handy to help remove hair in the nooks and crannies.

Whether you’re already a Braun Series 9 user looking to upgrade or are just looking for the most efficient and effective electric shaver on the market, the Braun Series 9 Pro+ is a worthwhile investment. It’s priced very high, sure, but if you can afford it, it’s absolutely worth the price—in time you save on shaving alone.

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