Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Product review: The Shave Well Company Truly Fog Free Shower Shave Mirror

I've tried a bunch of different shower mirrors over the years.  The fact that I've tried so many is a pretty good indicator that I haven't had the greatest luck with them.  So many of them have not lived up to their fogless claims, have rusted, or fell off of my shower wall and got damaged.  These have been mirrors of different sizes and shapes - all used for the sole purpose of shaving in the shower.  This product is the most recent one I have bought, and I've used it quite some time now before writing this review.

Before buying, I read the reviews of this mirror and most of them were pretty favorable.  I recall reading some reviews saying that it did not work as well as expected.  I decided to give it a try.  For the price, it is very affordable for a shower mirror.  The first thing that got my attention was that this mirror is small.  Probably the smallest shower mirror I have owned, at 6" by 4".  It is also very basic and isn't very visually appealing.  If you are concerned about aesthetics more than function, you probably won't be crazy about this product.  There is no frame of any kind and no razor hangers or anything else on it.  Just a board with reflective mirror coating.  One of the selling points for this mirror is that it uses adhesive tape to stick to your shower wall rather than a suction cup.  Well, my mirror eventually fell from the shower wall.  The mirror didn't sustain any damage from the fall unlike other mirrors I have owned.  However, I ended up replacing the hook that it came with (and adhesive tape), with a quality suction cup hook.  It has not fallen since.

As far as being fogless goes, I really did not find this mirror to perform much better than any other fogless mirror I have owned.  I have always made sure to follow the directions by placing the mirror under the stream of hot water from the shower (and much longer than the recommended 2-3 seconds).  I tried holding it very close to my shower head so that it would be hit with the hottest water coming out of it.  The mirror stays fog free for a couple minutes before it gets foggy.  I usually have to take it off the hook and put it back under the shower head a few times during the course of a shave.  I understand that it is a matter of physics that makes it work, and that it should work. However, in my situation, with my conditions, it simply does not work significantly better (if at all) than a fogless mirror that does not have to be removed from the hook and placed under the stream of water from the shower head.

The mirror appears to be very durable.  It has probably remained the cleanest of any mirror I have ever used for an extended period of time.  When the mirror is fogless it is extremely clear.  Unfortunately, the fogless part hasn't worked out too well for me.  While writing this post I found that Shave Well now has a mirror that is 33% larger than the one I own.  That is definitely a positive, as I feel the original one is on the small side.  For someone that wants a durable, no-frills mirror, this mirror may be perfectly fine for those needs.  Otherwise, if you are like me, you may be a bit disappointed by some of the characteristics of this mirror.


3 comments:

  1. This is the only mirror that works.
    http://www.showertek.com/fog-free-shower-mirrors-c-66.html?zenid=8303c8eff7e061431af5e44e12677924
    The $99 version that is.
    It used to be sold by and under Sharper Image name when they were around.
    This I believe is the only mirror that will stay clear as it siphons off a small amount of hot water to circulate behind the mirror surface to keep it warm.
    I had one for a while till it broke and by that time SI was out of business and I couldn't locate the manufacturer at the time. Then a few years back I located ShowerTek and have been using the new one since. Mirror also has flat and concave sides.
    A few downsides to this mirror:
    - Installation involves removing and re-installing your shower head to insert the mirror's coupling in between. Not too difficult if you are handy with a wrench and teflon tape.
    - A design flaw makes it vulnerable to breakage (how i lost my first one) at the juncture of the mirror frame and flex tube. THe tube is pretty rigid and requires a fair amount of force to adjust while the plastic frame is fragile. The way around it is to never re-position the mirror by holding onto round frame. Move by holding onto the flex hose only.
    - Will accumulate soap film just like everything in the shower so a cleaning every once in a while is essential.
    All in all these are a small price to pay to have a clear mirror in the shower.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the input on that mirror. Definitely a big leap in price to go to that model mirror. However, if it is the last shower mirror I buy in a long time, then perhaps it would be worth it. I appreciate you highlighting both the pro's and cons of this mirror. I've had my number of shower mirrors, but have never seen/used this one.

      Delete
  2. Generally people forget to mention about the mirrors which are the most essential things while shaving... Thanks for mentioning it in your post...

    Mirrors in Shaving

    ReplyDelete