Philips Norelco SH90/72 Replacement Heads New Version for Series 9000 (Replaces SH90/62)

This is a full replacement head that fits my S8950 perfectly. These are not individual heads! New head retention design is a big improvement over the original. Heads are perfectly honed and give a great, close shave. MY original heads lasted over a year. These are not cheap, but they should last at least that long. My recommendation to those who have issues getting a close shave from their Norelco wet/dry shaver - use them WET. Not in the shower, but with a good pre-shave oil and shave cream. I have a tough beard and use Art of Shaving products exclusively. Between the shave product and the shaver my shaves are silky smooth.

There seems to be a lot of confusion on what you get with the SH90/72 replacement pack. I got one box with the blades, shaving heads, and holder all assembled in a blister pack. This is the assembly you pop off the shaver to wash out after shaving. It's all complete and assembled. It works great. My old one was about 2 1/2 years old and didn't shave well at all. The price is too high but at least this returns my 8950 shaver to as good as new condition. I think I got what we all expect. I wouldn't accept any thing less for the price.

As advertised

This review is for Philips Norelco SH90/72 Replacement Head. As stated by the most highly rated review, this product does not include the base stem. This is especially critical for someone like myself who has the older 1250x original "Sensotouch 3D" model, that originally had the "RQ12" design with individual 3 petals on hinges. You cannot reuse the bottom of an "RQ12" with the SH90 design. When the original Philips "RQ12" was available as a replacement, it was decent, and I don't remembering it costing that much. However, the Chinese knock-offs of RQ12 are not as good (less comfortable), and the last one I had did not allow for the removal of the individual blades like the Norelco RQ12 model did, so the knock-off is also much more painful to clean, at least for what I had recently, although it was very cheap. My 1250x is still fine, so I didn't see a need to have to buy another razor. Although with sales & such on the newer series at Costco, it's a close call. I ended up ordering this SH90/72 (top foil/blades section), and separately purchased (not on Amazon) a Philips-Norelco branded "base stem" (supposedly). I had been told that the Chinese versions (of the newer head designs) fall apart, so I went with the brand name all around, although not cheap, but still less than buying a newer equivalent razor altogether. I just tested out the combination of the 2 parts today, and it certainly is a much more comfortable shave than the Chinese knock-offs that I've tried. I do want to say that I'm not yet certain that this design is superior than the original RQ12. So far it feels as though this newer design seems a bit more fragile than how the original RQ12 handled, as if I need to be more careful to prevent breaking the head components. But I will give it some time and update this review after I have had more time to use the newer components on my 1250x.

>.. This was a more expensive purchase, compared with some other similar products without Norelco Branding. Those reviews pointed out several issues I had not considered, and I bought these as there were >mostly< decent reviews. >.. But I did something new, for me, I lubricated the replacement blades with a product designed to be used on metal to metal surface, but would dry before the first use. It calls itself an oil, but oils generally dry very slowly, and this product brags about quick drying. >.. I ran the new head for about 5 seconds before dripping in the lube. I did this to slightly warm the metals so that application would be well distributed. Then I dripped one drop from the needle applicator into the head mechanism with the thought that it would make the metal to metal cutting a bit smoother, and less likely to pull an individual hair. >.. 5 seconds after the 3rd drop, I turned it on again to get the lube distributed. It sounded smoother, lower intensity of sound, and as I worked the individual heads to attempt to make the oil go "everywhere" I thought it sounded still smoother. >.. I did not open up the individual heads, though I know it can be done. The next morning, I used it for the first time. Smooth, no hair pulls (might just be that it was sharper than the old heads), and a return to a comfortable shave again. I can't claim that the lube did the job, but it probably helped.

The SH90/72 has a different retaining ring than the SH90/62. I like it better as there are less parts to keep stored. It is light blue in color as compared to orange in the SH90/62. Additionally, one does not need the installation tool to remove or install as it can be easily done with one's fingers. Also, the SH90/72 replacement head has metal in the retaining ring whereas the SH90/62 if all plastic. As far as I am concerned I don't recall that either one shaves closer or for more months than the other before needing replacement. I did learn that the shaver shaves closer when I move the shaver in straight lines against the grain of the whiskers. I was using the circular motion previously, but changed to linear when I got the SH90/72. I wish Norelco would build a shaver head cover that would last. The one that came with my razor lasted more than a year. I was in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and dropped by a Norelco parts store there and purchased a replacement head cover. That one lasted all of one week. One of the two spring like tabs designed to facilitate easy installation and removal breaks off which is what was wrong with the original.

I own one of the cheaper Norelcos simply because I don't see the need for a self cleaning system. A gimic trying to get people to buy in for a $300+ shaver. For half that I still have one of the best shavers on the market. Triple head, 360°, pivot and swivel action. Each of the 3 heads have their own individual pivot point that flexes to meet any curve on my face. These new replacement heads are ridiculously easy to install. Simply cut the package and snap into place. A far better system than the older models where you had to remove each head and it's bracket to put in the new one. Now the whole portion of the shaver pops off and let's you replace the old with the new in less than 3 seconds. Bravo Phillips keep it up, I'm a fan for life.

I have dutifully replaced the shaving heads each year. Each time the heads were replaced it seemed "shaving was better... again." But still, cost considered, I resented that I had to spend the money to get the ol' razor to work almost as well as it did when new. This year I noticed the most expensive SH90 replacement heads cost about twice what I usually paid each previous year; they were labeled SH90/72, 20 "points" higher than last years SH90's. Because recent shaving was totally unsatisfactoy, I bought them. When I replaced the heads I noticed the entire head was going to be replaced rather than just swapping the cutting blades. That seemed to be an improvement. But, what was really improved was shaving. It was like the ol' razor was now (much, much) better than new. Closer, faster shave. Yeeesss! Closer, faster shave; that's what we're here for! Twice last years cost? Yes, but a ten times better shave than last years "right after replacement shave." SH90/72; yeah, that's what I want. Closer, faster shave... got it. In my opinion, the new SH90/72 heads made my ol' shaver much better than new!