GilletteLabs Exfoliating vs ProGlide – Which is the Best?
I have covered nearly all of the Gillette Cartridge razor range on my mission to find, buy, and review as many cartridge razors as possible to discover the best cartridge razors for you guys.
An essential process of reviewing is also to compare the razors. Which one is best out of these (models) razors is a popular question we get via email.
The two razors in question, the Gillette Labs Exfoliating Razor and Gillette ProGlide are two of those razor types (which one is best?) well worth making a side-by-side comparison because of their close similarities and differences that can be discussed.
I don’t want to go into too much detail about each razor because they are already covered more in-depth in separate review articles. However, a brief description is helpful.
Gillette ProGlide – Brief Description
The Gillette ProGlide (2014) was introduced some years after the Fusion (2006). The ProGlide sits just under the Mach3 as the best-selling razor in the US.
The ProGlide is much more popular than the Gillette Labs Exfoliating, for now.
You can read about the Gillette Fusion 5 vs ProGlide comparison here! They were both well worth comparing.
- Blades: Gillette states the five martensitic stainless steel blades have an anti-friction coating that allows the blades to last up to a month. Each blade is closely aligned to prevent skin bulging, and a spring-mounted base helps the blades adjust to the skin’s irregularities.
- Precision Trimmer: Like the Fusion5 and others, Gillette has added an extra blade on the top back side for users to trim sideburns, under the nose, other hard-to-reach areas, and styling.
- Lubrication: The lubrication strip we find on all Gillette cartridge razors is a thin strip along the top that gels when it gets wet. It is slightly wider than a Mach3 and Fusion5.
- Handle: The solid gun metal handle has rubberized sections which offer users plenty of grip when shaving.
- Flex head: The head flexes back to around 60 – 70 degrees, enabling the razor blades to shave along the various contours of the skin and to get the best blade angle.
- FlexBall: What Gillette calls the Flexball technology is the cartridge blades’ ability to move left and right with the various contours of the face.
- Microfin Strip: The microfin strip at the bottom of the cartridge blade prepares and slightly stretches the skin. This stretching enables the blade to cut hair closer to the skin.
- Changing blades: A small push button on the top of the razor easily releases the blade, and then a new blade is best attached via the cartridge case.
The ProGlide came out on top as a more comfortable razor to use and shave with compared to the Fusion 5, with better features. The only disadvantage noticed was the extra cost of replacement blades for the ProGlide.
In other words, the upgrade from the Fusion 5 to ProGlide was successful and a better razor. You can see the comparison article HERE.
GilletteLabs Exfoliating – Brief Description
The GilletteLabs series was introduced in 2019 with the heated razor, and the Exfoliating model came in 2021.
The obvious feature and difference between the GilletteLabs Exfoliating razor are it exfoliates because of the added exfoliating strip.
- Blades: Gillette states the five martensitic stainless steel blades have an anti-friction coating that allows the blades to last up to a month. The blades are closely aligned to prevent skin bulging, and the spring-mounted base helps the blades adjust to the skin’s irregularities.
- Precision Trimmer: Like the ProGlide and others, Gillette has added an extra blade on the top back side for users to trim sideburns, under the nose, other hard-to-reach areas, and styling.
- Lubrication: The lubrication strip we find on all Gillette cartridge razors is a thin strip along the top that gels when it gets wet. It is slightly wider than a Mach3 and Fusion5 on the GilletteLabs.
- Handle: Gillette states the diecast zinc metal handle is durable enough to last a lifetime and backs the statement up with a lifetime guarantee. The handle has rubberized sections to enhance grip.
- Flex head: The head flexes back to around 60 – 70 degrees, enabling the razor blades to shave along the various contours of the skin and to get the best blade angle.
- 2D Head: The razor head can move left to right, which should enable the razor to move along the contours of the skin easier.
- Exfoliator Bar: The plastic exfoliating strip at the bottom of the razor blades is placed just above the microfin strip section. This aims to exfoliate before the blades hit the skin. This bar is part of the handle rather than the cartridge blade.
- Changing blades: The moveable push button, when pushed, releases the blade. A new blade is added directly from the cartridge pack.
The heated GilletteLabs razor made sense when it opened up a new line of Gillette razors, or it could have just been created as a one-off, which I will explain now.
Adding the Exfoliating razor to the GilletteLabs series was not the best move for us, the consumer. This is because the blades can only be used in a GilletteLabs razor, and if you don’t get along very well with the exfoliating strip (it is attached to the handle and not the blade), you are stuck with the more expensive GilletteLabs cartridge replacements, or you would need to buy the Heated or Bugatti razor. If the blades were compatible with the ProGlide, Fusion 5, and others with the exfoliating pad being part of the blade refill, we could interchange and use other blade types (i.e., Fusion 5, ProGlide, or others).
This exfoliating bar on the GilletteLabs Exfoliator is the heating bar on the GilletteLabs Heated Razor and Bugatti Heated Razor.
Similarities and Differences
There are a lot of similarities between both these razors, but there are also some significant differences worth noting.
| GilletteLabs | ProGlide | |
|---|---|---|
| Handle | 2D with Grip | FlexBall with Grip |
| Blades | 5 | 5 |
| Lubrication Strip | Large | Large |
| MicroFin Strip | None (exfoliating) | Smaller Detailed Strip |
| Size | Slightly Longer and Wider than ProGlide | |
| Precision Trimmer | Yes | Yes |
| Cartridge Costs (x4 blades) | $25 | $20 |
The handle features are essential, which I will mention first.
Handles and Heads
The handles are quite hefty on these razors, have excellent grip, and the heads move left to the right while shaving.
The rubberized grips are slightly different, and what makes the heads move left and right (2D GilletteLabs – Flex Ball ProGlide) are also slightly different, but they function the same, and neither shout out anything worth mentioning when looking at how they perform side by side.
Lubrication Strip
Both razors share the same size lubrication strip that helps the razor glide on a user’s skin while shaving. In addition, these lubrication strips are larger than what a Mach3 provides, which is a positive.
MicroFin and Exfoliating Strip
A MicroFin strip is very useful on a cartridge razor and helps to stretch the skin slightly before the blade cuts hair. The ProGlide has this strip, but the Gillette Labs is replaced with the exfoliator, although the Labs does have a rubberized section under the exfoliator strip.
I prefer the MicroFin strip on the ProGlide as it has a much better function than the exfoliator. The exfoliator is just gimmicky to me and does not serve a real purpose or need.
2D and Flex Ball Head
Although the heads being able to move seem like a great feature in theory, and it works well with electric shavers, I could not see them moving or offering anything to the shave experience with either of these razors.
I did examine this feature closely while shaving as it did not make sense that they did nothing, but they did nothing and seriously did not move.
The only movement required to shave well with a cartridge razor is the flexing backward and forwards of the cartridge blade that moves with the various contours of the skin.
The GilletteLabs Handle May Have The Upper hand
The GilletteLabs handle is slightly better with its finer grip that works very well, and then buyers get the magnetic stand that comes with the razor handle starter kit. It is also made from strong diecast zinc metal, which should last many years; however, Gillette does not state what metal the ProGlide is made from.
I would say the GilletteLabs has a slightly better modern look, but both of these razor handles are very good quality and much better than the likes of the Mach3 and others.
GilletteLabs vs ProGlide Shave Experience
We have covered the similarities and differences in features of the ProGlide and GilletteLabs quite well, and all of this has meaning only when testing out these shaving tools.
We need to compare the comfort, speed, closeness, ease of use, and overall end-shaving result.
I used and reviewed the Gillett Labs and ProGlide separately and then did a side-by-side shaving test.
I found both razors gave an excellent end result and a close shave—nothing between them on the closeness of shaving. However, the ProGlide excelled in comfort.
As I mentioned above and in the GilletteLabs Exfoliator review, I found the exfoliating pad to be nothing more than a gimmick. It does scratch the skin somewhat, which could give some kind of exfoliation, but with that amount of blades on a razor they already exfoliate. In addition, if I need exfoliation, I will use a pre-shave exfoliator.
The GilletteLabs felt slightly more aggressive, which is good for those with coarse beard growth but not so good for those with sensitive skin.
Price Difference
There is a difference in costs that buyers should be aware of, and it’s worth keeping in mind that frequently buying replacement cartridges does add up over time. The cartridge costs are why some men switch to safety razors from cartridge razors.
In the US, Gillette’s website price for a four-blade pack is $25 (Gillette Labs) and $20 (ProGlide). That is an extra $5 for a pack of Gillette Labs blades.
To help with price comparison, Mach3 and Fusion 5 blades are considerably cheaper than both these razors.
— Mach3 Cartridges cost(4 pack): Approx $10 USD – £8 UK – €8 EU.
— Fusion 5 Cartridges cost(4 pack): Approx $15 USD – £12 UK – €13 EU.
Final Thoughts – Which Razor is Best?
I would go for the ProGlide all the way after comparing both of these razors. The ProGlide provides a more comfortable shave, and as mentioned, I don’t find the exfoliating strip useful on the Gillette Labs.
Also, I don’t particularly appreciate how Gillette attached this exfoliating strip to the handle rather than the blade cartridge, as you can see I pointed out above.
I would not recommend the GilletteLabs Exfoliating razor to anyone and suggest gents look at others like the ProGlide or Fusion 5.
Watch out for marketing hype; it sure does sell a lot of products, including men’s grooming products.
