Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9597cc Review: a premium shaver that’s great, but not cheap

I’ve been using the Braun Series 9 PRO+ 9597cc for a few weeks now, shaving roughly every two to three days. I came from a cheaper Philips rotary and occasional wet shaving with a cartridge razor, so I had a pretty clear idea of what annoys me: irritation on the neck, having to go over the same area ten times, and faffing about with cleaning. With this Braun, I wanted to see if paying this much actually changes anything day to day, or if it’s just a fancy charging station and a shiny body.

First thing: this is clearly a top-of-the-range product in Braun’s lineup, and the price reflects that. It’s not an impulse buy; it’s the kind of thing you expect to keep for several years. So I’ve been judging it with that in mind: not just “does it shave”, but “does it shave better and more comfortably, and is it easy to live with over time”. I used it both dry and in the shower with gel to get a fair idea.

I’ve also used the SmartCare cleaning station properly, not just once for fun. I ran the full cycles, checked how dirty the head was before and after, and paid attention to noise, smell, and how often I felt I needed to use it. I tried the ProComfort pre-shave head a few times as well, especially when I had three days’ growth. I’ve got fairly normal skin but a sensitive neck and a couple of tricky spots under the jaw where hairs lie flat.

In short: it’s a very capable shaver that does a lot right, especially on comfort and ease of use, but it’s not magic and the price is high. If you’re expecting a miracle that beats a fresh wet shave with a blade in every situation, you’ll be a bit disappointed. If you’re tired of cheap shavers chewing up your neck and you want something that just works reliably, it starts to make more sense. I’ll break down the good and the annoying parts in more detail below.

Let’s be honest: the Series 9 PRO+ 9597cc is expensive. You’re paying for the top model, the SmartCare station, the extra ProComfort head, and the Braun name. In pure shaving terms, it definitely outperforms cheaper electrics I’ve used, especially on comfort and how clean the result looks. The question is whether that improvement is worth the big price jump for you personally.

If you shave almost every day, have sensitive skin, and are tired of burning through cartridges or dealing with irritation, then this starts to look more reasonable. You get a close, comfortable shave, less fuss with cleaning thanks to the station, and a device that feels like it will last several years if you look after it. Over time, if you compare it to constantly buying expensive manual blades, it’s not completely insane, although the replacement heads and cleaning cartridges do eat into the savings.

If you only shave once or twice a week and don’t care that much about having the best electric experience, then honestly, this is probably overkill. A mid-range Braun or even a decent competitor model will get the job done for a lot less money. You might lose a bit of comfort and need an extra pass here and there, but your wallet will thank you. This model is more for people who want the “nice” option and are willing to pay to avoid small daily annoyances.

In my view, the value is decent if you really use all the features: SmartCare cleaning, wet/dry flexibility, the pre-shave head on longer growth. If you’re just going to plug it in with a cable and rinse the head occasionally, you’re paying for extras you’re not using. So, strong performance and comfort, but the price tag means it’s not the best value for everyone. It’s good, just not cheap, and there are definitely more budget-friendly options that still shave well enough for most people.

Design-wise, the Series 9 PRO+ looks like a high-end gadget. Silver body, big shaving head, rubberized grip areas, and a fairly large power button on the front. The head has multiple foil elements lined up, and the whole thing pivots and flexes. It’s not a minimalistic design; you can tell it’s packed with moving parts. The overall impression is solid and a bit chunky rather than sleek and tiny.

In the hand, the shape is comfortable. The handle has enough girth that it doesn’t feel like it will slip, even when wet. The rubber sections help, and the weight is balanced more towards the middle, so you don’t feel like the head is dragging your hand down. Still, if you’re used to a very light travel shaver, this will feel heavier and more substantial. After a full shave, my hand wasn’t tired or anything, but you definitely know you’re holding a serious device.

The control layout is simple: power button, a lock button to fix the head angle, and an indicator display for battery and cleaning status. The lock function is actually useful for tight areas like under the nose; you can stop the head from wobbling and get a more precise pass. The display is clear enough and not overloaded with useless icons. You see roughly how much battery is left and when the cleaning station thinks it’s time for a cleaning cycle.

The main downside of the design is the overall footprint when you include the SmartCare station. The base is wide and tall enough that it dominates a small bathroom shelf. If you live in a small flat or share a crowded bathroom, you may end up storing the station in a cupboard and only taking it out occasionally, which kind of kills the convenience. The shaver alone is fine on the counter though, and it stands nicely on its base or lays flat without rolling around. So: nice design, practical in use, but don’t buy this if you’re short on space and hate clutter.

The battery life is pretty much in line with what Braun claims. I was getting around 50–60 minutes of actual shaving time on a full charge, which for me means roughly two weeks of shaves at three to five minutes each. The shaver doesn’t suddenly die mid-shave; the battery indicator gives you a clear idea of what’s left. I never managed to fully drain it by accident, because I tend to dock it in the SmartCare station every few uses anyway.

The SmartCare station is both a plus and a small annoyance. On the positive side, it’s very easy: you drop the shaver in, press a button, and it cleans, lubricates, dries, and charges it. After a cycle, the head does feel fresh and slightly oiled, and it smells a bit like a light aftershave, which is nicer than old beard smell. For someone who hates manually brushing and rinsing the head, it’s genuinely convenient.

The downside is the cost and noise. The cleaning cartridges don’t last forever; how fast you burn through them depends on how often you use the station. If you clean after every single shave, you’ll be replacing cartridges fairly regularly, and that adds up over a year or two. The machine also makes a noticeable humming sound while cleaning and a bit of fan noise while drying. It’s not deafening, but you probably don’t want to run it at night in a room right next to where someone is sleeping.

You can, of course, skip the station most of the time and just rinse the head under the tap (it’s fully waterproof) and only use the SmartCare once in a while for a deep clean. That’s what I ended up doing: quick rinse after daily use, full station clean once a week or so. That way, battery is always topped up, the head stays in good condition, and I don’t chew through cartridges too fast. As a combo, the internal battery plus the dock is convenient, but you do have to accept the ongoing cost of cleaning fluid if you actually use the 6-in-1 features properly.

On comfort, this is where the Series 9 PRO+ is actually strong. Compared to my old rotary shaver, my neck clearly thanked me. The foils glide smoothly, and as long as you don’t press like crazy, you get very little pulling or burning. The first few shaves, my skin needed a bit of time to adapt, especially since I was used to wet shaving with a blade. For about a week, I had a slight redness on the neck right after shaving, but it faded quickly and didn’t sting. After that, my skin calmed down and it became a pretty relaxed routine.

The head flex and the multiple cutting elements help with comfort because you don’t have to dig into the skin to catch stubborn hairs. The trick is really to let the shaver do the work: light pressure, slow passes, especially on the neck. If you push hard, you’ll feel more heat and irritation. The built-in trimmer part also feels smoother than most basic pop-up trimmers I’ve used; it doesn’t snag longer hairs as much when you tidy sideburns or a short beard line.

The ProComfort pre-shave head is a nice extra if you tend to shave every 3–4 days. It doesn’t change your life, but it does make the hair stand up a bit more and slightly reduces the number of passes needed on flat areas. On two days’ growth, I honestly didn’t see a huge difference, so I skipped it most of the time. On long growth (three days plus), it helps avoid that first rough pass where a shaver sometimes tugs more than it cuts.

In terms of noise and vibration, it’s not whisper quiet, but it’s not a screaming machine either. The sound is a normal foil shaver buzz. Vibration in the hand is moderate and never made my hand numb or anything. Overall, if you have sensitive skin, especially on the neck, this is one of the more comfortable electric shaves I’ve used. It’s still not as smooth as a perfect wet shave with a fresh blade and a good cream, but it’s close enough that I was happy to ditch the whole sink full of foam most days.

The shaver itself feels well built. Nothing rattles, the head clicks into place firmly, and the buttons don’t feel flimsy. It’s made in Germany, and you can tell they didn’t cheap out on the outer shell. I’ve rinsed it under the tap many times, used it in the shower, and had no issues with water getting in or any odd noises developing. The foil and cutter block still cut cleanly after several weeks of regular use.

That said, with electric shavers, durability isn’t just about the body not breaking; it’s about how often you’ll need to replace the shaving head and how expensive that is. Braun heads usually need replacing roughly every 18 months, depending on how coarse your beard is and how often you shave. Those replacement cassettes are not cheap, especially for the Series 9 line. So you need to factor that in: you’re not just buying once, you’re committing to ongoing maintenance costs if you want to keep performance high.

The SmartCare station also adds another thing that could potentially fail over several years, though in my time with it, it worked fine. The mechanism that lifts and lowers the shaver and the pump for the cleaning fluid all feel sturdy enough, but it’s still more complex than just a cable. If you’re rough with your gear or move house a lot, I’d be careful packing it properly; the plastic body isn’t fragile, but a hard knock wouldn’t help.

Overall, I’d say the durability is good, but you have to be realistic: this is a premium electric shaver with premium-priced consumables. If you’re okay with buying a new head every year and a half and the occasional cleaning cartridge, you’ll likely get several years of solid service out of it. If you’re the kind of person who uses a cheap shaver until it dies and never replaces parts, this isn’t really aimed at you and will feel expensive to keep in top shape.

On actual shaving performance, the Series 9 PRO+ does a pretty solid job. On one or two days of growth, it clears everything fast. I usually need two slow passes with a bit of touch-up on the neck and under the jaw, and I’m done. Compared to my old rotary, I spend less time going over the same area again and again. The cut is quite close for an electric; running a hand against the grain after a dry shave, you still feel a tiny bit of stubble, but it’s short enough to look clean and professional.

Where it really shows its strength is on slightly longer growth, like three days. Many shavers start to struggle then, either missing flat hairs or pulling. The Series 9 PRO+ handles it better than most I’ve tried. I won’t pretend it’s one pass and done, but you can get a clean result without your face feeling wrecked afterwards. The integrated Precision ProTrimmer is handy for edging sideburns and tidying the neckline. It’s sharp enough to cut longer hairs without endless passes, though it’s not a replacement for a dedicated beard trimmer if you keep a full beard.

On tricky areas like the neck and under the jawline, it’s good but not perfect. I still had a couple of flat hairs that needed some angle changes and extra passes. The flexible head helps, but you still have to learn the right direction for your own hair growth. This is normal for electric shavers, but worth saying: don’t expect the machine to magically understand your beard layout. Once I found the right angles, I could get a pretty consistent result without irritation.

Wet shaving with gel improved the closeness slightly and made it feel smoother on the skin, but the difference wasn’t huge for me. I mostly settled on dry shaving in front of the mirror because it was faster and the result was good enough. Overall, performance-wise, it’s one of the better electric shaves I’ve used: close, relatively fast, and gentle. Just keep your expectations realistic if you’re coming from a blade; it’s very good for an electric, but not a perfect zero-stubble finish.

Out of the box, you get quite a bit: the Series 9 PRO+ shaver itself, the ProComfort pre-shave head, the 6-in-1 SmartCare cleaning/charging station, one cleaning cartridge, a travel case, a power cable and a tiny cleaning brush. So it’s a full kit; you don’t need to buy anything extra on day one, except maybe spare cleaning cartridges later. The unit I used was the silver version, which looks like the typical Braun high-end style.

The shaver feels solid in hand and not cheap at all. It’s not a small or light device, especially with the head size, but that’s expected for a top foil shaver. The SmartCare station is fairly bulky too, so you do need counter space. It’s not something you tuck into a tiny bathroom corner easily. But at least everything is straightforward: one slot for the shaver, one button on the base, and it handles cleaning, drying, and charging automatically.

The ProComfort head is basically a rubbery pre-shave attachment you clip on instead of the shaving head. It’s meant to massage and lift hairs before you actually shave. In practice, it adds an extra step, so it’s only really worth it if you have longer or stubborn growth. I used it mostly when I’d gone three days between shaves, and it helped a bit on the neck where hairs lie flat, but it’s not essential every single time.

Overall, the package feels like a “buy once and you’re set” kind of thing. The downside is that the price is clearly padded by the station and the extra head. If you just want a simple electric shaver and don’t care about automatic cleaning, this bundle will feel overkill. But if you like the idea of putting it in a dock and having it cleaned and charged without thinking, then the included accessories actually make sense and you’ll use them often.