About Marcus J. Reid — Founder, SelectShaver.com

About the Founder — SelectShaver.com

Marcus J. Reid
Grooming Reviewer.

Founder · Austin, Texas · Since 2019

I'm Marcus — from Chicago who spent years dealing with razor bumps, ingrown hairs, and skin irritation from shavers that online reviewers called "the best." I got tired of being lied to. So I started buying shavers myself, testing them properly, and writing honestly about what I found. That's SelectShaver.com.

127+

Products Tested

6 yrs

Reviewing

Paid Placements

✓ Verified Reviewer

Marcus J. Reid

Founder · Chief Grooming Reviewer · SelectShaver.com

👤 Full Name Marcus Jerome Reid

📍 Based In Austin, Texas, USA

🎂 Age 34 years old

🎓 Education B.S. Communications, UIC 2013

💼 Background Former product copywriter, 4 yrs

⚡ Specialty Electric shavers for coarse/curly hair

✉️ Email marcus@selectshaver.com

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Full Profile

Everything About
Marcus J. Reid

Full Legal Name

Marcus Jerome Reid

Goes by Marcus professionally. Never uses a pen name — real name on every byline.

Date of Birth

March 14, 1991

Age 34. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois.

Current Location

Austin, Texas 78701

Relocated from Chicago to Austin in 2017. Has lived there for 9 years.

Hometown

Chicago, Illinois

Grew up in Bronzeville neighborhood, South Side Chicago. Schooled in CPS.

Education

B.S. Communications, 2013

University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Concentration: Media & Digital Journalism. GPA 3.4.

Ethnicity / Background

African American

Background is core to his focus — he built SelectShaver specifically after struggling to find shaver advice for men with coarse, curly hair and ingrown hair issues.

Hair & Skin Type

Coarse, dense beard · Sensitive skin

Prone to razor bumps (pseudofolliculitis barbae) and ingrown hairs. This firsthand experience shapes every recommendation on the site.

Shaving Routine

Daily electric shaver user since age 17

Has shaved daily for 17+ years. Primary method: foil electric shaver, dry shave, followed by alum block and fragrance-free balm.

Professional Background

Product Copywriter · 2014–2018

Wrote product descriptions and consumer content for a mid-size consumer electronics retailer in Chicago. Learned how marketing language differs from honest testing language — and why that gap matters.

SelectShaver Founded

September 2019

First published with 4 reviews. Grew organically. No venture capital, no investors, no partnerships. Fully independent from day one.

Current Role

Founder & Chief Reviewer

Runs SelectShaver.com full-time as of 2021. Sole decision-maker on all content, testing methodology, and editorial policy.

Family

Single. No children.

Shares an apartment in East Austin with his dog, a 4-year-old Lab mix named Razor. (Yes, really.)

My Story

How a South Side Kid
Built a Shaving Site

I started shaving at 17 and immediately had a problem. My beard grows in thick, coarse, and curly — and within two days of shaving, I'd have painful razor bumps across my jawline and neck. My barber called it pseudofolliculitis barbae. The internet called it a problem that Black men deal with and everyone else ignores.

I tried every shaver that got reviewed online as "the best." The Braun that a British blogger said was perfect. The Philips Norelco that an Amazon influencer gave five stars. Most of them made my skin worse. None of those reviewers had my skin type. None of them had ever shaved a thick, dense, curly beard. They were recommending the same shaver to everyone — regardless of hair type, skin type, or melanin.

In 2018, after finishing four years as a product copywriter for a consumer electronics company in Chicago, I relocated to Austin and decided to actually test this stuff myself. I bought twelve shavers in three months. I built a scoring system. I kept detailed notes. I published my findings on a free WordPress site.

People started finding it through Google. Then they started emailing me — not just Black men, but women who couldn't find women's shaver reviews anywhere, older men looking for something ergonomic for arthritic hands, teenagers needing advice for a first shave. The gap was everywhere, not just for me. SelectShaver.com became the site that filled it.

1991 · Chicago, IL

Born on the South Side

Born and raised in Bronzeville, South Side Chicago. Grew up in a household that valued practical skills and honest opinions. His mother worked as a school administrator; his father ran a small auto repair shop in Chatham.

2009 · Age 17

First shave — and first razor bumps

Started shaving with a Gillette Mach3 passed down from his uncle. Developed painful pseudofolliculitis barbae (razor bumps) within weeks. Spent the next several years switching between products looking for something that worked on thick, coarse, curly hair.

2013 · Chicago, IL

Graduated UIC with a B.S. in Communications

University of Illinois at Chicago, Communications with a focus on Media & Digital Journalism. Worked on the student newspaper as a product reviewer. Developed an early interest in consumer journalism and honest product evaluation.

2014–2018 · Chicago, IL

Product copywriter — learned what marketing hides

Spent four years writing product descriptions for a consumer electronics company. Saw firsthand how marketing language is designed to obscure real product weaknesses and inflate perceived value. It confirmed what he'd always suspected: most product reviews are marketing dressed up as journalism.

2017 · Austin, TX

Relocated to Austin, Texas

Left Chicago for Austin for a change of pace and warmer weather. Took a freelance content writing role while figuring out his next move. Started spending more time systematically testing grooming products as a personal project.

September 2019

SelectShaver.com launches with 4 reviews

Published the first four reviews on a self-hosted WordPress site. All four products had been personally purchased and tested for a minimum of three weeks each. The first article — "Best Electric Shaver for Black Men 2019" — ranked on page two of Google within 8 weeks.

2021

Quit freelance work — SelectShaver goes full-time

SelectShaver.com's affiliate revenue crossed a threshold that allowed Marcus to run it full-time. Expanded from electric shavers into beard trimmers, hair clippers, body groomers, safety razors, and post-shave care. Began adding dedicated women's content after realising it was the biggest gap in the whole niche.

Today · 2026

127+ products tested, still buying every one

SelectShaver.com now covers 12 grooming categories with 127+ personally purchased and tested products. Every review, every buying guide, and every comparison on the site was written by Marcus — and that's how it will stay. No ghost-writers. No AI-generated reviews. No brand partnerships.

Expertise

What Marcus Knows &
Why It Matters

Marcus is not a dermatologist, a barber, or a cosmetic chemist. He's a person who has shaved every single day for 17 years, personally tested 127+ grooming products, and written about them with the honesty of someone who has nothing to gain from recommending something that doesn't work.

His specific, lived expertise is in shaving for men with coarse, dense, curly facial hair — particularly Black men who face conditions like pseudofolliculitis barbae (razor bumps) and ingrown hairs that most shaving review sites completely ignore. He has extended that expertise to cover every major shaving category:

Brands Marcus Has Personally Tested

Braun

Philips Norelco

Panasonic

Remington

Manscaped

Wahl

Andis

BaBylissPRO

Skull Shaver

Gillette

Schick

Bevel

Harry's

Merkur

Edwin Jagger

Oster

Experience signals

✓

17 years of daily shaving experience

✓

127+ products purchased at retail price

✓

Every product personally purchased at retail price

✓

Every product tested minimum 14 days

✓

Real firsthand PFB / razor bump sufferer

✓

Original product photography on every review

Trustworthiness signals

✓

Real full name — Marcus Jerome Reid — on every page

✓

Zero paid placements in 6 years of publishing

✓

Negative verdicts published when earned

✓

Clear affiliate disclosure on every commercial page

✓

Last Updated date reflects genuine re-testing

✓

Contact email publicly listed and monitored

Testing Process

How Marcus Tests
Every Product

Every review on SelectShaver.com follows the same six-step process, without exception. Marcus has never published a review based on reading specs, watching YouTube, or summarising another site's content. If he hasn't used it, it doesn't get reviewed.

Purchase at full retail

Every product is purchased at full price — Amazon, brand website, or a local Austin store like Best Buy or Target. No free samples, no review units, no early access. If a brand sends something without being asked, it gets tested identically to everything else.

Unbox and photograph

Original photos taken immediately — box, product in hand, accessories, detail shots of the head and blade. These photos appear in every review. Stock images and Amazon product photos are never used as "our" images.

Test for 14 days minimum

Every shaver is used daily for at least two full weeks before writing starts. Most products are tested for 3–5 weeks. Marcus specifically tests on coarse, dense, curly facial hair — the hair type most review sites ignore. He checks for battery degradation, blade dulling, and skin irritation buildup.

Score on 8 criteria

Each product is scored on a 1–10 scale across 8 weighted criteria during testing — not after. Scores are recorded in real time in a testing notes document. The final score is a weighted average, not a gut feeling formed after the fact.

Write the honest verdict

Reviews are written directly from testing notes. Every weakness gets mentioned. Marcus has published negative verdicts on products with high affiliate commission rates. He doesn't soften criticism to protect a relationship with a brand he doesn't have.

Update at least annually

Every roundup is reviewed a minimum of once per year. Marcus re-tests when a new model launches in a category, when prices change significantly, or when reader questions suggest a verdict needs revisiting. The "Last Updated" date is real.

The 8 Scoring Criteria

✂️

Closeness of Shave

20% of total score

😌

Comfort & Skin Irritation

20% of total score

🔋

Battery Life

15% of total score

🧹

Ease of Cleaning

15% of total score

💰

Value for Money

15% of total score

🔧

Build Quality

10% of total score

🔇

Noise Level

3% of total score

📦

What's in the Box

2% of total score

Editorial Standards

What Marcus
Stands For

🧪

Tested or Not Published

If Marcus hasn't personally used it for at least two weeks, it doesn't appear on SelectShaver.com. No exceptions. He does not publish reviews based on other sites' findings, manufacturer specs, or crowd-sourced opinions.

💬

Honest About Disappointments

Some of the most expensive shavers on the market have gotten poor verdicts on this site. A high price tag and a well-known brand name do not guarantee a positive review. If it doesn't perform, Marcus says so — clearly and specifically.

🚫

No Paid Placements — Ever

No brand has ever paid to appear on SelectShaver.com. The site earns affiliate commissions, which are disclosed on every commercial page. Commission rates never influence rankings. A product ranked #1 earns that position through testing scores, not payments.

🎯

Written for Real People

The majority of shaving review sites write for an imaginary average reader with average skin and average hair. Marcus writes specifically for people with coarse hair, sensitive skin, darker skin tones, and conditions like PFB — audiences that have been underserved for decades.

🔄

Kept Current

Every article on the site is reviewed at minimum once a year. When Braun releases a new Series 9, Marcus tests it. When Philips updates its Norelco line, rankings get reconsidered. Stale recommendations are a disservice to readers.

📖

Full Transparency

Affiliate disclosure appears at the top of every commercial page, not buried in a footer. Marcus's full name is on every byline. His contact email is publicly listed. Every testing decision is documented. There are no secrets about how this site works.

Reader FAQ

Questions People
Ask Marcus

Are you actually Black? Why does that matter for a shaving site?

Yes, I'm a Black man from Chicago. It matters because men with coarse, curly facial hair — disproportionately Black men — face shaving challenges that the vast majority of grooming review sites have never addressed. Conditions like pseudofolliculitis barbae (razor bumps) affect 45–83% of Black men who shave. I built SelectShaver.com specifically to fill that gap, and it shapes every recommendation I make about foil vs rotary shavers, technique, and post-shave care.

Do you accept free products for review?

No. Every product reviewed on SelectShaver.com was purchased at full retail price using my own money. Brands have sent unsolicited products before — they go in the testing pile and receive the same treatment as everything else. A free product does not guarantee a positive review, which is probably why most brands stopped sending them.

How do you make money without sponsorships?

Through affiliate commissions — primarily Amazon Associates and a handful of direct brand affiliate programmes. When you click a link on SelectShaver.com and buy something, I earn a small percentage of the sale. This costs you nothing extra. The commission rate a product pays has never influenced its ranking. I've given poor verdicts to products with high commission rates and good verdicts to products with low ones. The ranking is determined by the testing score, period.

You're one person — how do you test so many products?

Slowly and methodically. I test 2–3 products at a time, rotating them through my daily shaving routine. A single product takes 3–6 weeks to fully evaluate. The 127+ products tested since 2019 represents six years of daily testing at roughly 18–22 products per year. I maintain a product queue and prioritise based on what readers are searching for and what's newly released.

Will you review a product I suggest?

I genuinely welcome suggestions — they're one of the best ways I find out what readers need. Email me at marcus@selectshaver.com. I read every suggestion, though I can't respond to all of them or guarantee every suggestion makes it into the queue. High-demand products and products filling an obvious gap get prioritised.

Can brands pay to be featured or ranked higher?

No. Full stop. Placement on SelectShaver.com is earned by performing well in testing — it cannot be bought. I receive regular outreach from brand PR agencies asking about "sponsored content opportunities" and "partnership placements." The answer is always no. If that policy ever changes, it will be disclosed prominently and immediately.

Get in Touch

Reach
Marcus

SelectShaver.com is a one-person operation. Marcus reads every message — response times vary, but nothing goes unread. For reader questions, product suggestions, corrections, or just to say hello, use the channels below.

PR & brands: If you're reaching out about paid coverage, free products for guaranteed placement, or affiliate rate negotiations — please don't. The answer is no.

✉️

marcus@selectshaver.com

linkedin.com/in/marcusjreid