Ok so ... at first I wasn't too thrilled with the mirror and actually wrote a review here reflecting my dissatisfaction. But within about an hour, I received a nicely worded email from the manufacturer offering insight to exactly how the technology in the mirrors construction, makes it truly fogless. We had it positioned in the shower too high on the wall (have kids so ... glass and water + kids = not good).I've posted this info below but I gotta say .... any company that is that willing to stand behind their product and offer such personal customer service is a 100% winner in my book. If only all online retailers could be this way. It's nice to know they care enough to respond personally. Buy the mirror ... it's affordable and does what it says. Enjoy! :)
From the email I received .......
If I may, please allow me the opportunity to share how the mirror works in an attempt to help alleviate the fogging issues you mentioned in your review.
Most houses are kept in a temperature range of 70-75 degrees.
The average shower water temperature is 107.5 degrees.
Fog on a mirror is simply condensation. The air in the bathroom is heated by the shower and becomes saturated with moisture.
When this saturated moist hot air comes in contact with the shower shave mirror (which is still at normal room temperature roughly 30 degrees less), the moisture comes out of the air and condensates on the shower shave mirror surface.
When you hold you Shave Well mirror under the shower stream for a few seconds, the acrylic mirror will warm up allowing for the temperature of the moist air and the mirror itself to equalize.
Once you have held the mirror in the shower spray to equalize the temperature of you shower and the mirror, there can't/won't be any fog/condensation.
All of that being said, the mirror works on basic science. If your mirror is still fogging then the only answer I can give you is that it remains cooler than the temperature of the shower. Since the mirror is rather thin acrylic, it should warm up in the few seconds you have been holding it in the warm water of the shower spray.
Some additional thoughts that remain would be
a.) Whether or not you have a greatly reduced flow shower head. If you do, it may take longer for enough warm water to equalize the temperature of the mirror.
b.) If the mirror hung so high that there is a direct flow of cool air over the shower curtain/door or whether an air conditioning vent is blowing toward it. If this is the case, I am happy to send you a new hook so that you can reposition the mirror.
c.) One additional suggestion would be to make sure you are turning both the front and back of the mirror under the shower water spray when you are equalizing it. This will help in "warming it up" to equalize the temperature.
Finally, regarding the issue of the size of the Shave Well mirror, it was designed to be removable from the wall to truly address the issue of fog by "warming up" the mirror under the shower. Given that the mirror will be removed from the hook before you shave, many users choose to hold the mirror while shaving. The 6" X 4" size fits well in a users hand as well as provides a complete reflection of the entire face while shaving.
To avoid any confusion, under the Product Description section of the amazon.com listing is the size of the item is shown: "The Shave Well Company fog free shower shave mirror measures 4" wide, 6" tall and is 1/8" thick. The base of the adhesive hook (the part that sticks to the wall) measures 1" wide and 1 1/2" tall."
I recently started shaving my head due to being follically challenged with age and I wanted to shave in the shower as that provides the best results. So this is my first shower mirror in years. It's light weight, I believe it's acrylic with a rubberry backside for a good grip even when wet. It appears to be good quaity & I saw no distortions. I also like the hook, which allows for easy placement where you want and with more hooks (you can buy at any hardware store) you can hang easily in diferent locals for different sized users.
Now to the functionality I started the shower and upon entering heated the mirror up to check it's fog free claim. I then soaked in the hot water myself for about 20 minutes to relax before shaving. the mirror is off to the side so that I don't have to stand under the stream and shave, allowing me to lather up. Sure enough it had fogged up, but I had increased water temp & it hadn't been under the stream in that time. No problem as I grabbed it easily with wet soapy hands and held it in the stream for a few seconds and it was good for the entire shave. The few drops on the mirror afterwords were not a distraction from shaving.
As to my first impression, I was wrong, the size fits in your hand easily & I didn't have to touch at all while shaving my whole head, I do keep a light beard so I need the mirror for the trim detail and it worked perfect for that as well.I have used many shower shaving mirrors before, all disappointing, but this one really lives up to its claims. Most of the others mounted to the shower wall, and they'd fog immediately. I'd end up trying to "throw" water at them to get them to clear up, but the fog and streaking would immediately reappear. Those mirrors weren't heavy-duty enough to hold the heat, which is the trick. This mirror's heavy duty surface is what retains the heat when held under the shower, and the quality of the reflection is first class. I've gotten into the habit of holding the mirror in one hand and shaving with the other. That way, I can quickly re-heat the mirror if needed, but more importantly, realign my face and mirror for the best lighting and focal distance.
I haven't had to polish the mirror with toothpaste yet, but the other mirrors all warned me not to clean them with anything, as it would wreck their special coatings. This mirror's design doesn't rely on "special" coatings that don't work anyway, and allows for you to restore the surface with a gentle abrasive (toothpaste) when and if needed.
I even received an email from the president (OK, I'm sure it was a form letter) making sure I knew how to use it and that I was satisfied. That's First Class! The hardest part for me was trying to get the protective plastic coating off of the surface of the mirror when I opened the package.
I love this mirror. I travel a lot, and think I'll buy another to keep in my travel bag with my travel toiletries so I can enjoy a nice shave in the hotel showers, too.I had used 3M fog free mirrors for years. They would work for a week and then fog up and I would have to rub a little soap on them each time I took a shower. I decided to look for alternatives but I didn't want one with suction cups (the 3M strips held forever).
This mirror seems to do the job. I was a bit concerned the edges might be sharp but they are fine.
A small note: I like hot showers and my mirror needs a little more than 2-3 seconds in the water stream to last through a shave.I purchased this mirror on a fluke. I've been searching for an inexpensive, durable shower mirror for shaving for years. The Shave Well mirror came up during another search and I immediatley added it to my Amazon order. The mirror arrived a couple days later. It's simple to set up and is durable and small enough to use for travel.
I had one small problem with the mirror in that there was no indication that there was a plastic, protective film over the reflecting surface and I couldn't feel one there when I checked. An email to Shave Well resulted in an unexpected but very welcome response in a remarkably short period of time. I received my response during the holiday evening, from Mr. Bill Vogel, who I believe is the company owner. He very tactfully asked me about removing the plastic coating (without making me feel like an idiot) and offered to send me a free mirror for my trouble.
Too bad Shave Well doesn't make more stuff!
The mirror is great and and is everything they advertise. I'm buying more of them for family and friends!...
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