If you think all electric toothbrushes do the same thing, the Laifen Wave will surprise you with its sleek Apple-esque design and innovative, high-tech brushing system. There’s even an app.
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Design
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Ease of use
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Performance
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Battery life
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Value
It’s been nearly a decade since our first electric toothbrush. It was designed specifically with women in mind, which means one thing… it’s pink. Several replacement brush heads later, we’re still happily using it. So, when the Laifen Wave first arrived, we didn’t think much of it. How different could electric toothbrushes be?
Laifen is a Chinese brand that’s known for its high-speed hairdryer. But without the branding on the box, it would be easy to presume that Apple made this toothbrush. The Wave looks the part, from how it is packaged to the clean aesthetic and squoval information inserts. Even the individual sections within the packaging all have that distinctive, minimalist feel. There’s also Laifen’s nano moulding technology, which is exactly how smartphones are made.
Opening up the Laifen Wave, you’ll find the toothbrush handle, a USB-C magnetic cable, a USB-A charging adapter, and three different brush heads. There’s a C-shape (for deep cleans), a flat shape (gum care), and the W-shape (whitening). Besides the fact that they’re different colours, they all look pretty similar until you look closely at the bristles. We were more impressed that you get three heads and that they’ve acknowledged that different people need different types of toothbrushes.
There’s an app for that
How complicated is it to turn on a toothbrush? Before it starts, you need to take the Laifan out of flight mode. There is only one button, and it’s pressure sensitive – there’s no click, which is what most other electric toothbrushes use. A light press turns it on, and a double press switches modes. If you put it on pause and wait ten seconds, it will go to sleep. And that’s the end of the review, happy brushing.
But wait, there’s also an app. The Laifen companion app lets you customise how you want to brush your teeth. You can change not only the duration, although two minutes is the recommended time, but also the vibration intensity, oscillation range, or speed. You can toggle the 30-second reminder (which tells you when to move to a different section) or activate flight mode.
Fluid dynamics
One of the more unusual options is ‘high frequency’, which increases the vibration rate to the max. For the Wave, that means around 66,000 vibrations per minute. They say it’s about better fluid dynamics – the high-speed bristle motion stirs up toothpaste, saliva, and water to clean between teeth without direct bristle contact.
Fluid dynamics is also how sonic toothbrushes work in general, with microscopic waves dislodging plaque and bacteria. What makes the Wave different is that it combines fluid dynamics with mechanical oscillation. While other electric toothbrushes move side-to-side, the Wave travels up and down with a 60° vertical range.
Can you feel all of this in your mouth? Sort of. At the lowest vibration setting, it feels similar to our go-to electric toothbrush. With everything on, it’s a somewhat chaotic buzzing compilation. The vertical motion takes a few days to get used to. But that’s okay. You have at least 30 days before you will need to recharge (and that only takes two hours).
Clean, connected
Besides sparkly healthy teeth, which is obviously the end goal, Laifen have made a very sleek device. Our only complaint is that even though the manual says to apply ‘light pressure’, if you’re too gentle, the toothbrush doesn’t start up. It turns on in your hand, but getting the brush to start brushing requires force.
And this being a connected device with a companion app, it would have been nice to have some tracking metrics. Did we brush long enough? Should we opt for a different mode or brush type?
Laifen Wave verdict
Overall, the Laifen Wave is not a revolutionary device. It’s an aesthetic electric toothbrush with a powerful motor that’s different enough to remind you that even the smallest routines can be redesigned (with a little inspiration from the Apple playbook).
Price: from R1,900 (Hirsch’s)
Replacement brush heads: R400 for three
Battery life: up to 30 days
Weight: around 150g
Water resistance: IPX7
Warranty: 1 year
Available at: Bash, Hirsch’s Homestore, Laifentech, Takealot, Yuppiechef
