How can I save more money on razors?
EDIT: I probably should've said up-front that I live in the UK.
I've started to really dig shaving over the years. It's gone from a chore to an enjoyable regimen. Watching or just listening to shaving ASMR videos provides considerable satisfaction, though it's really always nice to see a professional at work. I only shave every few days, once my stubble has become quite unsightly, and just give it a single pass in order to save on the cost of razor cartridges. At the moment I'm going through my remaining Cornerstone cartridges after canceling my subscription with them due to the cost, and I can get a few uses out of each before having to discard them. My shaving gel is just a cheapo brand, and the aftershave is an old Christmas gift.
I'd like to be be able to save some more money when it comes to shaving. Anyone got any recommendations for a good brand I could switch to, or advice on keeping the handle clean and getting more uses out of the heads?
Switch to a double edge safety razor and don’t look back. The blades are pennies each when bought in quantity. Check out /r/wickededge for more information and product recommendations. Currently on amazon, you can get a 100 pack of feather blades for $26. This is one of the highest end double edge blades too, not just cheap crap. You should try out other blades first though.
I honestly don’t understand how cartridge razors took over. You’re like, 0.5% more likely to cut yourself but it’s both cheaper AND less prone to irritation or razor burn.
Razors are an example of product that achieved technological peak very early, so no one saw any reason to start paying more for unnecessary “advancements”. And when innovation is useless, the industry invests heavily in marketing. Sadly in that case, marketing is a powerful tool.
This is the only correct answer to the question. The only thing that would be cheaper is a straight razor, but that's a pain in the ass to keep sharp.
Thank you, this looks like just the thing. In the future I may buy a cactus and name them Welda.
I always thought either Algernon or I were the prickliest ones here, but I suppose naming a cactus after someone who helped you is a nice gesture.
You can get a sampler pack of different blades. Merkur was a popular choice for shaving head a decade ago when I last looked.
Shave after the shower. Focus on a shallow angle of attack angle. With the grain at first. Don't apply any pressure. Let the weight of the shaving head do the work.
Eventually you will want to try a nice sandalwood shaving soap and brush. Not sure if it saves any money, but it's better for the environment, and is the only way to start the day.
Well, I was thinking of getting some little plants like succulents and such for my windowsill, but I'm also lazy and incompetent, and cacti are pretty hardy!
Cacti are part of the succulent group though ;)
Oh, I didn't know that!
I also plan to put a pair of googly eyes on mine, to give it a soul. That may compel me to water it more often.
If you water them, make sure they're in soil that's 25-40% small gravel by volume, then pull the plastic inner pot out of the outer one and just hold it under the tap for a sec, let it drip out and put it back in the pot. Do that once a month and it'll grow happily!
Along with DE shaving, try out a variety of blades from http://tryablade.com. A redditor runs the site, and its great. I, like a lot of people, use Astra Platinums, but there are plenty of blades worth trying out.
The main thing with DE is to rely on the weight of the shaver and to get a good skin routine where you're exfoliating and all that. It's such a nice shave.
The angle is also important, but that will be totally natural.
It's /r/wicked_edge it seems. I lurked that sub for some time, but totally forgot about it lately. Thanks for reminding me ;-)
Safety razors, my man. That and lather that you make yourself (tube or soap). Takes some learning, but you will understand why they're such a well kept secret: Gilette et. al. have managed to remove them from the mainstream altogether, and replaced them with their fancy expensive cartridge systems. I think this is one of the most amazing marketing pull-offs in history. There's a reason you can't buy regular safety razors in many stores: they don't want you to even ask yourself "what is this cheap thing?" because then you'd find out. Double-edged razor replacements are dirt cheap, come in packs of 5+ and last longer than cartridges.
And also, get brush and a bowl and make your own lather. My tip is to warm up the bowl (sit it in hot water while you're making the lather) and it's much more pleasant. Do it. Dooooo iiiiit!
1000% agree with double edge safety razor. The razor itself costs no more than $20, and that's a high end razor too. That one time cost plus what @weldawadyathink said about blades means you'll recoup your cartridge cost in under a year.
I was always a fan of getting a trimmer and running that on my face every time the beard gets to be a little much, as my clean-shaven look is more like a just shaved today look, rather than the baby face that I was going for, but maybe I'll try wet shaving, see how that works out for me.
Even if you're keeping a super super short beard, DE shaving is great for lining, cleaning up the tops of your cheeks, etc. If you cut your own hair, its also great to clean up your hairline and the back of your neck.
Last summer I spent about $30 on a wet shaving starter kit and haven’t had to spend a penny since. I’ll have to get some blades soon, but blades are dirt cheap.
Heavy up-front investment, but worth it in returns: A decent straight edge razor, a strop, lather brush, and soap bowl.
I have The Fear of lacerations around certain parts of the body, especially after seeing a particularly awful freak accident, so I think that one's a no-no for the foreseeable future. It's going to have to be safety razors for me. I'm a little dubious about moving away from my the soothing gel strip on my cartridges, but I hear that shaving soap is superior to cream and gel when it comes to sensitive skins.
If you've used 'em before, about how many uses do you think I can reasonably get out of a safety razor?
I get a week out of each blade, on a safety razor.
For me it depends on which brand (don't remember which ones though). Buy a bunch of different ones and try it out for yourself. You can buy packs on giftsandcare.com.
I read somewhere on reddit it's not just the shaving which dulls the razor, but also oxidation, so dipping the razors in rubbing alcohol can apparently extend the life, but I'm yet to confirm that.
I'll add that switching over to shaving soap as opposed to cream or foam is also the way to go. Higher cost up front (dish, brush, and soap), but cheap as hell in the long run. I actually like my cheap synthetic brush better than my pricier badger hair brush. As far as soap goes, just about any puck of shaving soap will do the trick, but I like the stuff I got from LA shaving soap co the most. Stayed emulsified longer than most, lasted ages, was good stuff. By the looks of it, he even has starter kits on his site.
A bottle of barbasol is like two bucks. They want 16 for that piece of soap. That doesn't really seem cheaper to me.
I have never really used standard shaving cream enough to comment on the price difference. But there is a significant quality difference. If you have sensitive skin or get any sort of razor burn, shaving soap makes a significantly better lather than barbasol. Also, you don’t pollute the environment with aerosol, which I think is enough of a reason to switch.
The last batch I had from them lasted me two years. Granted, I only shave once a week, so that came out to around 100 shaves -- edit: multiplied by three applications per shave... once with grain with a straight razor, once against grain with a straight razor, once more for cleanup... so 300 applications total.
Honestly have no idea how long barbasol lasts or any of the others, but I don't remember them lasting anywhere close to that long. I'd also make the argument that I get less ingrown hairs and skin irritation in general using soap over foam, but I have problematic facial hair so those problems may not apply to others.
The biggest reason for me is that barbasol contains surfactants such as propelyne glycol, which can cause a slew of skin irritations, namely drying out your skin.
The process of lathering up using soap also makes the act of shaving easier. You are moisturizing the skin/hair, and the warm water opens pores for cleaning. This translates to a smoother, more enjoyable shave (read: less irritation).
To add onto the anecdata in this thread: I've been wet shaving for about 6 years and have only gone through 3-4 soap bars. Back when I was using the Gillette monstrosities I definitely went through multiple barbasol cans in a year. For something that you're presumably going to do for the rest of your life, the frequent small costs do add up to significant amounts.
Don't spend $16US on shaving soap. A decent disk of it is like $5. I also add all the slivers of mostly dead bars of soap to the dish, as well.
Aren’t saunas more about drying your skin out? Are you talking about a steam room?
Anyway, I recommend shaving directly after a shower. Let the warm water flow over your shaving area for a while. Assuming that’s your face, put your face in the water stream for a minute or two. Washing your face with soap, and really rubbing it into your hairs also helps. Comb your hair against the grain while it’s in running water with your hands. After that, make a nice lather. Look up a tutorial for that if you haven’t, and get a shave brush and shave soap if you haven’t. Once you make the lather, you can squeeze the soap out of the middle of the brush. This gives you the best and wettest part of the lather. Most people use this for the last, against the grain shave, but you can use it for your first steps if desired.
For the shave, you chose any or all of these steps in this order: with the grain, across the grain, across the grain opposite direction, and against the grain. Personally, just a single, with the grain pass is enough for a maintenance shave. I only try for against the grain if I want a really close shave, which I don’t really care about.
Finally, an alcohol based aftershave can be really helpful. If you nicked yourself, or have sensitive skin, it can be a bit painful in the first few minutes after putting it on. But it really helps. Also, a stypic pencil is Really useful for nicks. Wet the tip, rub it on the nick, and it will close up within seconds.
That sounds quite nice. I am used to commercial saunas that explicitly say to not put water on the rocks because it damages the heaters. Good luck with your shaving!