# How long should you use a razor blade before changing it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305 "2003-11-09T23:25:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/1 "2003-11-09T23:25:53Z")
I know “when it gets dull” but how long does that normally take? I’ve used electric all my shaving career and only recently discovered the wonders of blade shaving. Started off using disposable razors only to realize, i don’t know when to dispose of them! How long do you normally use a disposable or blade cartridge before replacing it? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/2 "2003-11-09T23:29:13Z")
When I shaved, a blade lasted me several weeks. When it started pulling, I put in a new one. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/3 "2003-11-10T00:49:36Z")
I wait till I get nicked, and then use a new blade. …but I’m a cheap bastard… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/4 "2003-11-10T01:53:55Z")
I use a new blade each week (changing it on Monday morning usually, or Saturday night if going out). I shave 6 days a week. So my answer is after 5 or 6 uses. I use a Gilette Sensor Excel. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/5 "2003-11-10T02:24:56Z")
Well, I use a Mach 3 (Best Razor Ever) and I change the blade every 10 days or so - I shave everyday, and have thick facial hair. ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/6 "2003-11-10T03:05:00Z")
I use whichever brand is cheapest when I go to buy them. Currently, that is Schick. (I’ve tried the Mach3 but noticed no difference, for me anyway). I must have tough skin or something, because I haven’t gotten a nick in weeks or even months. So I just use them until they get so gunked up that it disgusts me; they’re probably still sharp when I dispose of them after 8 uses or so. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/7 "2003-11-10T03:37:12Z")
I also use a Mach 3, but I change the blade every four to six months. I shave about six times a week, and I’m an average 42 year old man. The difference? I shave in the shower. ---
**Author:** ![quothz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/da6949/32.png) [@quothz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quothz)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/8 "2003-11-10T03:46:52Z")
Amy Dacyczyn in _The\_Tightwad\_Gazette_ recommends that you rinse and dry your blade after shaving. I’ve tried it, and it’s made my blades last for weeks. I use cheap disposables. Letters printed in the newsletter suggest sharpening the blade daily on the inside of a glass, or applying a thin coat of petroleum jelly to the blade after drying it. Or I suppose you could do both. You know, if you’re really into that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/9 "2003-11-10T05:15:47Z")
From SDSTAFF Dex: > [@](#): > > Be sure the blade is sharp. You’re not just cutting off hair, you’re also scraping off a tiny layer of skin when you shave. A dull blade is more traumatic to the skin, making your face feel scratchy and look blotchy. **Change the blade somewhere between every two and every seven shaves, depending on the toughness of your beard. Two weeks is too long to go without changing blades.** Regardless of the number of shaves, if the blade is dulled, ditch it. Emphasis mine, of course. From the column [Shaving seminar: (a) With the grain or against it? (b) Hot water or cold?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mshave.html) ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/10 "2003-11-10T13:15:57Z")
I use disposables. Every time I use a new blade I lose about a quart of blood on each of my first 4 or 5 shaves. So, no matter what anybody says, I ain’t changing my blade after every 5 shaves!!! I’d be hospitalized within a month. So, needless to say, I don’t change my blade too often. Sometimes I’ll even go a year before starting a new one. even after using the same blade for a year I still get a close shave and I never cut myself (until I start with a new blade). You can cite dozens of studies if you like, you can tell me I’m wrong, but if I were to follow the expert advice on this one I’d begin each day standing in a pool of blood. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/11 "2003-11-10T13:35:19Z")
Well ditch the disposables and go for a multiblade swivel head razor you tightwad! I have a light beard and even with a Mach 3 I think a week is the maximum. The longer you take getting the beard hydrated first the easier it is (no blood) and the longer the blade lasts. So, I can see shaving in the shower would make sense but I need a mirror so it’s immediately post-shower. Going weeks, months, years!!! I have no idea how that works… I remember once when I was a kid my Dad when asked what he wanted from my Ma for Xmas replied, “A years worth of razor blades so long as you nag me to change them every day.” Back in the days when you could manually change them and swap sides to get two new edges per blade… She got baby smooth cheeks to kiss for a year I guess… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/12 "2003-11-10T14:20:35Z")
> [@](#): > > _notquitekarpov wrote:_ > I need a mirror so it’s immediately post-shower. Have you tried it in the shower without a mirror? I thought that I would too, but I don’t. I use my left (free) hand to feel for stubble, which is better at finding it that vision is. ---
**Author:** ![Redsland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9de0a6/32.png) [@Redsland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redsland)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/13 "2003-11-10T14:22:09Z")
Mach 3 Turbo user here, with below-average beard thickness. I use a blade cartridge until the lubriderm strip wears off, which happens after about five shaves. ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/14 "2003-11-10T14:38:31Z")
In the novel _Virtual Light_, William Gibson has one character that keeps using the same disposable razor “because after a while they just don’t get any more dull”. Personally I change blades every week or so, but this Gibson line struck me because it’s mentioned several times in the book, which I attribute either to really bad editing or a deeper truth. Since the character who keeps repeating this line is bivouaced on the collapsed Bay Bridge, I guess it’s a statement about what’s permanent and what’s disposable. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/15 "2003-11-10T15:12:29Z")
Some disposable razors last a very long time. Which one are you using Max? wilkison lasts the longest I think according to some magazine article I read. ---
**Author:** ![GawnFishin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@GawnFishin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GawnFishin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/16 "2003-11-10T15:57:46Z")
Your supposed to change the blades? Maybe that explains some thing. I’ll be right back. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/17 "2003-11-10T16:10:12Z")
You people are just plain freaky! The max for me is 5 days. Any more than that and I might as well just pluck the hairs out with tweezers because it would feel about the same. Dex and I are on the same page. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/18 "2003-11-10T18:09:01Z")
I use a Mach 3, shave 3-4 times a week, and change the blade at the beginning of each month. That’s the only way I can remember when I changed it last. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/19 "2003-11-10T22:12:51Z")
“Your supposed to change the blades?” If they have new ones you can put in, yes. My father used a double sided razor & I never could use it properly. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305/20 "2003-11-11T11:32:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by notquitekarpov \* > **Well ditch the disposables and go for a multiblade swivel head razor you tightwad! > Going weeks, months, years!!! I have no idea how that works…** Sweetheart, I’m just tellin’ you what works for _me_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-you-use-a-razor-blade-before-changing-it/212305.md?page=2)