Please tell me what razor I should get, if it’s true that you can get a better and cheaper shave with a single-blade safety razor.
Here are my needs - I clean-shave my man-face 3 to 5 times weekly. I want a shave that is equal or superior to my current $2-per-cartridge Mach 3 cartridge system in terms of closeness, comfort, and injury freedom.
Also please suggest a good economical off-the-shelf cream or gel. I’ve done the brush-and-soap thing. I don’t have time for it, and I’m not looking to snap my suspenders and tie an onion on my belt and crow about how traditionally I shave myself. It’s all about the practical.
I’m willing to pay the cost of switching. If a $70 razor will get it done, I’ll buy it. If a $140 razor is twice as good in terms of practical value, then I’ll buy that. I will not pay twice as much for a razor that is twice as pretty.
Suggestions are much appreciated… I’m almost out of cartridges and I’m not wanting to continue the $2-per-cart habit anymore.
I’ve been using this Merkur razor for a couple of years; better shave than the two, three, four and five blade gadgets that sent me into sticker shock when I shopped for blades.
I do the mug & brush thing at home but for travel I take along Kiss My Face Moisture Shave; works fine even without a brush but, of course, doesn’t lather. A local grocery store that has a health food section carries it.
It’s not true in my experience. I’m not sure what you’re expecting, but a Mach 3 gives a noticeably superior shave, if used correctly vs any single blade razor I’ve ever used. How many shaves are you getting out of a cartridge?
This is my experience as well. I use a Gillette Adjustable safety razor for daily shaving. It’s a good shave (and incredibly cheap) for being presentable, but when I need to be really smooth (for a date, or if I hope to be stubble-free at day’s end), I need to switch to the Mach 3 or gingerly wield the straight razor. (As an aside, as a boy raised by a single mom who only ever used Daisy disposables, learning how to use all of this stuff was… less than fun.)
That said, I do recommend safety razors… they’re great for most purposes, beat electric shaves by a mile, and even with premium blades, the shaves are cheap. The guys I know who use the aforementioned recommendation of Merkur do like them, though IMO the cost is a bit much; I like my Gillette, and found it for $5 at an antique store (despite the fact that the packaging it was in showed that it was made in the late 1990s).
I replace the cartridge once a week, which comes up to about 4-5 shaves for me. Any longer than that and it gets very scrapey-feeling. At 2 bucks a week that’s $104 a year. If I live to be 80 that’s $4000. People say that a 10-cent safety blade is just as good or better, and everything I read suggest that’s true, though I don’t know anyone who has one to borrow.
It’s much easier to slice yourself up with a single blade razor unless you are quite careful, and for me morning is not when my motor skills are most precise. You have to work at it to cut yourself with Mach 3. I get about 7-10 close shaves out a Mach 3 blade, but I shave in the shower, and I shave at the end of the shower so my beard is fairly soft by the time I lay the razor to it. During the work week I also often give myself a quick buzz around 2-3 PM with a little battery powered portable shaver I have in my desk. It’s quite a refreshing face massage and it tamps down the beard you have to face the next day.
I had some concern about cuts when I first I got my Merkur … two and a half years now without a single nick – doubt very much that I’d ever gone that long before – and I am positive; got the razor as a christmas gift and big styptic pencil I got with it is still unopened.
The shaving technique is a bit different with the double-edge razor; you don’t press the blade into your face because it’s recessed into a plastic block, the blade slides along the skin without any pressure applied to the razor. I figure that because you are pressing the cartridge blades into the skin, any accidental sideways movement pretty much guarantees a slice – with the safety razor, no pressure = no slicing.
If I had to take a guess, I’d guess the old-fashioned safety razors were designed for shaving and the more modern multi-blade gadgets were designed for marketing.
You want cheaper blades and shaving cream, but equal or better results? While I don’t believe that money always equals quality, it seems to in the shaving world. I’ve never found a single bladed disposable razor that was worth what you paid for it. Unless your beard is very light, you’ll need a decent razor, and that means paying a ton for cartridges, unless you switch to a Double Edge safety razor, such as the Merkur mentioned upthread. Your initial investment is high, but the cost per blade is much less. The cost per shave in terms of shaving cream/soap is also less. So over time, you will save money.
However, this will cost you time. Unless your beard is very light, you will probably want to do at least two passes, or perhaps three. Which means instead of a quick zip through in the morning, you need to take about 10-15 minutes.
I actually like Schick’s Slim Twin disposable better than Mach 3. I’m probably weird. I used to have problems with nicks and ingrown hairs when I used Mach 3, but I haven’t had any issues after I switched.
I like the King of Shaves Alphagel. It seems to work well for me.
Here’s my 2 cents. A brush is an absolute must, but you don’t have to use the cake soap in the bottom of a shaving cup, you can use the already-whipped stuff to save time (something like this (or buy it at L’Occitane if you absolutely must spend at least 3x as much)). It works up nicely with a good brush in the palm of your hand.
Here’s my whole shaving/showering routine (which is a little American Psycho, but I’m OK with that): Get in the shower. Soap up my head and face and body with a loufa thingy. Rinse head and face. Apply suction cup mirror to wall (and feel like a jackass for not having a permanent accordion-style mirror installed). Apply pre-shave oil to head and face. Wet brush. Put shaving cream in hand and apply to brush. Use brush on head and face, then squeeze the last bit of soap out of the brush and apply to mustache area and the sides of my head. Shave (face first). Rinse entire body. Turn the faucet down to really cold and rinse head. Exit shower and towel off. Apply after-shave.
I use a Gillette Atra Plus shaver I bought fifteen years ago. It works well being all metal with a machined round aluminum handle. The twin blade Atra Plus line has long ago been replaced and now **aftermarket blades **are available at Wal-Mart, greatly reducing the cost of shaving. Those “safety” razors scare the shit out of me. My face would look like a cutting board if I used one. That Merkur sure is cool, thanks for the link Turble.
As for shaving cream, the absolute best out there is Edge Gel. Wait for the coupon from Costco and get a 4 pack of them for much less than anywhere else.