Adopting the Safety Razor.

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For more than a decade I was happy with a Gillette Mach 3. I used it every day for years. Eventually I found an affordable electric razor so I switched to that, and used it until I had to replace the blades at least twice. I only reduced my use of it because the blades became dull. That’s when I started to experiment with a bamboo razor, a Gillette Glide, and finally safety razors.

A Healthy Fear

I mention safety razors because the first one I tried really scared me, due to how exposed the blades were. I felt that if I shivered or spasmed for any reason, I’d cut my face badly enough to leave a scar. The first razor I tried was the pandoo but due to what I feel is an exposed blade I chose to try the Wilkinson Edge razor and I am much happier with this razor. I feel that the blade is nicely tucked away, so if, and when, I nick my face it’s superficial.

Plastic Razor Solutions

With conventional razors you wet your face, put a little foam, and shave. You go with the grain, you go against it, and then you’re done. When you feel your face to see how good the shave was you feel that the shave, despite four or five blades wasn’t good. You also see that there is a lot of plastic waste as you replace one shaving head with another.

Environmental

One of the best features of safety razor blades is that they’re sold in batches of ten, in paper envelopes rather than plastic and because they’re just metal can be recycled rather than thrown away as incinerator rubbish. When the shaver is metal, and the blades are metal, everything can be recycled. There is, theoretically, no waste.

A Learning Curve

Safety razor shaving has a learning curve. The first step is to learn how to remove the blade and place it correctly. You then need to learn how to prepare your face to avoid nicks and cuts. Lather on the soap, and then shave, but as softly as possible, and more. There are dedicated articles on the art of shaving.

Some sources say to shower first, and then shave, others say, apply a warm wet towel to your face. Others still say to take a shower after a shave.

In theory you’re meant to shave in three passes. For the first pass you go with the grain, from top to bottom, then from your ears to your nose, and finally upwards. I am taking it in steps. For the first few shaves I just shaved downwards. Now I have added the “across the grain” step. We will see if, and when, I feel comfortable enough to shave against the grain.

I have considered practising the movements with the razor, but without blades to build up my muscle memory and confidence.

More Involved

Using a safety razor is more involved because it is more dangerous. If you are not careful you do cut your face. Even if you are careful you can come away with a few nicks and cuts. The bleeding stops quickly so the injuries are superficial.

With disposable plastic filled razors I shaved, rinsed my face and I was done. With the safety razor you finish the shave, apply after shave and have the Home Alone scream. Of course as an adult I don’t scream, I just feel the agony of disinfectant getting into all the scrapes and cuts.

Blade Cost

I read that you can use one blade per six days or so with three passes, but you can change the blade for every shave if you so desire. The cost of blades is between 30 to 60 centimes per blade. Normal shavers cost from 1.50 to 10 CHF per blade so you’re saving a lot of money, depending on how often you shave before throwing away either option.

Why The Change

It bothers me that I can get an electric shaver for 70 CHF but the replacement blades cost 30CHF. It bothers me that it costs around 2-5 francs per blade for normal shaving solutions. It also bothers me that there is so much plastic and other waste. By taking the time to relearn how to shave with safety razors I am reducing my environmental footprint as I require less plastic and use materials that can be recycled rather than thrown away.

And Finally

By using a safety razor I have to relearn the partially forgotten art of a traditional shave. With the proliferation of barber shops it is interesting to learn to shave the old fashioned way, to get that barber experience, at home. Although I feel fear when shaving with a safety razor I also enjoy the experience of using an interesting bit of technology. It was an ordinary part of life for decades, if not centuries.