Dropping Dollar Shave Club!

[Cache_Stash]

Am I the only one who gets multiple months out of a cartridge? I never tried a monthly shave club simply because I don't need a new cartridge every month (and because, as a consequence, it's taken me years to work my way through my last Sam's Club bulk purchase). Even with fancy-pants Fusion cartridges at $2-$3 each, I'm still looking at about $1/month with my current shaving system*.

[* Plus "shave gel" which is actually just lathered shower gel. I'd have to wash my face anyway, so that's a freebie!]

I have the same experience you do with Fusion cartridges.  I don't change them for about 2-3 months.  I may use 6-8 per year.  That's about $1/month.  Of course, I don't have a five o'clock shadow so I don't know how long they'll last for those with a heavy beard.  I gave my brother one and he went a year without buying a cartridge. 

I shave in the shower and don't use any soap or gel.  Just warm water.

[Cache_Stash]

is great on the wallet at less than $10 a year. Plus a bottle of Barbasol a year at $1 (I use very little).

As unmustachian luxury purchases go, this is probably a minor one.  I just feel compelled to point out that a $35 electric razor will last you 20 years with essentially zero maintenance other than the occasional rinsing. 

Metal razor blades seem kind of like gasoline cars and natural gas stoves.  Electric is just better, and yet people resist the superior technology based on advertising and nostalgia.

For the record, I have a beard.

my "beard" is too light for an electric.  It just doesn't work. :(

[Car Jack]

Another electric user, but not the fancypants $35 one.  $9.95 at Wal Mart.  Also had a full beard and didn't shave at all for a full 30 years before going to the dark side.

[FoundPeace]

When I had to shave every day, I had a Gillette mach 3 or something, but I haven't had a smooth face in quite a few years. Now, I save time, money, and look much better with a beard. I have a safety razor to keep the edges clean, but I only use one blade every 6 months or so.

[kms]

I'm still very undecided on this issue... I don't necessarily NEED to keep a smooth shave every day but I like to shave at least 2-3 times a week because my face gets itchy after 3 days max, especially in the Texas heat in summer. Plus, I'm not a big fan of beards, especially not in a hipster-prone city like Austin.

I've tried various things in my life so far:

• cheap disposables - didn't like them as they were very irritating and uncomfortable to use.
• expensive disposables - see cheap disposables.
• Schick Quattro - decent shave but blades are too close to each other so the hair gets stuck in there and is nigh impossible to remove. Plus, expensive cartridges ($3 each) that will last for about 2-3 weeks max before they get uncomfortable, irritating, and painful.
• Gillette Mach 3 - decent shave with blades spaced wider apart; expensive cartridges ($2.50 each) that will last for about 2-3 weeks max before they get uncomfortable, irritating, and painful.
• Cheap no-name razors from various stores and brands - hit and miss with a mostly decent shave and more affordable cartridges at around $1-$2 each that never lasted more than a week and started to cause skin burn very quickly.
• Safety blades - didn't like them, they butchered my skin and shaving took way too long.
• cheap no-name electric razor - awful experience, it pulled more on my facial hair than actually cutting it; very irritating and painful, stopped using after a few tries.

In other words: the only thing that worked for me so far were either Gillette Mach 3 or Schick Quattro, with the former being my preferred choice hands down. I'm currently on Schick Quattro cartridges because I scored a great deal (buy one get one at my local H.E.B., so $2 per cartridge) but I'm am running out and have decided to give the Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 2100 for $39.95 a shot. Since I work from home where nobody minds a stubble I don't need that close of a shave. In theory, as the blades are supposed to last for a full year and a new set costs slightly over $20 it could end up being much cheaper than Gillette or Schick cartridges. Let's just hope my experience will be better than with the last electric razor... had to toss that away after a few weeks as it was too painful to use. At least the Philips can be returned so I don't have much to lose.

[dcheesi]

I could not get a smooth shave with it.

Your standards are too high.  Why do you need a "smooth" shave every single day?  Its' just going to have stubble again in a few hours.  Electric razors are 90% as good at 10% of the cost, easier and faster to use, and they don't leave a mess in your sink.  Besides, haven't you heard that stubble is "in" now?

If you feel you need a smooth baby face for a particular event, like a date, then you can blade shave right before that.  You don't need to baby shave every morning, just like you don't need to wax your car every morning.  You're spending too much to get too little benefit.

Of course, advertisers have spent billions of dollars convincing you that you DO need to baby shave every single day, so I don't really expect a random internet stranger to change your mind on this point.  I accept that we are all subject to the evils of advertising, and it effectively convinces us to waste money on irrational things that we think are important for unidentified reasons.

This is going to vary for different folks. For me, pale translucent skin + thick dark brown facial hair = I have a 5 O'clock shadow even after the smoothest shave. Shaving with an electric makes me look like I've been on a weekend bender, and actually skipping a day starts to verge on hobo territory (only half kidding).

Now of course I could choose ignore societal standards on such things, but I would pay a cost in terms of my career and other situations in which perception matters. Instead, I choose to shave with a manual razor most of the time (which as I mentioned before, costs me around $1/month).

[sol]

Now of course I could choose ignore societal standards on such things, but I would pay a cost in terms of my career and other situations in which perception matters.

I think you are vastly overestimating the impact to your life or career of a few hours of stubble, which is exactly what razor companies want you to do, and have spent billions telling you for decades now.  In truth, nobody cares about your face as much as you do.  Most people will not notice after the first week, and in the first week they will only notice because you've been so unnaturally shiny bald for so long that a more normal looking face will stand out by contrast.

But it's your money and your face, and if you honestly believe that your life will suffer if you stop spending money on a ridiculously outdated morning ritual, then you are free to continue it.  Just recognize that the "but everyone will stare at me!" defense is kind of silly.

[Tarquin]

I use a Gillette Mach 3.

My annual expenditure on replacement blades = $0.00.

How?

You can realign the blade every time you use it (thereby keeping it sharp) by rubbing it up your arm (do this in the opposite direction to how you would shave!!) 10 times after every use. It is has the exact same effect of a barber with a leather strap (guess what leather is made from?).

I have been using the same "disposable blades" for 3 years and they still work perfectly. There are videos on YT showing you how to do what I have tried to explain.

[elysianfields]

Anyone besides me here using a straight razor?

I'll admit, it's not a faster shave, but I enjoy those 20 minutes: the hot towel, the strop, the badger brush, the hot oil, lathering up, and shaving twice - it's a nice ritual and I get a great shave.  A good blade is expensive, but lasts forever - my everyday blade is my grandfather's Krusius Brothers that he probably bought for $3 in NYC in the 1930s and that I had sharpened for ~ $50 two years ago.

Good shaving soap costs more than a can of Barbasol, but lasts a loooooooong time.  I like Mitchell's Wool Fat Shaving Soap, $14.83 at Amazon, lasts me about a year.

[Plugra]

I use a Gillette Mach 3.

...

I have been using the same "disposable blades" for 3 years and they still work perfectly. There are videos on YT showing you how to do what I have tried to explain.

I have owned a bunch of electric razors over the years. The quality kept going down and I got tired of buying expensive new Remingtons that croaked after a couple of years. Then I switched to disposable plastic supermarket razors and used those for several years.  Those things are crap -- they don't last, they do a lousy job, and they pollute the environment.  It's a false savings.

Then it finally occurred to me to look at customer reviews and so I bought a Mach 3.  I bought a pack of Mach 3 cartridge/refills a year ago and holy crap they are great.   They cost more up front but they last waayyy longer than the cheap disposable razors. I've only gone through about two refills in ten months.   I wish I had known this 30+ years ago.

[Cornel_Westside]

I don't understand this stuff at all. $60 for a brush? And outrageous prices for blades? Are they electric shaver blades?

For ****'s sake, just get an old fashioned T shaped razor blade holder and a pack of 2 sided safety razor blades.   Cheap as hell (or should be). Or buy a pack of plastic disposable razors. What are they, 50 cents ****ing each, or even less? I use them too, and they shave nice and sharp for at least 10 shaves. Problem solved.   

When I hear the Dollar Shave Club commercials I want to scream. It's like they're saying "Are you tired of paying $100 for one apple?" (Umm, no, dude, no one pays $100 for one apple. What planet are you on?)   

"Buy your apples from us at Dollar Shave Club! We only charge $80 for one apple!"  (Ummm, dude, I'll continue to get my apples for 50 cents each at my local store.) 

I really just don't get it. 
 

I wish I had skin that could handle the multi-blade disposable razors. But in college I discovered that if I wanted to shave often with disposable razor blades, I was going to have razor bumps all over my neck. Some people have more sensitive skin. I have to spend more time shaving with a safety razor on a face pre treated with a pre-shave oil to not irritate my skin. But it is dirt cheap once you have the equipment. I don't have a special bowl and my brush is cheap.

Your standards are too high.  Why do you need a "smooth" shave every single day?  Its' just going to have stubble again in a few hours.  Electric razors are 90% as good at 10% of the cost, easier and faster to use, and they don't leave a mess in your sink.  Besides, haven't you heard that stubble is "in" now?

If you feel you need a smooth baby face for a particular event, like a date, then you can blade shave right before that.  You don't need to baby shave every morning, just like you don't need to wax your car every morning.  You're spending too much to get too little benefit.

Of course, advertisers have spent billions of dollars convincing you that you DO need to baby shave every single day, so I don't really expect a random internet stranger to change your mind on this point.  I accept that we are all subject to the evils of advertising, and it effectively convinces us to waste money on irrational things that we think are important for unidentified reasons.

I think it varies greatly by the user. I have a nice electric razor, and it does a great job on my face. However, on my neck it just doesn't work as well. Not 90% for sure. It's uneven and the fact that it doesn't match my face makes it look weird.

I understand your point that it may not be necessary for my job to shave as often as I do (which is every other day). But genuinely, it's not from that. I think I look better clean shaven and I like being clean shaven. And since safety razor blades are dirt cheap, the only cost is my time, which I'll happily give.

I can get 80% of a workout at my cheap gym if I bought equipment for myself at home, but for things like this I want 100%. I want my full workout and I want a great shave.

[magnet18]

I usually just use an electric with the guard on the shortest setting, 1-3x per week, wife likes the stubble

On rare occasions when I do shave clean, I'm another vote for the safety razor.  Bonus manliness points because the handle is handmade (turned down on a woodlathe)

[kms]

I'm currently on Schick Quattro cartridges because I scored a great deal (buy one get one at my local H.E.B., so $2 per cartridge) but I'm am running out and have decided to give the Philips Norelco Electric Shaver 2100 for $39.95 a shot.

Quick update: been using it for a month, 2-3x weekly. So far it works great, had to get used to it first but after the first week it got a lot easier. Not sure if my skin/hair actually adjusted of if I just got better, but it takes me less than 5 minutes now. The shave is decent and clean enough, and I have no complaints so far.

[foobaz]

I never used dollar shave club, but reading about them did help me discover their supplier (Dorco). I now order cheap and good quality razors straight from the source.