[zgiber]

I get the convenience part but the waste reduction itself is already worth the switch. Yeah your shaving cartridge or flaking teflon pan might be a drop in the ocean (perhaps literally) but when there are billions of humans around we should think about what inconvenience does it worth to keep our environment lovable.

[mgraczyk]

I throw my cartridges in the trash, and they end up in a landfill forever with no environmental harm. I haven't looked into Teflon but I've disposed of ~1 pan in my entire life and still have the rest, so my impact is probably negligible.

I choose to focus my time and energy minimizing environmental impact more effectively. For example, instead of using a DE razor, I use that time to commute by bike instead of car, This results in overall much less waste and a lifestyle that I prefer.

[wiether]

> they end up in a landfill forever with no environmental harm

Can you please explain to me how a landfill doesn't cause environmental harm?

[mgraczyk]

Chemicals can leech out of landfills into water tables and waterways. Landfills can also emit greenhouse gasses. None of these happen as a result of burying shaving cartridges.

It's no different than the sand that's already below ground. It essentially just sits there.

The production and transportation of the cartridge could harm the environment though, but that's a more complicated story.

[dflock]

Shaving cartridges are mostly plastic, which does leech chemicals, including hormone mimics, into groundwater.

[throwaway0a5e]

Any landfill made in the last 50yr has a sump and the liquid nastiness gets its own direct line to the local water treatment plant.

Likewise they capture or flare the methane.

[frereubu]

Their production causes environmental harm. A small amount compared to other thing to be sure, but not "none".

[shard]

People don't seem to be aware of this, but most of the dulling of disposable razors are due to it staying wet. If you dry your disposable razor after use, shaking out the water then drying it on a towel, it can last much much longer. Going down to shaving 2-3 times a week due to WFH, I think I made one disposable razor last about a year. If this pattern keeps up, this pack of razors I bought from Costco is going to last until I retire.

[ddingus]

Leaving it wet is a big contributor to dullness for the reasons you gave here.

I would add accumulation of crap between the blades being the rest of the story.

A small blast of air gets that crap out and leaves the shavings path clear for next time.

[woleium]

or just store it in a glass of oil. you loose the libricating strip, but the oil more than makes up for that.

[mcronce]

Also, in what universe are those expensive multi-blade razors faster or more convenient than a safety razor with a Feather blade?

[oblio]

The world where I want my shaving to be brainless.

[mcronce]

Having used both, one is no more "brainless" than the other. It's the same shaving process. The only difference is cost.

[grumple]

With a safety razor I get way more cuts, bumps, and the occasional slice of my thumb... and I'm still tossing the blade. With multi-blade cartidges, I shave faster and with less pain for only marginally more waste (and much greater cost, though trivial).

[tekknik]

It’s not so much about tossing the blade, it’s about tossing a blade made mostly from plastic.

[soylentgraham]

I couldn't tell you why, but I have almost never cut myself, and never get nicks, ingrowing hair, razor burn etc with a safety razor. I maybe over-used the other razors (only 15 shaves!?)... and maybe with an exposed blade Im more careful (I really dont think so)... but i never went back. Far more precision too! Definitely not the same thing for me

[MereInterest]

My hair is pretty coarse, so I needed to experiment around for a while before finding something that worked. The main issues that caused nicks and razor burn for me were as follows.

* Overly frequent shaving. If I shave every day, I will get nicks and ingrown hairs, regardless of technique. After I shave, the skin slightly closes up around the follicle. Not enough to be fully ingrown, but enough that there's a bump of skin from about 12 hours post-shave to 72 hours post-shave. If I shave again during that time period, the razor will catch on those bumps and cause nicks. If I wait 3-4 days, the hair pushes out, and can be cut cleanly.

* Clogged razors. This is partly due to the coarse hair, and partly needing to remove 3-4 days of growth at a time. The blades of a cartridge razor are placed far too close to each other, and need to be rinsed out several times over the course of a shave. Sometimes multiple times over a single stroke. If this isn't noticed, I need to go over the same area again, increasing razor burn. While safety razors clog as well, it takes longer for them to do so, and it is easier to rinse out the accumulated hair.

* Over-use of cartridge razors. An 8-pack of cartridge razors is $25, where a 100-pack of safety razor blades is $10. I get about 2-3 smooth shaves from each razor, and it's an easy habit to replace a ten-cent blade every week or so. Even if I accept that cartridge's last longer, I can't believe that they would last the 35 shaves estimated by the marketing's 5-week estimation. Between the higher cost and the claimed lifetime, I would use cartridge razors well past the point of being dull.

So at this point, I have a reasonable routine: Replacing the blade of a safety razor every 7-10 days, shave every 3-4 days. But figuring out that routine requires going against the advertising, choosing an older style of razor, and avoiding the cultural expectation of daily shaving.

[theroncross]

The other piece of this is that there are a wide variety of safety razor blades. You should get a variety pack if you make the switch until you find what works best. Some are very sharp (which actually isn't always good), some less so. Some are more flexible than others. You need to find one that fits your skin and hair.

[mcronce]

Yep - I never really have an issue with a safety razor. At least, not on my face...the one time I tried to shave my head with it I looked like some shit out of Hellraiser until I showered haha

[tekknik]

Then why not go electric? Something like a one blade or more proper electric razor reduces cutting hazards and still gets it pretty close.

[teakettle42]

I don’t enjoy a sense of self-imposed martyrdom, so the switch isn’t worth it to me.

Some people do, and they’re welcome to spend their own time, energy, and money pursuing that feeling.