I've switched to this setup a couple of years ago. The biggest improvement, even if you stay with disposable razors: get a good brush and whip up your own lather from soap or shaving cream and use a preshave. It's a massive improvement over the standard goo imo. I've experimented with a lot of them and settled on the relatively cheap Proraso shaving cream (green) and pre/postshave.
Warning: you can spend tons of time and money tinkering :P
Finding the right blades also takes some time. I've tried some that are highly rated (Feather) but they didn't work for me. I'm using Personna Reds now and am very happy with them. I got a 200 pack and it usually last quite long (2-3 shaves per blade, you could get more but I prefer taking no risk)
- transport it bladeless, put it at the top of your bag. In Asia and Europe it gets asked about 1 out of 5 times. You can then take it out, and apart in 10 seconds.
- stock up blades at your frequent destinations (in my case, both in-laws and family have 3 packs of Feathers in a closet).
- if all else fails, buy blades locally - a 5-pack is still cheaper ($2-5) than a Gillette ($10) and can be found in most decent sized supermarkets all over the world. Won't be feathers, but enough for a week.
- if you are somewhere with no blades, which is rare, then there's always the throwaway option. In many countries (e.g. Japan) even the cheaper hotels include a throwaway razor. Otherwise you can buy it at the 7/11 with the toothpaste that you also couldn't carry-on. Some prefer the electric option.
- buy soap rather than cream so you can carry-on. E.g. Tabac Original screw soap. One will last you for years.
I shaved for at least two weeks each with Timor, Astra, Derby, Feather & Merkur blades. Everybody has a different experience, but I wasn't happy with Timor or Astra. Derby does the job, but I settled on Merkur and Feather (they're much, much better).
They're also a bit more expensive but since I can get so much use out of them and they're so, so much cheaper than the Mach 3's I used to use, I'm cool with that. :)
Yes, you always have to dry your razor after use. Disposable or not, the hour or so it needs to dry is actually enough for razor blades to noticeably loose their edge. This is part of what makes razor blade manufacture hard - you have to use very hard steel that can hold an edge, but the harder the steel the more prone it is to oxidation aka rust.
I bought one a few years ago and found it to be a much less enjoyable experience than a multi-blade razor. The single blade would pull at my hairs a painful amount before cutting them.
As NoGravitas mentioned, that's a problem with the specific blade you were using. You can get blade starter packs that have quite a variety of blades in them, so you can find the one that works best for you. Everyone has different needs, so YMMV, but I use Feather blades.
Harry's right now has their biggest advertising push of the year, leading up to Father's Day. I admit some suspicion of this being an advertorial--as I write this, most comments here are discussing Harry's from a consumption PoV--especially since we are one week from Father's Day. The content doesn't look atypical for the author Maya Kosoff--does anyone know Business Insider's advertorial policy?
This Harry's piece isn't an advertorial. Money isn't changing hands. Rather, Harry's is probably doing a big PR push right now and PR makes it easier for writers to create pieces quickly.
Since I've got sensitive skin, I've been happily using a beard trimmer to "shave" my face down to a fine stubble for years. Can't see what additional benefit perfectly smooth face skin would buy me. It doesn't even last a full day.
I'll second this. If you can get away with a bit of stubble this is faster, easier, and way cheaper than shaving. A decent trimmer is cheaper than an 8-pack of the "latest-gen" cartridges. And to JG's point, no blades ever contact your skin.
As a bonus, you don't need to find those silly miniature cans of shaving gel just to get through security with your shaving kit when traveling. It just would be nice if they took power from a USB-C cable though.
Coworkers might not even notice if you miss a day.
It's cool what they're doing with vertical integration, but this whole product category seems silly to me. I can see why a 15yo who has never shaved before would buy these. Once one has shaved for some time, however, what's the problem with the good old-fashioned safety razor? I'm currently on a box of 100 blades (conveniently subpackaged into packets of 5), and it cost me $10 on Amazon. How do Gillette and the rest sell these overpriced things?
I have long pondered using old fashioned blades - but the ones I used in my time were all very much inferior to Gillette or Harrys which is what I am using right now ( they are cheaper, are good quality and last far longer than Gillette btw.).
If you don't mind answering - what blades/razor combo you're using and are there any downsides (ex. easy to cut yourself, shave quality etc.) that you choose to live with?
I've tried probably a dozen brands. Counter-intuitively, I found that the sharpest were the ones least likely to cut, because you apply so little pressure (and maybe because they notch the hair immediately, instead of sliding down to the skin). Feathers are easily the best at least in my experience, beating even the "premium" offerings from Gillette and Wilkinson and making it easily worth the (rather large) premium; not only are they sharp but they stay sharp almost forever - I've occasionally had several weeks' use on a single Feather.
I cut myself all the time with the cheap no-name Israeli blades (rebranded Personna?), so called it a false economy. Not impressed with Astra either. YMMV - softer hair doesn't require as much cutting.
> Counter-intuitively, I found that the sharpest were the ones least likely to cut...
This is actually a pretty common phenomenon among pretty much any kind of blade. The logic is that (supposedly) the majority of knife accidents are caused by losing control of the knife through applied pressure. When something unexpected happens, the knife has a lot of force behind it and travels quickly to places it isn't supposed to be, like inside you. A well-sharpened kitchen knife will cut through vegetables with barely more pressure than the weight of the blade, so unexpected forceful interactions are very rare.
They are quite well-reviewed, so I'm not the only person who likes them. I have a no-name butterfly-style handle, for which I think I also paid about $10. I splurge a little to get the gel-style rather than the white-foam shaving cream, although I always get store brand so I don't splurge too much. b^)
The article mentioned that the German factory bought by Harry's also manufactured the blades for Bevel. It doesn't say how the takeover affects this, though.
I guess it would make sense to not continue building a competitor's product, but on the other hand there might have been contracts in place before the takeover. I found it confusing that this rather interesting point wasn't invetigated. Perhaps I missed it?
Much more has been invested in purchasing this factory than had been in the rest of the company. This would be the wrong place to impose a strategy tax.
The razor industry is a primarily marketing driven market... And it's a tremendous one. One of my favorite acquisition headlines: "P&G to buy Gilette for $57B" [0]. I think Harry's strategy plays well into both what you're describing, though targeting the profitable, high-end sector of the market (as opposed to the ultra-cheap commodity razor market).
They recognized that the existing players on the high end were reaping above-average profits from their brand + distribution, but without strong product differentiation. If they could (and it seems they are) launch a strong brand with good quality products at substantially lower prices, they could earn a sizable chunk of the market. Cutting out retail margins and owning their factory should let them keep pretty strong margins even on the reduced price. Pretty epic.
One of the biggest issues for me, with the safety razors, is just how easy it is to nick yourself. However, there are other parts of one's body, that are impossible to shave with a safety razor.
I'll try the hair conditioner as lather, but there is no way in hell I'm trying the safety razor on my junk (I'm a dude). I'll stick to the Dorco blades (Dollar Shave club) for that.
I tried Harry's when they first started. I was excited at the prospect of ditching Gillette. For some reason, I get nicks and cuts when I shave with a safety razor (the last time I tried). I do shave after showering, to keep the hair soft.
But Harry's just didn't cut it (no pun intended). I got many more nicks and cuts with Harry's than I did with Gillette. Plus, their shaving cream gummed up the razor, and cleaning was a pain. So after a few days, I had to go back to Gillette, and Harry's is sitting in the corner somewhere. Maybe it's their 5-blade monster; I don't know.
Yeah, I tried Harry's as well. Seems like they have a couple of serious faults:
* head doesn't easily pivot so it follows your face less well.
* they back too many blades into too small a space, so it packs up easily. Even strong stream of water doesn't clear it.
* their shaving cream stinks to high even, for a long time.
Generally it seems like Harry's requires twice as much cleaning and twice as manys strokes to match the normal gillete or similar brands.
5 blades with a lotion strip similar to other multi-blade razors. They're sold in 4 packs with their main selling point being that they are half the price of gillette razors while being the of similar quality with a much nicer/weightier handle.
Tried it, and learned to my chagrin that for my purposes the brand with the condescending ads and expensive consumables was still noticeably better, perhaps due to the pivoting head. Binned the Harry's, reluctantly.
If you have dark hair and light skin, consider laser hair removal. Do the job once and be done with it. (The process requires contrast, and doesn't work well on blonds or black people.)
I bought a bunch of single-edge blades for the old fashioned (probably 1940s or 50s) Gillette safety razor that I inherited from a great uncle. Granted, I keep my beard growing and trim it with an electric trimmer, so I will probably never need to buy any more blades the rest of my life...
What I found most baffling is that they don't sell in Germany when they manufacture here, I would've tried them as I've never been happy with my Gillette razor (using a newer electrical one now again).
I just use a $40 Remington electric, and buy $20 blades when the current one wears out. Not that great a shave, but it's easy and I can shave my nose and ears with no problem.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003LW4L2W/
It will last longer than you do and gives you a perfect shave. A box of 100 blades will last for years and will cost you almost nothing.
All disposable razors, including Harry's, are overpriced.