Shaving and Safety Razors
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 2 billion razors and refill blades get sent to landfill in the U.S. each year.
Gillette’s marketing team is good at their job. We have been taught the myth that the more blades a razor has, the better shave it will provide. Science has repeatedly shown that this is simply not true. In fact, the opposite is true, as the more blades a razor has, the more irritation you will experience as a result, in turn causing you to think you need to buy products and creams that soothe irritated skin. In the most basic terms, it only takes one sharp blade to give you a close, smooth shave. The more times you go over your face with a razor blade, the more irritation you will experience. Therefore, it only makes sense that taking one swipe with a 5 blade razor is the same as taking 5 swipes with a single blade razor, and therefor will cause 5 times as much irritation. Since I’ve switched to a safety razor, gone are the days of struggling to hide razor bumps at the pool.
Choosing a Safety Razor That Works For You
I purchased a Van Der Hagen Safety Razor Starter Kit for myself. I’m demanding and refused to purchase any disposable razors for the house so I went hunting for a second razor for my partner, so we didn’t have to share one razor and switch blades back and forth. I scored a vintage gold safety razor with matching gold blade container and more replacement blades than I could ever possibly need, while rummaging through on estate sale a few weeks later.