Mr. Peasant's Guide to Shaving on the Cheap

Shaving your head is acceptable. It’s when you start wearing toupees and brushing your hair over that things go wrong.
MOBY

This is my first post for the Noble Peasants blog. Mrs. Peasant is way more practical than Mr. Peasant, but I do have a few tips for the men out there. This one is for the fellows out there who shave daily either out of choice or because the boss man demands it.

Shaving is an expensive activity. It was not always this way, but the shaving cream and razor companies decided sometime ago that more of your hard earned money belongs in their pockets. So, they invented cartridge razors that went from two razors to five and started putting the shaving cream in the can. Razors are so expensive that drugstores have started keeping them behind the counter to keep the shoplifters from taking them.

CARTRIDGE RAZOR OF DEATH: The pain is felt most acutely in the wallet.

Once upon a time, real men didn't bankrupt themselves with such silliness. Shaving was not expensive unless you paid someone else to do it. They used a straight razor which is a bit like trying to remove facial hair while keeping facial features intact. The rest of the time, those straight razors were handy self-defense weapons. They were dangerous, so there was a need for something a bit safer. Out of this need, the safety razor was born.

The safety razor used a single disposable blade placed in a handle that made it much safer to use. Shaving became quicker, easier, and more pleasant. At this point, no further evolution in shaving was needed. Gillette and others found a steady business in supplying those blades. You couldn't ask for anything better, but greed is never satisfied. The result was an ever increasing nuclear arms race in the shaving aisle as blade makers kept adding blades and features to their cartridges. The result is that we have reached Peak Stupidity. The antidote is a return to where the industry made the wrong turn.

You can find safety razor handles in the drugstore or on Amazon. They come in a variety of shapes, pieces, and sizes. I use a three piece Merkur long handle razor myself. These handles can be pricey, but they are an investment that will pay off quickly. You can also find vintage ones at rummage sales and thrift stores. The design is virtually unchanged despite being in existence for a century.

The razor blades can be found in the drugstore or on Amazon as well. I recommend a sampler pack to find the brand that best suits you. My preferred brand is Personna. They give me a good shave for a very low price.

The other big expense in shaving are those lathers that come in the can. Don't ever buy that crap again. You want to use shave soap and a brush. You can find the soap and brush in the drugstore as well or on Amazon. The soap I use is made locally by Becky's Soap Shoppe. I have found that so much of the irritation of shaving comes from using the shaving can lathers. The shave soap leaves my skin with no irritation and feeling much more pleasant.

Finally, I recommend using a cheap aftershave. My preferred aftershave is Aqua Velva or an equivalent knock off from the drugstore. I like Aqua Velva because it doesn't have an overpowering smell, soothes my skin, and is really cheap. Mrs. Peasant likes it, too.

Mr. Peasant's Kit

HOW TO USE A SAFETY RAZOR

There is a learning curve to using a safety razor, but it isn't difficult. Basically, you put a blade in the handle. Then, you wet and lather your face. I shave my head, so I do the same with my melon. Then, I move the blade lightly across my skin. I do not use pressure. The angle of the blade is 45 degrees, and I let the weight of the razor do the work. The key is not hair removal like with cartridge razors but hair reduction. I shave with the grain on the first pass. Then, I will lather up and repeat by going against the grain. Then, I do it again a third time. The result is a smoothness like a baby's bottom.

QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED

Q: How long does it take to shave with a safety razor?

A: I shave my head and do three passes for a really good shave. This takes about ten minutes. If you shave your face only and do it once, it will take less than five minutes. The quality of your shave will be relative to the amount of work you put into it. If you're too lazy for this, grow a beard.

Q: How much does it cost?

A: Your initial outlay for a quality razor, blades, brush, stand, bowl, and soap will be about $80. This seems like a lot until you consider that you will spend $30 for a Gillete Fusion 5 refill with 12 cartridge blades. A can of cream will be almost $2. Assuming that you used one of those cartridges per week, it would cost you 35 cents per shave not counting the cost of the shaving cream.

A 100 pack of Personna blades costs $13. This is 13 cents per blade. I use two blades weekly which amounts to 26 cents per week. I shave six times a week which is 4 cents per shave. Dudes who don't shave their heads like I do can expect to go a week on that single blade which cuts it down to 2 cents per shave. 2 cents per shave versus 35 cents per shave. The savings are massive. I save $120.00 a year.

As for my shave soap, a cake costs me $2.50 from Becky. One of those will last me almost six months. I used to go through a can per week of regular shaving cream. Even if you decide the safety razor isn't for you, you will save a bunch of money by switching to shave soap. Plus, it leaves your skin feeling awesome.

Q: What do you do if you cut yourself?

A: This rarely happens and was more common when I used a cartridge razor. There are products you can use, but I just let it bleed until it clots. I shave before showering, so the damage is unnoticeable when I get out of the shower. The key to not cutting yourself is being light with your stroke. The blade is heavy, and the weight will do the work for you. A plastic razor requires pressure which is how you get cuts, scrapes, and razor burns. Shaving with the safety razor is way more comfortable.

Q: What about ingrown hairs?

A: White guys with straight hair have it easy in this regard. But if you have curly hair, you absolutely must do yourself a favor and stop using multiple bladed razors. This is the sure path to ingrown hairs as the lift and cut action of cartridge razors cuts the hair below the surface of the skin which leads to ingrown hairs. A single blade cuts it even with the skin. This is another great reason to switch to a safety razor.

Q: How do you safely dispose of the used blades?

A: I use a plastic bottle that used to hold Pine-Sol. I find these bottles are a bit more rugged than a soda bottle. I leave the cap on and cut a small hole near the top that is wide enough to drop the razor blades in. After a couple of years of shaving, I still have not filled up the bottle. When I do, I will cover the hole with duct tape and tape around the top to make it secure. Then, I will put it in the garbage headed to the landfill.

Q: What do you think of shave clubs like Harry's and Dollar Shave Club?

A: They are a waste of money. Basically, these guys saw how hard you were getting screwed by the razor companies that they decided to get in on the action and screw you a little less harder. When you go with the safety razor, you will have screwed them instead.

Q: What do you think of plastic disposable razors like Bic?

A: This would be this razor:

You can get a 12 pack of these for $3 or a little less. This would be 25 cents per blade. If you got them for $2.50 somewhere, this would be 21 cents per blade. My Personnas are 13 cents per blade. Those blades have two sides to them while the Bic only has one. So, you would have to buy two Bics to match a single Personna. So, the Personna would actually be 6 cents in comparison to the 21 cents of the Bic. The safety razor is as cheap as it gets when it comes to blade cost.

Q: How long does a safety razor last?

A: They last forever. That is an exaggeration, but you can easily find old safety razors on eBay that are older than you. They still work. People collect them. Some become heirlooms passed down from father to son. Basically, if you buy a decent safety razor, it should be with you until you die.

Q: Can I use a safety razor on my legs?

A: This is the question I get from the women, and I believe the answer is yes. Why not? Though I recommend that women get their own razors. I've known women who used their husband's safety razors after the husbands got conned into using cartridge razors. They loved them.

Q: Should I get a short handled or a long handled safety razor?

A: I prefer the long handle because I shave my head. That extra reach comes in handy for reaching the back of my melon. But if you just shave your face, the short handle might be better for you.

Q: What about the brush?

A: Just buy a cheap one. This is the item you will end up replacing every couple of years. I can't tell you which kind to get as I'm still on the first one I bought which was a fairly cheap one. As long as the bristles don't fall out of the handle from shoddy construction, it is very hard to go wrong on this.

That's all I have for shaving on the cheap. The safety razor is the cheapest safe shave you can get. To get cheaper will mean going with a straight razor which I would never use because of the potential for injury. And, as always, thank you for reading!