I have had a constant battle with facial hair. While mundane, it is the one hygienic process I cannot cut cost on. My job requires me to be clean shaven and well kept. Removing shaving cream for shaving bars, taking to sharpening razors with a belt until impossible, and using cartridge coupons at the local dollar store. All of these corner cutting techniques help, but it has yet to make a dent in my most expensive toiletry. That is until I discovered the ye olde safety razor.
Today’s average shaver has been told and (pardon the pun) groomed to believe the cartridge is the end all, be all. We as the consumer has no clue about the traditional wet shave that their grandfathers and some of their fathers. Instead, we are only accustomed to the cheap and disposable shaving products that companies market. I am not sure when this change took place but I found even as a child, the cartridge was marketed heavily. And to why it happened, I feel like all things, cartridges are the easiest way for these companies to maintain income and profit. But the tradition of passing down the secrets of a clean shave abruptly stopped regardless.
The cost of a pack of 100 safety razors runs on average $9.00 - $12.00 or 0.12 cents per razor. While cartridges average about $15.00 - $20.00 for a pack of 10 or $2.00 per cartridge.
The initial costs are low as well, taking the blades from the equation, the cost of a safety razor handle is about $15.00 to $20.00 and will come with a pack of 5 to 10 safety razors. While this is more expensive than a cartridge handle, these will run about $12.00 and will come with 1 - 2 cartridge replacements. The safety razor handle is still more economic, it offers more shaves for less on investment.
The cream is also a vital part of the shave, while I typically use soap. Most will go for a can of cream like Barbasol which will cost you about $2.00 and give you roughly 40 shaves. Which to most would be a great deal. I have experimented with a traditional shaving soap which is about $3.00 for a bar and had given me so far upwards to almost 90 shaves using a generous lather. Switching back to your average bar soap which you can pick of for less than a dollar, applying a generous lather, and I can give myself about the same of 90 or more shaves.
While this is not the most interesting part of anyone's day, I will say it can be the most expensive and tedious. With my constant desire to cut costs and streamline everything for minimalism, the safety razor and bar soap combination has been an integral part of cost reducing.
I may follow up this bit of writing with some more cost cutting options for your hygiene and merge them into a larger post, but until then, this will have to do.