Hair removal (shaving, waxing, tweezing, etc.) has been a part of my life for about 10 years. Like most girls, I started shaving around the time puberty started, and haven’t given it a second thought since. Then, I started paying my own bills. That’s when I realized something…
Shaving is really expensive.
Now, I can only speak for my experience, and shaving costs likely vary from person to person. For me, a dark-haired female with Jewish and Cuban genes, shaving costs are high. Not only do I shave frequently, but I also shave areas that some girls don’t even consider, such as my upper lip.
Over the years, I’ve developed pretty strong brand loyalty to two razors: the Schick Intuition and the Gillette Venus disposable razor. The Intuition takes care of the legs, while the Venus covers the more delicate areas, such as the face and armpits.
The initial price of the Intuition itself costs about $14.00. The replaceable cartridges cost $26.00 and I buy a new pack every other month. The Venus razors cost $13.00 and I also purchase these about every two months.
Even if we subtract the price of the Intuition itself, I am currently spending $49.00 on shaving every two months. That’s $294.00 yearly.
So, I set out on a quest for an affordable solution to this problem. I needed a razor that had enough blades to easily shave my legs, but would still be gentle enough to use on my face.
Then, it dawned on me…
Men’s Razors.
Men’s razors have more tightly-packed blades, as demonstrated in the side-by-side photo below. They are precisely designed to groom coarse, thick facial hair. Plus, men’s razors feature impressively accurate swivel heads, which would come in handy around spots I usually end up missing, such as the knees and ankles.
Essentially, my hypothesis was that men’s razors could give me the best of both worlds for a fraction of the price. So, I went to my local CVS and picked up the Gillette Fusion razor.
The razor itself costs $10.00. A pack of 4 cartridges costs $15.00. If this experiment works and I’m able to solely use this razor for all my shaving needs, I would likely purchase cartridges monthly. Yearly, this would amount to $180.00.
If this experiment goes well, I will save over $100.00 each year. Needless to say, I was very excited to find out if I could make this dream a reality.
The Experiment:
Let’s begin with the face. As per my usual face-shaving routine, I used warm water (no shaving cream) to shave my upper lip. Honestly, using a men’s razor on my face gave me the closest shave I’ve ever experienced. Plus, I didn’t even cut my upper lip! For the face, I would confidently rate the experience at 10/10.
Shaving the armpits also yielded very positive results. I got a close shave, no cuts, and overall would rate the experience 10/10.
Now, the legs are where things got hairy (pun entirely intended). Because I was accustomed to using the Intuition, I did not purchase shaving cream. I tried using body soap as a substitute, but it just wasn’t the same. Shaving just one leg took twice the usual time, and I ended up nicking my ankle in the process. For the sake of both time and safety, I tapped out and opted for the Intuition on my other leg. I’m going to give the leg-shaving experience a 5/10 because I believe I could have done better had I purchased shaving cream.
Conclusion:
After this experiment, I definitely won’t be saying goodbye to my Intuition. However, I will be using men’s razors for face, armpits, and other delicate areas in the future.
Will I save money? Time will tell. Since I won’t be using the Fusion razor on my whole body, it is unlikely that I will have to purchase new cartridges monthly. I might not save over $100.00 yearly as I had initially hoped, but I will likely still save some money.
Ladies, give this experiment a shot. Whether you’re trying to save some money or get a closer shave, I recommend giving men’s razors a try.