Shave Away

Several weeks ago after shelling out another $10.00 for four Gillette Mach 3 blades, I thought to myself, is it really this expensive to get a good shave? With the ridiculous evolution from the Gillette Sensor to the Mach 3 to the Schick Quattro to the Gillette Fusion, blade prices are going to keep ratcheting up. Just wait till this one comes along:


And, I wondered, is it really a good shave? "The best a man can get"? With all the masculine names and the dark, futuristic shapes and colors (the corporate-sponsored coolness), it's obvious the marketing department, at Gillette at least, is having a field day. But are these additional blades and whatnot really technological improvements for the whisker-growing half of humankind? The only noticeable difference for me between the Sensor and the Mach 3—I switched because the latter was given to me as a present—was the ease of cleaning the razor. Besides, men have been shaving for quite some time. Surely good shaves were had by many in my grandfather's day, and even earlier.

I also began thinking about the environmental impact. All that plastic which holds the cartridges, and then the plastic in the cartridge itself which holds the blades... Think about how much per man per year that is, all tossed into ever-growing landfills to rot and poison the land for 10,000 years. So I set out to see what alternatives I could find.

Initially I was thinking of getting a straight razor (I recall some family legends about my great-grandfather using one with nothing but Jergens lotion, and having a baby-smooth face), but after some research that seemed a little daunting what with all the sharpening and honing and stropping you have to do on a regular basis.

Then I came across this article. Except for the few glorious weeks following my first sprouting of facial hair, shaving has been a chore that I'd much rather avoid—hence I've had many a scraggly day. This article, however, made me want to spend the better part of my life under the blade.

The author, Corey Greenberg, who also has a blog on shaving, doesn't go all the way back to the straight razor, but extols the virtues of the double-edged safety razor. King C. Gillette started the Gillette company to manufacture double-edged safety razors back in 1901. Although safety razors had been around for a while, Mr. Gillette improved the design and came up with the concept of inexpensive disposable blades made of thin steel. He received a patent for his razor in 1904, and by the time World War I broke out he'd sold millions of razors and blades.

According to Greenberg, Gillette has pretty much gone downhill, shaving-wise, since then. Read the article for all the specifics and how-tos, but his main point is that a safety razor, together with a badger-hair shaving brush, good European-style shaving cream (not the testosteronic crap Gillette sells), and plenty of warm water provide a superb shave. Moreover, double-edged blades go from $.25 to $.50 each, and don't come with much plastic packaging, if any.

I checked various sites, like Classic Shaving, but delayed purchasing because I was worried it wouldn't really be a better shave. I did, however, find a tube of Italian Proraso shaving cream, which Greenberg praises, at Target for a very reasonable $5. It was a marked improvement over what I had been using—a lather of Dove body soap—and has a refreshing smell.


Then on a recent trip home, I discovered that my Mom had—among all her other antiques, trinkets, and bric-a-brac—a 1950's era Gillette double-edged safety razor in good condition, and a shaving brush sitting decoratively on the bathroom shelf. I promptly snatched them—of course, I asked my mother first—and brought them home.


I'm not sure what the brush is made of, but my guess would be badger hair. My mother also had one of those boar's hair brushes that you can easily find in supermarkets, and it was much stiffer and coarser (read: scratchier on your face).


Now the only thing I needed was blades. I found a place online that offered 100 for $25, but I was still a little hesitant, and wanted to give this razor a try without getting stuck with a box of 99 blades in my bathroom cabinet. So I ended up buying 10 from CVS for $5 (unfortunately it had some plastic casing).


That night I eagerly lathered up and tried it all out. It worked pretty well, much better than I was expecting, although it took quite a bit longer to shave as I was being extra careful not to nick myself. The blade is more exposed on a safety razor, and I knew if I pressed it against my face and carelessly scraped it around like I can my Mach 3, I'd be a bloody mess. (I did get a few nicks though when by habit I pressed down too hard.) Consequently, I didn't get quite the smoothness I wanted, but I figured it just takes a bit of practice.

The next time I tried it (I usually shave every other day), it was much the same, and then the third time I annoyingly got quite a few more nicks. It takes a little while to get the art of it, I guess. When again it was time to shave, I put in a fresh blade and tried to get into a zen state of relaxation. I also left my glasses off so I could go more by feeling and intuition than what my eyes would tell me to do, and I ended up with the best safety razor shave I had yet.


Since then, my technique has steadily gotten better, although I occasionally get a few more nicks than I like (usually when the blade starts getting dull). I thought my Cape Horn of a chin would be the most difficult part to shave, but it's not presented any problems. Rather my neck, particularly the lower part that's almost level with my Adam's apple, is, if you will, the Achilles' heel of my shave. My beard is especially thick here, and grows in two different directions. It's trickier to handle these with a safety razor.

Also, it still doesn't seem to be quite as close a shave as I've gotten with the Mach 3, but that's slowly improving as well. Overall, however, it's an improvement. My skin does not get as irritated as it used to, and it doesn't bother me to shave two days in a row now. I like the ritual of building a good lather, brushing it on my face, and then with a light touch whisking away my whiskers, all the while inhaling the aroma of the shaving cream—it's no longer such a chore.

I would toss my Mach 3, but I'll probably need it whenever I fly. I can't imagine a safety-razor with its completely detachable blade being allowed past security, even in the pre-9/11 era. So this'll be another one of those things that inspire me to sing along with Sinatra:

It's nice to go traveling
To London, Paris and Rome.
It's oh so nice to go traveling,
But it's so much nicer,
Yes it's so much nicer
To wander home.