frugal shaving...

It's a fun game seeing how long things can last. I used to use an electric shaver but a few years ago decided to shave with a blade instead because it doesn't require electricity. We lose our power quite frequently so this is a small way to learn how to do without.

I use tube shaving cream because you get more for your money than aerosols. A tube of Cremo is $6 and it works very well.



They claim a tube will last 90 days.



My latest tube lasted 11 months and this is how I did it. I saved my first empty tube and squeezed some shaving cream into it from a full one. Then I filled it up with water. Every time I shave I first shake up the tube so that it doesn't dispense concentrated shaving cream it dispenses premixed shaving foam. This really stretches the cream.

I really like Harry's products. They make excellent quality razors and blades so I use them. Just one of their $2 blades lasts me over 6 months of daily shaving.

Frugality is a hobby for me. The last barber who cut my hair was when I in the Army in Vietnam in 1971. Since then I've cut my hair myself. 48 years is 2,496 weeks and a haircut every three weeks makes 832 haircuts. At $10 a cut I saved over $8,000.

Become frugal at anything long enough and pretty soon you're talking real money! (lol)

I fail to see the downside of an electric trimmer, unless you need a very close shave everyday for your employment. I use electric on my face and the rest of my head. No need for a mirror, water or lube. The cost of electricity is almost impossible to calculate it is so small. Shave face 2-5 times a month, shave head every 1-2 months. If i lived in a cold place I probably wouldn't bother doing either.

we just had this discussion in my house. My husband is finding that he needs to replace the electric shavers every 3-5 years or so. I have gotten replacement heads but they never seem to fit just right (and they are not easy to find!). Just this weekend we bought a new shaver, which I hate to do, because so much waste, but we both agree that the hassle of safety razor/blades every day is too much (and then you have the waste of the foam/cream, etc). I guess no option is exactly perfect.
I am glad to have convinced my daughter of depilation with a hair-pulling contraption rather than razors- mine has been with me for a good 5 years and I bought a corded, not rechargeable, one, so I expect it to keep working for a good long time.

Chris Wang wrote:I fail to see the downside of an electric trimmer, unless you need a very close shave everyday for your employment. I use electric on my face and the rest of my head. No need for a mirror, water or lube. The cost of electricity is almost impossible to calculate it is so small. Shave face 2-5 times a month, shave head every 1-2 months. If i lived in a cold place I probably wouldn't bother doing either.

I totally understand, Chris. I shaved with an electric razor for most of my life. We live out on the edge so when anyone "trips over the extension cord" we're the first to lose power. So I simply adapted to our unusual situation.

Frugal shaving....

Tereza Okava wrote:we just had this discussion in my house. My husband is finding that he needs to replace the electric shavers every 3-5 years or so. I have gotten replacement heads but they never seem to fit just right (and they are not easy to find!). Just this weekend we bought a new shaver, which I hate to do, because so much waste, but we both agree that the hassle of safety razor/blades every day is too much (and then you have the waste of the foam/cream, etc). I guess no option is exactly perfect.
I am glad to have convinced my daughter of depilation with a hair-pulling contraption rather than razors- mine has been with me for a good 5 years and I bought a corded, not rechargeable, one, so I expect it to keep working for a good long time.

I originally thought blades and cream would be inconvenient, but discovered them to be surprizingly simple and easy...

...not to mention a lot quieter! (lol)

A Harry's starter kit was only $10 shipped tax included. Blades are only $2 each shipped tax included. Harry's bought a German razor blade factory to manufacture and sell their own 5 blade units which are extremely high quality. Shave cream is $6 a tube at Walmart. Amortizing the total cost of daily shaving comes to 3 cents a day. One set of blades for my electric shaver were $40. Even disregarding the cost of the electric shaver, $40 buys me over 3 1/2 years of hand shaving.  Being frugal I went with the cheaper method and the loss of our electricity has no effect on grooming.

Mike Patterson wrote:Frugal shaving....

As well as being a work hazard, that would truly bother me. (lol)

An ex of mine always uses a Rolls Razor, has for 40 years now. They are still on ebay... If you haven't seen them, they are a wedge type blade that strops by rolling it back and forth in it's box.

I don't need one, but saw one with case at a yard sale for under 1.00, had no blade, rest is in great shape. Snagged it just because.
That's the only quick sharpening video I saw, he doesn't look comfortable with it... It's much less work than that to do.

I use a Merkur safety razor and I'm very happy with it.  I also use the Cremo that Greg mentioned.  The combination is pretty darned inexpensive.

I tried an old fashioned men’s straight razor for a year. It was mostly okay for my legs, with a nick here and there (usually around ankles or knees). My armpits were a slaughterhouse, however, and it didn’t improve with time/skill; I just don’t think a straight razor works for concave areas. Bikini area wasn’t too bad as long as I stayed around the margins, but took a lot of courage! I ended up giving up as it was just too inconvenient.

I mostly use coconut oil, which might not actually work out to be that cheap, and is best kept out of drains.

One $2 Harry's blade lasts me 6 months of daily shaving. When done, I rinse it out in clear water, blow the water out of it, and strop it on a towel to make sure it's totally dry before storing the razor upright on it's stand.



They're high quality and last a long time.

Shaving cream? A straight razor and soap lather. For the rest of your life.

Canned aerosol shaving cream is close to free if you don’t mind letting dead men choose your brand preferences. The same is true of multi-blade disposable cartridge razor heads.

Around here at least, low-end estate sales often have a table of unopened cosmetics, toiletries, and other items from bathroom medicine cabinets and bedroom vanities. It’s rare for the “guy stuff” to be priced at more than a buck if it’s priced at all — items in a quarter bin are common. It’s old-people stuff and people are squeamish.

You can do a LOT of frugal shaving when you’re paying a quarter a can for shave cream or a buck for a package of razor heads.

I shave in the shower, but I’m in the “once every two weeks whether I need it or not” frequency group. I’d grow a bushy beard, but too many ticks hide in there.

I make my own bar soap.  I'm usually trimming around the beard often I don't use any cream or soap.  My blades are whatever is on sale.  I love the idea of a shaving cup and a straight razor.

I also cut my own hair with some Walmart clippers.  Orange attachment for the sides and blue for the top.  I've gotten pretty good at it.

I've used a straight razor and soap lather for six years. Will never go back. Not just the romance, but you really know your face well, never spend a penny more than you want to, and own a true heirloom that you can pass on to the next generation instead of throwing away junk in a regular basis.