Monday, July 12, 2010

WSJ on men's razors

Razor Burn. -- The Wall Street Journal has a piece on men feeling the pinch of the artificially expensive market for the latest razors. If you've been reading this blog, you've heard my own opinions on this matter, so it seems it's time for an update. I've been using my Gillette super speed for the most part for over two years now. I also picked up a Merkur classic with the comb edge when it seemed my Gillette had disappeared in a move. The Merkur is a bit aggressive for me, I tend to cut myself more often with it, especially on my head. I picked up a pack of 100 Derby razors on ebay for about US$25. After two years, I still have about 15-20 left. I typically generally shave every other day, but I have a very tough beard that grows fast, and I shave my head as well. It takes a bit more care than using cartridge razors, but I'm at the point that I can pretty reliably shave almost as fast, and without cutting myself.

When I was shaving with a five-blade solution, I was paying about $3.50 per cartridge. I see I can get them for about $3 online. If we assume one cartridge per week, I was paying $156/year just for blades, and now I am paying about $10/year.