On Sunday, my razor head broke. That’s right. It broke. The plastic connecting it to the razor broke. And I had been using the same razor for just over one year!
Men’s Razors are Better Than Women’s
Yes. There’s a wage gap and, I believe, a razor gap. They just don’t make them the same for women. I’ve been a men’s razor snob since Gillette accidentally sent me a Mach 3 razor when I turned 18 (I was a male on their marketing list apparently). So, let me tell you, ladies… it’s time to pick yourself up a Men’s razor. That’s step one.
Razor Heads Can be Sharpened
Here’s the real clincher… it doesn’t actually matter how much you spend on a razor or a razor head because I’ve now proven that you can use both for an entire year before having to swap out the head! In my attempts to go frugal, I wanted to pay less to shave. But since–as I mentioned earlier–I am a razor snob, I did not want to spend my time shaving with crappy razors. Those pink plastic cheap razors turn me into a bloody mess the first time I use them and the second time, they just comb my hair.
Then I came across the idea of sharpening a store-bought razor! Brilliant! And I immediately put it to the test. It turns out all you need is a square of old denim. That’s it!
How to Stop Buying Expensive Razors:
- Buy a nice, men’s razor – That’s right – men and women alike… go out and get a nice one (multi-blades, baby!). You can often get the razors for cheap or free (with coupon) since they figure they’ll gouge you on the razor head purchases.
- Find an old piece of denim – It can be any piece of old jeans… but it’s gotta be about the size of a VHS (kicking it old school – DVD size will work if can’t accurately imagine VHS-size).
- Sharpen the blade when it gets dull – Make sure the razor is dry. Then, set your piece of denim over your leg or anything with give (I found doing it on my counter didn’t work as effectively as doing it on top of something a bit squishy – like a pack of travel wipes). Run the razor ten times across the denim one way and then flip the denim 180 degrees and run the razor across it ten more times. Use your fingernail to scrape all the denim fuzz off the razor and you’ve got yourself an awesomely sharp razor again!
- Replace razor head when it breaks – For the first time in a year, I popped on a new razor head! Now the cycle gets to continue for the next year!
- Celebrate how frugal you are – That’s right… this whole post has been a brag about how I just shaved the entire year with one razor! We may be frugal failures… but sometimes we do things right!
Full Time Finance
Great advice. My wife also swears by men’s razors, even the disposable kind. I tend to use an electric for my face so sharpening isn’t really an option. Electric is not the cheap alternative. I do only replace blades once a year though,
MaggieBanks
They just don’t make women’s razors well. Not sure why!
Penny (@picksuppennies)
True story. I have two bags of the cheapest women’s Bic razors Target sells. They’re leftover from my crazy stupid couponing days. I sharpen them on my washcloths or on old denim (like you said), and they work fine. Keeps them sharp enough so I don’t nick myself and keeps the rust off. When I used to buy shaving cream, I’d buy men’s. It’s so much cheaper! Now I just use bar soap. I’ll probably switch to a “real” razor, but I’m going to use these up first.
MaggieBanks
Oh man… I totally blasted through those in my couponing days as well. Still worth it to use a nice razor and sharpen it… so much better – and I use soap.
Lindsay @ Notorious D.E.B.T.
Awesome idea! I’ll definitely have to switch to this one. I try and let my razors go as long as possible already until they turn my legs into a bloody mess like you said, but that’s not cool.
I did switch to using soap bars for everything but my hair. I used to buy shaving cream and shower gel to use with my bath poof, but those are really expensive over the long run! I tried using a bar of soap with my bath poof and surprisingly enough, it does make a good amount of foam. The soap is a bit slippery when lathering up your legs, but it’s no big deal.
After I found out the soap bars work just as well as the other stuff, I went to Costco and bought a giant box of them. At the rate I’ve been using them, that one giant box will last me like two years, and I even shower daily!
MaggieBanks
OH I definitely only use soap! And STOP allowing your legs to become a bloody mess! Not worth it!
brian503
I calculated the cost of how much I projected to spend over my life-time on razors. It was a few thousand dollars. I’ve been using disposals for the last few years. I’ll need to try this trick and save some money.
MaggieBanks
Good luck! I was wary to try it but it’s worked out great for me!
Harmony Smith (@CMK_Harmony)
Men’s razors work so much better!!! I have a coupon for a free Gillette one and that baby will last me a very long time. This is one household item that you can easily save money on. I will have to try that sharpening trick – thanks!
MaggieBanks
Good luck! I love my Gillette razor!
Mr. SSC
I use electric so I only change the blades about once a year’ish. They’re $26 for the refill and last ~6 months according to their recommendation, but I find since I usually have a goatee they don’t get as heavy of a workout so I change them when i feel them start grabbing and pulling instead of cutting, lol. Maybe I should try shaving some denim and see if that helps. 🙂
MaggieBanks
I’m not sure you can sharpen electric on denim… report back! 🙂
Mr. SSC
I’ll look for some scrap denim this weekend and let you know, lol.
MaggieBanks
🙂
Sarah @tortoisehappy.com
Fab idea, can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this. I already buy men’s moisturiser as it is so much better than womens (you can probably get better women’s moisturiser, but not at a price I wanna pay!)… definitely next on my list when these ones are done with. 🙂
MaggieBanks
Moisturiser? You’re so fancy! 🙂