by Rhys Thomas

Safety razors, for me, are king.

Switch to safety razors in 2024! They're the game-changing shave yo...
Safety razors, for me, are king.

Safety razors, for me, are king. 

Less is more, chaps. 

Are you among the few who shave clean these days? One of the pristine few who decided bollocks to going through the phase of having to grow a beard out, that unruly stubble, the ingrown hairs, the general poor hygiene of it, having to use a trimmer or go to a barber for precision-straight edges that make it look as if you have a jawline, almost?

Same, I’m a smooth-faced bloke like yourself. And it’s not because I can’t grow a beard, promise. What I can do, and I’ll show you how, is change your life for the better. Less is more, old is gold. 

What I’m saying is, using a fancy new blade you saw on the tele that has three or five blades, is crap. If you shave to the skin, opt for a single blade. An old-school safety razor (or a cut throat if you fancy getting a bit Edward Scissorhands with it), with one single blade against your face slicing off them hairs. Especially if you’re prone to spots, ingrown hairs; have sensitive skin, or keep nicking yourself and having to face the world like you’ve been mugged by a kitten. 

Think about it: if you’re scraping five blades against your chin, that’s five times as rough as one blade, it’s five times as much irritation, it’s like shaving five times instead of once (sort of). Razor burns galore. They’re sharper too, so they snag less (but you might cut yourself when starting out), you get a closer shave with less irritation. Sold? There’s more. 

Safety razors work out a lot cheaper. A cartridge costs you how much? I don’t know, it's yours, have a think, how much is that a year? While you have to buy the shaver for a safety razor, which might cost £30-£50 for a decent one, it’ll last for life. From there you’re just buying a pack of disposable double-edge blades, which will cost you pennies per blade. Recently I bought 100 for £5.99 – that’ll last me a year. 

Long-term, it’s going to be much cheaper – even if you dispose after every shave (which you don’t need to) in order to be sharp as fuck always. It’d still be better for the planet, there’s a lot less plastic. 

Practically, there’s one blade and not five, so there’s less gaps for clogging it up. Finally, technically, you can also customise your shave to your skin by having more flexibility with the angle at which you shave (as opposed to dragging it along and hoping for the best).