Retro Razor: Save Money, Save the Earth, Save Your Face
Posted by: Laura on September 13th, 2008
We now bring you the first in our new series of posts geared toward the Dads, brought to you by the spouses of The Mums. Here’s one by The Father of the Year!
I have, for the most part, loathed shaving ever since I felt required to do it. It just always seemed like a thankless & repetitive job. There was nothing there that I could rally behind. Add razor-burn to that, and I have looked like an unshaven slacker for my entire adult life.
I have shaved every day for the last week. I have looked forward to it. I have even enjoyed it. What?
Enter the Retro Razor and the world of wet shaving with a double-edged razor. This is, most likely, how your grandfather shaved. It is cheaper. It is more earth-friendly. It obliterates razor burn. Interested? I certainly was. 
Chadd Bennett, proprietor of Retro Razor, was kind enough to send me a starter kit to review, as well as answer a lot of questions:
- Will I cut myself to pieces?
- Is it hard to find this stuff?
- How long does one blade last?
- Do I need special soap or shaving cream?
- Will this really help with razor-burn?
After a week of shaving with the Retro, I have some answers:
- The first few times I got a few nicks – nothing more than usual. By the end of the week, I was only getting 1 nick at the most. The trick is to not press down very much with the razor. The blade is sharp – let it do it’s thing.
- It is easy to find stuff on the internet – check out the Retro Razor Store for razors and accoutrements.
- One blade seems to last for 3 shaves – you can get a 5 pack of blades for around $2. Do the math – this is MUCH cheaper than buying those insanely expensive cartridge blades at the grocery store.
- You can use regular shaving cream, but why not try something new? There are a lot of soaps and creams out there that are a lot better for your face. Why not have a little fun with this?
- The coup de grace? No razor-burn. Period.
Added bonus – these blades are 100% recyclable, as opposed to cartridge blades. Even the razor is recyclable, as it is only metal – no batteries, lights, plastic, etc.
Check out this starter kit, with everything you need to get going.
No sexism here – women use them too!
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Comments (2)
September 17th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Excuse me! I thought a razor blade it being metal is where the razor-burn comes from scraping the epidermis.
September 21st, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Hi Jim, You are correct that Razor Burn is caused by the metal blade scraping off too much skin and causing irritation.
The multi-blade cartridges exacerbate Razor burn, as the second and third (or more) blades continue to rub and scrape with each pass.
A single-blade removes a bit less hair per pass, but there is much less irritation as the blade glides slightly above the skin (thus minimal removal of epidermis).
Takes a bit longer to shave with a safety razor, but it is a much better shave!