So I’ve seen ones that’s use safety Razors and others that are just built into a handle. But I think there is more blades it is supposed to be safer? But one blade gets you a better shave, but all the commercials show more blades get better shaves.
How does all of this work?
In: Other
This is anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt. Source: I am a hairy dude.
Safety razors are far superior. The control, the closeness of shave, and the price don’t compare. Multi-blade razors are simply a marketing gimmick, and because the materials required to produce them are more expensive, the product is more expensive.
Ask yourself: When’s the last time you saw a marketing campaign by, oh, Astrid – a producer of safety blades? Never. Meanwhile, you can’t turn your head without seeing, oh, Gillette *everywhere*.
As to why a safety razor is better than multiblade, the answer lies in friction and sharpness. A safety razor is much thinner (thus, sharper) and only has fewer points of contact than multiblade. Because multiblade use a bunch of thin strips of metal as opposed to a flatter yet wider strip of metal, they need to be thicker for the sake of structural integrity – thus duller. But those higher points of contact also increase friction, thus irritation.
Aside from all of this, most people shave incorrectly. Commercials show that long, steady drag of the blade. It’s better to use short drags and to rinse the blade often, as hair caught in the blade simultaneously increases friction as well as blocks parts of the blade, thus preventing it from cutting.
Last I remember, an 8 pack of multiblade cartridges costs like $30. My 100 pack of safety razor blades cost about $3. Cheaper to produce, cheaper to buy, better product. It’d be a real victory for capitalism if they outsold multiblade. Alas: marketing. Gillette does it. Astrid doesn’t.
So I got sucked into a form of safety razor shaving that was kind of cult-like around this dude who was obsessed and his specific products. He had something like a 20-page rant about razors and it was pretty good to know.
The multi-blade razors use something called “hysteresis”. That’s a fancy word to say they’re designed so the “first” blades sort of lift and pull the hair upwards so the “later” blades can cut it lower than the skin level. When everything works out that leaves you with a very smooth shave. But for a lot of people it also leaves them with lots of ingrown hairs and other uncomfortable problems.
A safety razor doesn’t do that. There are some techniques that sort of pull off the same thing, but if you think about the Physics it’s never going to be able to cut deeper than the skin. So for the people who get ingrown hairs from hysteresis razors this is the best approach.
It’s also a lot harder to cut yourself with the multi-blade razors. You can certainly do some stupid things that’ll cut you but in general the angles they’re set at just makes it really hard to cut yourself unless you try. You don’t have to have a lot of technique with them because of this, they’re great for brain-off shaving. With a safety razor, you still have to pay some attention to the angle and direction of your blade or else you can cause a lot of irritation even if you don’t outright cut yourself.
Which one has the “best” shave is pretty subjective. I’d argue the best shaves I ever had were with that cult-like Hydrolast product and safety razors. But Charles Roberts, the guy who made it, died and took the secret with him. I have tried a lot of other soaps and shaving creams with both a safety razor and a 4-blade razor. I feel like the 4-blade one gives me the best shave if I’m in a hurry and just want to look better for a Zoom meeting and just want to use a canned shave cream, whereas the safety razor is best if I have the time to really focus on making my lather and being careful with my shave. Both do a lot better if I use *2* blades per shave. Hair is tough stuff and the blades dull much faster than you’d think.
I don’t know how much of anything the many blades does, but for me both, as well as an electric razor has its place.
I get the most comfortable shave with my safety razor, but part of that is that I take my time.
If I’m low on time, a cartridge razor allows me to shave faster, but it’s not at nice an experience.
In both cases I end up with an equally good shave.
If I’m really in a hurry, I’m use an electric razor. The shave is worse, but nothing beats the speed, and there is 0 chance of nicks.
They are not better, just a tiny bit more convenient, and suckers, I mean customers, will pay for multiple blades in ‘disposable’ cartridges because of the excessive marketing.
It grinds my gears. The waste is insane. Get some good tools and enjoy them.
Try a quality safety razor and some decent blades (get a selection pack to find which blades you like). The shave, and the feel of a well made and durable setup is immense. The blades are cheap and easy to recycle.
Try it.
Multiblade razors give me the absolute closest shave, because the razors tug your hair out a little bit before slicing it off with subsequent razors. The hair then retracts under your skin, so it feels super smooth. The problem for me is I get nasty pimples and ingrown hairs from this because your hair is literally under your skin. A single blade safety razor on the other hand gives me a quite smooth shave and I basically never get pimples anymore.
I don’t think multiblade razors are all hype. I have to do at least two passes with a safety razor vs one with a multiblade. For me though the added expense and skin irritation is simply not worth it.
Better one swipe with a great edge than one swipe with 5 shitty edges which is the same as 5 swipes with 1 shitty edge 5 times in a row.
Probably.
Good quality blades yield good quality shaves, no blade remains good quality forever, most blades show serious deterioration after only a couple shaves. Cartridge razors the ones with the multi-blade packs stop providing a good quality shave just as fast as safety razors of similar quality, you just don’t notice because they have great little lubrication strips on the cartridge. The cartridge pushes the follicle out and cuts it, often trimming it below the actual skin which is why they are so prone to ingrown hairs. The great secret of the double bladed safety razor is a replacement blade of the highest quality costs about $0.20-0.40
Multi bladed razors are marketing fluff and do not work for everyone, but they’re easy to make and are a money printing machine. For those of us with curly hair a safety razor is the only option. I switched around 6 years ago and haven’t had an ingrown hair since.
Multi bladed razors progressively tug at a hair, exposing more of the follicle that would have been under the surface of the skin and increase the risk of infection and ingrown hairs. A single bladed razor cuts at the skin’s surface , eliminating the chance of ingrown hairs. You might have to shave more often depending on your growth, but there’s less of a penalty for doing so
I use multiblade with Noxzema as my soap/lather. The blade lasts for two months or more, so I’m not really sure what everyone here is on about with safety razors being cheaper. Yes the cartridges are more expensive but considering how long one lasts me it really doesn’t register. I shave on average five times a week.
I’ve had to throw away cartridges not because they were too dull, which is subjective anyway, but because the plastic swivel thing they have on them broke from wearing out. How do I keep it usable? By thoroughly rinsing it off after I’m done. If there are any hairs anywhere on the razor it’s because they did a very good job hiding themselves. If you rinse it thoroughly it will last a long time, because most of the damage comes from residue left in between the blades that corrode them.
Noxzema isn’t fashionable anymore so it’s also not terribly expensive, and it leaves your face smooth and moisturized after you’re done, automatically. No time at all spent in lathering up some specialty cream, just open the jar and spread it over the beard.
So, a quick smooth shave that’s also cheap. I don’t give it any thought at all.
A single edge, whether it is a straight razor, or a safety razor, is the best possible shave you can get
The disposable multi- blade razors are crap, for the very reason they tell you they work better.
All of the ads tell you that the first blade “lifts”, while the second one “cuts”. That is a recipe for ingrown hairs, and skin abrasion.
A properly sharpened edge will simply cut the hairs cleanly. That’s why they’re a better shave.
Then you can factor in that they’re better for the environment, and much cheaper than even the “shave club” bullshit.
Latest Answers