How can I reduce my use of disposable razors/razor blades?
We’ve kinda touched on this topic before when talking about reusing and recycling disposable razors but that was a long time ago and I thought it might be worth bringing it up again.
As when we were talking about it in 2007, I still use disposable razors occasionally – perhaps one a month since I’m still not particularly hairy or bothered, and use a rechargable electric razor for my legs. In the grand scale of things, it’s not exactly a lot of waste but it still bugs me to use anything that’s designed to be disposable.
(The electric one obviously uses power but other than that, they last a good while – the batteries on my rechargable ones tend to die every 3/4 years, but John’s got a mains powered one that will last years and years – his dad’s has been going for 20+ years apparently.)
On the old post, some people said they’d given up disposable razors (or more commonly disposable razor blades attached to a reusable handle) in favour of a traditional straight razor (aka cut-throat razor) – and they’ve never looked back. However, they’re only good for smooth/tight skin – not very useful for armpits, or the back of legs.
So what are the other options? What do you do?
Has anyone mentioned sugaring?
This is mostly for the ladies, since the straight razor sounds like it covers manly shaving needs, but sugaring is my depilatory of choice for my legs, at least. It’s just like waxing, except it uses a thick sugar-based syrup/gel and you don’t need to heat it up (and it’s technically edible unless the essential oil used for the particular scent you choose is bad to consume). Since it’s like waxing, you don’t have to do it nearly as often as shaving–double score!
I typically use Parissa (they call it soft gel, I believe?), which provides paper strips for the sugaring process, but I have seen some brands which offer washable cloth strips so you could do this without tossing anything. (I think the paper strips do a better job for thin hairs, but that’s just me.) The spreaders provided are usually wooden tongue-depressors, which last a while before warping and can be composted. I imagine you could also even make the sugaring compound yourself after some experimentation, if you wanted to cut down on the packaging, too.
But….isn’t that like ripping your hair out by the roots? Doesn’t that hurt?
I say, use the electric razor when you can, and the disposable when you need to. At least it has to be better than using harsh chemical delapitories that get rinsed into the water, like Nair and such. And I’m too much of a wimp for waxing. :) This is one of those questions I think there isn’t a good answer for.
I’ve been using the same cartridge on my razor for ages. You can sharpen them by rubbing them in the reverse direction on your forearm or a leather strap. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ADaRIqy0Dc
Really? ill have 2 try that!