I came here to suggest the Hanson as well. I haven’t used one, but recently I started seeing Hanson everywhere and I want someone like the author to try it out and report on it.
Been super happy with mine, been shaving with it for over a year. I have very thick hair and sensitive skin. Gillette type cartridges destroys my face, especially after 3 or 4 shaves. I cannot stand a non-smooth shave. Rarely cut myself with the Henson, especially with a new blade despite being a little obsessive with getting as close a shave as possible.
I had no idea Henson is Canadian! (And practically in my back yard.) If you’re in Canada (and haven’t discovered it yet) I’ll put in a plug for Fendrihan, based in Hamilton. All kinds of great shaving stuff from around the world, including Canada, and they do cool things like blade samplers
Hensons are okay, but better marketing than execution, I believe, compared to many of the Japanese and German offerings, in particular. But hey: if they marketing reaches people and weans them off of poorly performing and wasteful cartridges, then go Henson!
I tried them because of a personal bump in patriotism and desire to buy a Canadian product. I've been happy with it and will never need to buy blades again.
Not only informative and entertaining, but also a pleasant jolt to my masculinity. Thanks. And, BTW, Gillette could probably, if they wanted to, make a clever spoof on the advertising to sell to men.
Over the last 10 years, more than 80% of women groom their pubic hair and there are ever more methods to choose from: trimming, shaving, waxing, sugaring, depilatories, epilators, lasers and more”. The real question is not why Gillette create more and more blades in razors..much like the creators of zillions of toothbrushes…or dog dentastix, it’s all marketing, but why is hair so offensive in women? What’s wrong with pubic hair? Throughout history, women had no pubic hair in art because it was synonymous with identity and power, versus a blank canvas on which to project fantasies …much like porn today…women are literally hairless… and powerless..pubes = power. Long live pubes I say!
I bought only Gillette blades for decades. I stopped when they ran the toxic masculinity ad. Why do people buy from people who despise and stereotype them? I use a much better and less expensive razor now, which I would not have taken the time to try had not the management of Gillette gone out of their way to insult men.
Thank you for saving me the time to write basically the same comment. I’d also like to thank Budweiser for providing me the opportunity to fill my refrigerator with Japanese brands.
Same. I moved to Bic and Schick, which are not superior products and are, as are all modern razors, wildly overpriced, but I prefer to buy products from companies that don't add insult to the injury of being gouged.
I’m not that price sensitive, but the Gillette Fusion works great for me. I never cut myself and get a smooth shave. It does have lubricating strips, bit it isn’t as bulky as the Venus.
Get an old fashioned single blade razor with feather blades (from Japan). The razor handle will cost about twenty bucks and lasts a lifetime. The blades cost me about ten bucks/year. Once you've tried it you'll wonder how anyone fell for that whole “This razor has six vibrating blades for ultra -closeness” BS.
Yep, safety razor is the way to go, especially if you have a couple days of stubble. I have discovered two important caveats. Safety razors have different angles of attack. Be sure to use one that’s not too aggressive—it’s not difficult to find an inexpensive one on Amazon. Second lubricate properly—again, it’s not magic, just make sure you are using the gel to water ratio so the skin is slick. (I like to use Speick cream—it’s a pedestrian German brand I buy on Amazon. One tube lasts at least two-three months when shaving 5 days a week.) I used to get nicks until I discovered that if I keep it slick, I don’t get a nick.
I change razors every Monday. So a ten dollar box of blades lasts two years. And probably four tubes of $7 cream for a year. Not bad.
That's what I did and I'll never go back. Feather blades for my safety razor. Very close shave and only an occasional nick, usually with a brand new blade.
A standard hollow-ground straight razor holds a good edge with stropping and occasional home sharpening. I have a few in the rotation. Several of the manufacturers have been out of business since before I was born, thanks to King Gillette.
I tried straight-razor shaving fifteen years ago. I became competent at honing and stropping. But I could never get over my fear of the un-guarded blade.
I switched to double-edge razors, and have been reasonably content. My face is reasonably smooth, nicks are rare, and blade cost is quite low.
But I'll have to try a Venus, after reading this post.
I’ll try it if I ever ditch the beard but shaving issues are why I grew it in the first place. I was like 28 and still having occasional acne breakouts no matter what I did. Eventually, I realized it was always 1-2 days after I shaved. I’d disinfect the blade before use. Wash by face of dirt and bacteria. It helped but nothing totally solved the issue…until I stopped shaving and it went away. I always blamed myself. I figured I just couldn’t do it correctly so I gave up!
Semi-recent single blade razor designs make _claims_ that if true would be the answer to this entire piece: the Henson safety razor is highly recommended, haven’t heard as many rave reviews for Leaf Shave but worth considering.
Many people have nonzero but near zero issues with the long-discontinued-yet-somehow-still-available Gillette Sensor Excel 2-blade.
Easy to see that more blades are not necessarily better, and the best shaves virtually always involve only one blade.
I’d bet they’re willing to create an expensive-ish female-branded line of razor simply to capture that part of the market. Women have lots of hair removal options aside from shaving, so a razor would need to work pretty darn well for enough women to buy it. Men have less options and, in some cases, more social pressure (the face being so visible) when it comes to shaving, so companies can get away with offering cheap crap, bc they’ll still get purchased.
I made the change to safety razor shaving several years ago. I bought a refurbished 1964 Gillette Slim adjustable and a new Rockwell adjustable. A while back I bought a box of 250 Personna Med Prep blades from a medical supply company at a cost of 11-15 cents per blade. I’ll be looking for more blades some time in 2027. I get a week of shaves from each. When I have ten extra minutes I break out my shaving soap, mug, and brush. If I don’t I reach for the tube of ready-made and lather it up directly on my face. The adjustable single blade double edge razor allows me to dial back to a gentle blade angle to take care of my neck and back up to a more aggressive angle on the rest of my face if I’ve skipped a day or two. The occasional small nick vanishes with a five-second application of a styptic pencil.
My dad adopted electric shaving as a young man and never stopped. I never could tolerate electrics. My grandfather started out with straight razors and settled on the single edge Schick injector razor. His new razor handle was probably $1.40 new when Ike was in the White House. Good as new when he died fifty years later. I have it. I started out on injectors as a teenager. They give a foolproof, super pleasant shave—but the blades aren’t sold in stores any more.
I personally think that the cartridge/disposable plastic and preposterous number of blades evolution is a long-running corporate con job.
I came here to suggest the Hanson as well. I haven’t used one, but recently I started seeing Hanson everywhere and I want someone like the author to try it out and report on it.
Been super happy with mine, been shaving with it for over a year. I have very thick hair and sensitive skin. Gillette type cartridges destroys my face, especially after 3 or 4 shaves. I cannot stand a non-smooth shave. Rarely cut myself with the Henson, especially with a new blade despite being a little obsessive with getting as close a shave as possible.
I had no idea Henson is Canadian! (And practically in my back yard.) If you’re in Canada (and haven’t discovered it yet) I’ll put in a plug for Fendrihan, based in Hamilton. All kinds of great shaving stuff from around the world, including Canada, and they do cool things like blade samplers
Hensons are okay, but better marketing than execution, I believe, compared to many of the Japanese and German offerings, in particular. But hey: if they marketing reaches people and weans them off of poorly performing and wasteful cartridges, then go Henson!
I tried them because of a personal bump in patriotism and desire to buy a Canadian product. I've been happy with it and will never need to buy blades again.
Not only informative and entertaining, but also a pleasant jolt to my masculinity. Thanks. And, BTW, Gillette could probably, if they wanted to, make a clever spoof on the advertising to sell to men.
PS - now another reason to visit India
Thanks for this - going to try a Venus !
LOL. You won’t be disappointed…
Over the last 10 years, more than 80% of women groom their pubic hair and there are ever more methods to choose from: trimming, shaving, waxing, sugaring, depilatories, epilators, lasers and more”. The real question is not why Gillette create more and more blades in razors..much like the creators of zillions of toothbrushes…or dog dentastix, it’s all marketing, but why is hair so offensive in women? What’s wrong with pubic hair? Throughout history, women had no pubic hair in art because it was synonymous with identity and power, versus a blank canvas on which to project fantasies …much like porn today…women are literally hairless… and powerless..pubes = power. Long live pubes I say!
That oval design will not fit under your nose and won't let you carve a straight line for your sideburns.
I bought only Gillette blades for decades. I stopped when they ran the toxic masculinity ad. Why do people buy from people who despise and stereotype them? I use a much better and less expensive razor now, which I would not have taken the time to try had not the management of Gillette gone out of their way to insult men.
Thank you for saving me the time to write basically the same comment. I’d also like to thank Budweiser for providing me the opportunity to fill my refrigerator with Japanese brands.
Same. I moved to Bic and Schick, which are not superior products and are, as are all modern razors, wildly overpriced, but I prefer to buy products from companies that don't add insult to the injury of being gouged.
I’m not that price sensitive, but the Gillette Fusion works great for me. I never cut myself and get a smooth shave. It does have lubricating strips, bit it isn’t as bulky as the Venus.
Get an old fashioned single blade razor with feather blades (from Japan). The razor handle will cost about twenty bucks and lasts a lifetime. The blades cost me about ten bucks/year. Once you've tried it you'll wonder how anyone fell for that whole “This razor has six vibrating blades for ultra -closeness” BS.
try double edge safety razors.
Parker or feather handle with feather blades.
proraso Italian cream
extremely cheap and works wonderfully
Exactly! I switched to a sturdy metal handle single-blade razor almost 20 years ago. The blades are so cheap and a package of blades lasts me years.
Yep, safety razor is the way to go, especially if you have a couple days of stubble. I have discovered two important caveats. Safety razors have different angles of attack. Be sure to use one that’s not too aggressive—it’s not difficult to find an inexpensive one on Amazon. Second lubricate properly—again, it’s not magic, just make sure you are using the gel to water ratio so the skin is slick. (I like to use Speick cream—it’s a pedestrian German brand I buy on Amazon. One tube lasts at least two-three months when shaving 5 days a week.) I used to get nicks until I discovered that if I keep it slick, I don’t get a nick.
I change razors every Monday. So a ten dollar box of blades lasts two years. And probably four tubes of $7 cream for a year. Not bad.
I shave my head as well, and I change blades once a fortnight (not much resistance on the scalp these days!)
That's what I did and I'll never go back. Feather blades for my safety razor. Very close shave and only an occasional nick, usually with a brand new blade.
A standard hollow-ground straight razor holds a good edge with stropping and occasional home sharpening. I have a few in the rotation. Several of the manufacturers have been out of business since before I was born, thanks to King Gillette.
I tried straight-razor shaving fifteen years ago. I became competent at honing and stropping. But I could never get over my fear of the un-guarded blade.
I switched to double-edge razors, and have been reasonably content. My face is reasonably smooth, nicks are rare, and blade cost is quite low.
But I'll have to try a Venus, after reading this post.
The proper grip makes it safer. Practice using an unbladed shavette with shaving cream, on the face, using what I colorfully call the “scorpion grip.”
https://www.wikihow.com/Hold-a-Straight-Razor#/Image:Hold-a-Straight-Razor-Step-1.jpg
I do not care for shavettes, as I find them prone to cause nicks.
I’ll try it if I ever ditch the beard but shaving issues are why I grew it in the first place. I was like 28 and still having occasional acne breakouts no matter what I did. Eventually, I realized it was always 1-2 days after I shaved. I’d disinfect the blade before use. Wash by face of dirt and bacteria. It helped but nothing totally solved the issue…until I stopped shaving and it went away. I always blamed myself. I figured I just couldn’t do it correctly so I gave up!
I have used both men's Gillette and Venus. I have a Venus in my shower now. The gender segregation of razors is weird. Get your Venus on my guy.
Rabbit holes worth going down:
Semi-recent single blade razor designs make _claims_ that if true would be the answer to this entire piece: the Henson safety razor is highly recommended, haven’t heard as many rave reviews for Leaf Shave but worth considering.
Many people have nonzero but near zero issues with the long-discontinued-yet-somehow-still-available Gillette Sensor Excel 2-blade.
Easy to see that more blades are not necessarily better, and the best shaves virtually always involve only one blade.
I’d bet they’re willing to create an expensive-ish female-branded line of razor simply to capture that part of the market. Women have lots of hair removal options aside from shaving, so a razor would need to work pretty darn well for enough women to buy it. Men have less options and, in some cases, more social pressure (the face being so visible) when it comes to shaving, so companies can get away with offering cheap crap, bc they’ll still get purchased.
Why is it marketed to young women?
My lawyer says I can’t explain that on the internet!
It’s so funny! I was hoping a commenter would explain !
Is it the one that vibrates?
I made the change to safety razor shaving several years ago. I bought a refurbished 1964 Gillette Slim adjustable and a new Rockwell adjustable. A while back I bought a box of 250 Personna Med Prep blades from a medical supply company at a cost of 11-15 cents per blade. I’ll be looking for more blades some time in 2027. I get a week of shaves from each. When I have ten extra minutes I break out my shaving soap, mug, and brush. If I don’t I reach for the tube of ready-made and lather it up directly on my face. The adjustable single blade double edge razor allows me to dial back to a gentle blade angle to take care of my neck and back up to a more aggressive angle on the rest of my face if I’ve skipped a day or two. The occasional small nick vanishes with a five-second application of a styptic pencil.
My dad adopted electric shaving as a young man and never stopped. I never could tolerate electrics. My grandfather started out with straight razors and settled on the single edge Schick injector razor. His new razor handle was probably $1.40 new when Ike was in the White House. Good as new when he died fifty years later. I have it. I started out on injectors as a teenager. They give a foolproof, super pleasant shave—but the blades aren’t sold in stores any more.
I personally think that the cartridge/disposable plastic and preposterous number of blades evolution is a long-running corporate con job.
I just saw this when I was checking for Feather blades;
https://www.fendrihan.ca/collections/safety-razor-blade-packs/products/20-personna-mini-shaper-blades-for-injector-razor