My husband has the gift of facial hair. He’s the kind who has a five o’clock shadow that some men can’t even grow after a week. There’s no need to be jealous though, it’s more of a curse. While laziness might lead him to let it grow, he shaves everyday (except Saturday) to maintain his young, clean-cut attorney look.
Shaving can be expensive!
Here are a few ways to save on your shave!
Coupons and Drugstore Freebies
Back when we didn’t live in the boonies I regularly played the drugstore game. By using coupons on sale items that also offered money-back rewards via loyalty cards or cash-back coupons redeemable on your next purchase. I tried to get all the free or cheap razors and shaving cream at Walgreens and CVS. I had the most success with shaving cream. It’s pretty easy to get for free or nearly free.
Razors are a little trickier. If you have access to weekly coupon inserts you will have a much better chance at getting great deals on razors and cartridge refills. Since my husband was brand-loyal (Mach3 Razor Cartridges are his go-to) when it comes to razors, it was worth it to buy coupons on ebay and stock up on cartridges when I know a sale is around the corner. When I could get other brands of razors for free or cheap at drugstores, I added them to our stash, but most were rejected by the shaving connoisseur of the family.
Extend the Life of Blades
Everyone knows that a dull blade is bad news, so I won’t recommend torturing yourself. Did you know that with a few seconds of care your blades will stay sharp for longer?
- After each use, rinse and dry the blades of your razor. Use a towel (or hairdryer) to dry so the blades are completely dry.
- Store the razor somewhere dry (i.e. not in your humid shower).
Your blade will stay sharp for much longer if you keep it clean and dry because constant exposure to water will cause rust and tiny chips on the blade. Chemicals in shaving cream and soap probably don’t help either. Diligently cleaning and drying your razor is money in your pocket!
I have also heard (but have not tried) that you can rub the razor on denim in the opposite direction that you shave (you don’t want to cut your jeans). Apparently the cross fibers in denim help to sharpen the blades.
Dollar Shave Club
Over Christmas when my sisters and I were discussing practical stocking stuffers, I lamented that our stash of razor blade cartridges (and freebies) was out. My sister told me all about Dollar Shave Club. Her husband has been using it for a while and absolutely loves it.
Dollar Shave Club is a monthly razor subscription. Each monthly package includes 4-5 cartridges and the handle is included the first month. The best part is that it is automated and shipped to your door. The second best part is that you can stop and start your subscription whenever you want without any penalties. There are three different packages:
- $1/month + $2 shipping
- $6/month + Free shipping
- $9/month + Free shipping.
We signed up for the $6/month plan. By cleaning and drying his blade, my husband will make them last far longer than a week, and after a few months we will pause our subscription and be set for a while.
Dollar Shave Club is much cheaper than any deal we have gotten on razor cartridges before and it doesn’t require me to wait for deals or go to the store. Hooray!
Does anyone else have any tips for making your blades last forever? Does anyone make their own shaving cream? Any other tips for saving on shaving?
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I think one of my comments just got eaten by the spambots because I included a link :/ I was just saying that after looking into the dollar shave club I discovered Dorco has a really good deal on razors – $35 for what they claim is a years’ worth – and you can also find 20% coupon codes online bringing it down to about $30 for their “frugal dude” special.
I waded through a couple pages of filtered spam and I didn’t see it. 🙁 Thanks for the insights Sarah!
After drying your razor dip it, or store it, in baby oil or mineral oil. It keeps the blade from becoming eroded from water staying on the blade. This works!! it keeps the razor sharp a LOT longer. I could shave twice a day and I do not like to throw razors away so I can reuse them for at least 3-4 wks doing this. And I’m talking legs, underarms, and bikini area.
Great tip! Thanks!
So to be quite frank…I rarely shave my legs. I wear jeans most of the time (even though I live in FL) because they’re more comfortable…or long dresses…but I just. Don’t. Shave. And when I do it’s typically in a REALLY hot shower and I don’t use shaving cream. When my hubby shaves (I like him scraggly and mountain-man-like) he uses a bit of our conditioner.
I use conditioner to shave my legs pretty often. 🙂 Not shaving would save though!
Couple of thoughts. First, you don’t actually need shaving cream or after shave. I know, I didn’t believe it either. My brother told me about it, and I thought he was nuts. Then I tried it. It really does work. Just use hot water. My shaves are now closer, faster, and I have less cuts. It takes about one week to completely adjust, but it’s worth it.
Second, Dollar shave club’s supplier is a company called Dorco. You can save money by buying in bulk from the manufacturer.
Thanks for sharing Jarrod! I know my husband has used just soap before, but I don’t think he’s ever tried just water.
Thank you for this post. My husband sounds a lot like yours as far as brand of choice. I am praying he will go for The Shave Club as it would save us almost $70 a year in blades alone
I hope so too Amanda! It’s a great way to save money. My husband has been pleased with the blades, and by taking care of them, he still makes them last longer than a week.
I rinse and dry my razors too. I also use hair conditioner or body wash for shaving instead of shaving cream. Not sure if it’s cheaper, but probably is since I buy the cheap brands, but mostly I do it so that I have fewer bottles of shower stuff.
I do that too! My husband uses shaving cream, but I just use body wash.
I passed this info on to my son, also a young attorney, he just emailed me that he joined. Thank you, it looks like a great way to save on blades.
Great Rhonda! We are loving Dollar Shave Club! That’s neat that you husband is a young attorney too!
On the Dollar Shave Club how much is shipping?
Hi Kim! For the $4 and $9 razors, shipping is free. For the $1 razor, shipping is $2 (so I just called it $3 in my post). I’ll add that info to the post.
We bought my husband an electric razor around 2 years ago at Costco for around $80 (I think). He is in the military and so he has to shave everyday. It came with 2 or 3 razor heads and so we haven’t had to buy any new ones yet. But like your husband, my husband was super picky and bought the expensive cartridges so even with using coupons we were spending nearly $20/month in shaving supplies. So the electric shaver has definitely saved money, but I will have to look into the Dollar Shave Club if he ever decides to go back to a manual razor.
That does sound like a good investment. My dad has always used an electric razor. I suggested it to my husband when we were first married, but his complaint is that it doesn’t give him a close enough shave. I’m not sure if that means he has a five o’clock shadow even sooner or that it doesn’t look good from the beginning or what. Maybe I’ll ask him again 🙂
Hmm, I hadn’t heard of the Dollar Shave Club!!! Rick also has the gift of facial hair and loves his Mach 3 razors, which are ridiculously expensive for those refills! We often talk of him going for the Duck Dynasty look so he doesn’t have to deal with shaving so often. 🙂
Ha ha! I hear you Laurie! 🙂
My husband and I both use a shave brush (different ones) and shave soap. In a pinch regular soap actually works too. I would bet dove would be made very similarly to shave soap.
My husband was “blessed” to have hair that grows like mad, and I shave my legs and underarms EVERYDAY!
We probably spend $20 a year if that on shave soap. The brushes are a bit of an investment, but worth it because they help get such a close shave.
Am I the only one who doesn’t know what a shave brush is? I’ll have to google it I guess!
The Lady who cuts my hair makes custom made shave brushes. That’s why I know. I think they are awesome. You can go cheap, but if you are willing to shell out the money on a good one it lasts FOREVER.
My husband has been using Dollar Shave Club for about 6 months now and loves it! He was brand loyal too and says the blades they send are as good as the Gillette ones. We love the flexibility of canceling anytime, or when you have too many blades. We do the $6 a month plan and they send 4 blades a month, but the blades usually last much more than a week even for a hairy beast. I love that I no longer have to pay attention to the drugstore deals, track down or buy tons of razor coupons, and go to the store several times a week when razors are on sale. We still do that when there are cheap or free shaving cream deals though ;).
Great! I’m glad to hear the blades last longer than a week. By taking care of his other cartridges, my husband makes them last nearly a month!
We could use some free shaving cream deals about now!
So does your husband know you call him a “hairy beast?” 🙂
Dad uses a double edged safety razor – while it’s a little bit more of an upfront cost, the blades for it are about $30 for 100 blades, and he uses each blade for about a week (he also has a 5 o’clock shadow by about noon, so they take a beating). He also uses cake shaving cream, but I don’t think that’s any cheaper than what you can easily get in the stores.
That’s awesome! That’s the “old fashioned” vintage-y type of razor right? I think my father-in-law uses those too!
Yep – it’s one of the older styles. He tried a straight razor (a la Sweeney Todd) for a while, but didn’t like how long it took him to shave compared to the double edge, and he had trouble keeping it sharp enough for his tastes. A shave brush is what you see old barbers using to make a lather with the shaving soap – usually badger bristles or similar.
My husband used a straight razor for awhile. 🙂