How long can you shave with a razor blade?
There is frequent grumbling about the expensive cartridge razor blades from Gillette and Wilkinson. After a few shaves, you can throw the razor blade worth €3 to €5 in the trash. For that reason, many men often shave too long with the same blade. At some point, it no longer shaves but starts pulling the hairs. Shaving too long means a painful start to the day. Manufacturers indicate that you should replace the blade after 5 to 7 shaves. If you shave 2 or 3 times a week, you should discard it after 2 or 3 weeks. But how can you shave even longer with the same razor blade? We have compiled some handy and fun tips.
Tip 1 Rinse the razor
During shaving, a lot of dirt, such as lime and soap residues, accumulates on the edge (cutting edge) of the blade. This makes it duller and duller. Rinsing the razor well under running water after use is a must. Try to remove as much soap residue as possible between the blades. Then dry well with a cloth and store or hang in a stand. This way you avoid the risk of damaging the blades.
Tip 2 Use a classic shaving soap or shaving cream
Stop shaving with shaving foam from an aerosol can and switch to classic wet shaving. Beard hairs are as hard as copper wires but also absorb water. It is precisely the combination of water, shaving soap or shaving cream, shaving brush and a little bit of time that allows the hairs to soak up water. This makes them softer and softer. The softer the hairs, the less wear on the blade.
Tip 3 Lather longer on the face
If you lather the shaving foam on your face longer with the shaving brush, the beard hairs become even softer. We recommend lathering the shaving foam for at least 1 minute. This gives the beard hairs more time to soften. Another advantage is that the shaving foam becomes fuller and better protects your skin.
Tip 4 Polishing the razor blade over a towel or the strop
A very simple method is to clean and polish the razor blade a few times after use over a dry towel or the leather strop. You can compare it to polishing the straight razor over the strop. This rubs off the lime and soap residues from the blade and cleans the edge again. The edge of the blade takes a lot of abuse when cutting through the tough beard hairs. If you were to place the blade under a microscope after use, you would see that the cutting edge is frayed or deformed. By rubbing, the metal particles at the micron level realign in the same direction. For clarity, polishing does not make the blade sharper. You extend the sharpness of the edge.
Lay the towel or strop flat on a level surface and rub the razor away from you. A few rubs without applying too much pressure should be sufficient.
On the blog of Thuisexperimenteren.nl there is a photo of a new and used razor at the micron level. You can clearly see the damage to the edge.
Tip 5 Polishing the razor blade over the Razorpit
With the help of the Razorpit you can maintain the sharpness of the multi-blade cartridge blade longer. After each shave, rub the blade over the rubber of the Razorpit. You clean the edge by rubbing. This keeps the blade sharper for longer. You can compare it to polishing the straight razor over the leather of the strop.
Use the Razorpit immediately after shaving. Apply a little shaving foam to the ironing surface of the Razorpit. This makes the razor blade glide more easily over the ironing surface. Press the razor blade onto the ironing surface and move it forward 4 times. Rinse the Razorpit and the razor well after use.
According to the obviously enthusiastic claim of Razorpit, you can save up to 90% on the purchase of razor blades. What we occasionally hear from users of this device is that they can shave 1.5 to 2 times longer with one blade.
