The Quest for the Perfect Shave Continues

Ten years after I started the quest for the perfect shave, it continues. Over the past few years I have focused on mainly using the Gillette Fusion 5 or ProGlide razors. They seemed to work the best and I get them on sale for about $2.00 a cartridge.

I did try out the Personna EasyFit 5 blade that is supposed to be comparable to the Gillette Fusion 5. It is not. The head is larger and does not give as close of a shave as the Gillette, nor does it last as long. The Fusion 5 is much better than the Personna EasyFit 5.

I also took a year to test out a variety of Double Edge Razor blades. Most of them were good and gave a close shave. A few blades really stood out like the Wilkinson Sword and the Astra Superior Platinum. 

While the Double Edge razor blades gave a close, cheap shave, they don't give you a quick shave. You need to take your time while shaving with a double edge blade. I realize many people will disagree with this statement and say that the double edge is actually faster than other razors. I guess that is a matter of opinion, but I found it took longer with a double edge razor.

I have decided to move, at least temporarily, to the "darkside" and try out an electric shaver. Look for a review of the Braun Series 7 shaver soon.

Still shaving here at Doe Valley

Dollar Shave Club

Last month I received a free month of the Dollar Shave Club. So I decided to try out "The Executive". This is their top of the line 6 blade razor with a trimmer edge. I received the handle and 4 cartridges. The directions say to use one cartridge a week. Like my other tests, I decided to use one cartridge for the month.

I could tell right after the first shave that this was not the razor for me. The head was too big for my face and didn't shave close in several areas. After a month the razor was still sharp enough to cut, but it just didn't work for me, especially for the price of $2.25 a piece.

Dollar Shave Club also offers "The 4X" which is a four blade razor for $6 a month or $1.50 per cartridge and "The Humble Twin" which is a two blade razor for $1 a month plus $2 shipping or $0.60 a cartridge.

I'll stick with my Gillette Sensor 3 on sale with a coupon for about $0.50 a piece. I haven't found anything to beat them for the price.

Still shaving here in Doe Valley.

Price Discrepancy

I have been using the Gillette Sensor 3 disposable razors for a while now, mainly because of the price. I have noticed at Walmart a price discrepancy between the 4 pack and the 8 pack. The 4 pack sells for $4.97 or $1.25 a piece. The 8 pack sells for $13.47 or $1.69 a piece. This doesn't make any sense to me, sure the plastic bubble on the package is slightly larger to hold 4 more razors, but $0.44 extra per razor? Seems kind of strange to me.

I purchase the 4 pack for $4.97 with a $3 off coupon so my cost is closer to $0.50 a razor. Not too bad, especially when I take them off of the plastic disposable handle and put them on the sensor handle. The Sensor 3 replacement cartridges are about $2.50 a piece.

Gillette's pricing scheme just doesn't make sense to me.

Still thinking....

Mostly Reading, but still thinking on occasion.

The bulk of my most recent posts have been nothing but book reviews, but every once in a while I still think of something and here is today's thought.

We all have our morning or bedtime routines. It probably involves washing our face and hair, brushing our teeth and whatever else. Well I noticed something this morning. All of the products I use (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc) have a label on that gives you directions on how to use the product and also warnings about misusing the product.

Don't believe me, take a minute and check it out for yourself. They all have the label. Except for one product that I stumbled across this morning. My razor! I am currently using the Gillette Sensor 3 disposable razors and there are no instructions on the package nor are there any warning labels. What is more dangerous, a bottle of shampoo or a razor?

Very interesting thinking for today!

Bic Flex 3

Another two months has gone by since I purchased the BIC Flex 3 razor. My expectations were pretty much the same as the Bic Flex 4 only with one blade less. I had a coupon so the cost for 6 razors was about $0.50 a piece. Not a bad deal, but how does it compare?

Like the Flex 4, the Flex 3 is an okay razor, especially for $0.50 a piece. It gave an acceptable shave for about 2 weeks, but by week 3 I could tell the blade was getting dull. I don't think it cut quite as good as the Flex 4, but very close to it.

The head is large and easy to clean out debris, but it also makes it more difficult to shave some areas.

I can say that I liked the Gillette 3 series better. They shave a little closer and are easier to maneuver in those tight areas.

However, due to the price I would rate this razor about 87%. It ranks up there with the Mach 3 Turbo (3 blade) and the Fusion Proglide (5 blade). However, with a coupon and on sale, the cost is much lower for the Bic Flex 3. I have 4 left and will be using them again in the future, however, I will probably change them out every 2 weeks.

Until the next time, the adventure continues.

Gillette Custom Plus 3 Sensitive

Continuing my quest for the best shave, I tested out the Gillette Custom Plus 3 Sensitive disposable razor for the past two months. I really could have stopped after only one month because it is the same as the Sensor 3 disposable razor from Gillette.

I decided to contact Gillette to find out what the difference is between the Custom Plus 3 and the Sensor 3. I also asked if they would fit on the Sensor handle. Here is the response:

"Thank you for contacting Gillette.

The only difference between they are two different products and the Sensor3 Sensitive Skin disposable razor has more lubrication on the lubrastrip. These systems are disposable and they do not fit on to any of our permanent razor systems.

I hope this helps."

I think I failed to mention in my original email that the Custom Plus 3 was also the "sensitive" model. So, therefore, there is no difference between the Custom Plus 3 and the Sensor 3, except of course for the price. The Custom Plus 3 are a little cheaper than the Sensor 3, about $.05 per razor. Not a significant difference.

Also, even though the Gillette representative states the razors do not fit on to any of their permanent razor systems, she is wrong. They both fit nicely onto the Sensor handle.

I stocked up when Gillette had a few $2.00 off coupons so I will be good for a while, but up next are some BIC Flex 3 that I picked up for about $0.50 a razor. I will report back in two months after the testing is completed.

Gillette Sensor 3 Sensitive

Continuing my quest for the perfect shave, I picked up a pack of 4 Gillette Sensor 3 Sensitive disposable razors from Wal*Mart. I had a $2 off coupon so the razors were about $1 a piece, without a coupon they would be around $1.50 a piece.

For the past two months I have been running it through my rigorous testing methods. I know many people are not fans of Gillette. They think the razors are over priced and don't cut well. I must say, however, that I find Gillette to make some of the best razors that I have come across. The Sensor 3 Sensitive compliments the product line.

The shave was very close and smooth. I didn't cut myself with the razor at all. It wasn't painful when applying aftershave either. The sensitive strip was still going strong at the end of each month. The shave was very similar to the Mach 3. However, the Sensor 3 was able to get closer to the nose on my upper lip. I have always found that to be a problem with the Mach 3.

Another nice feature of the Sensor 3 is the fact that you can pop off the blade and install it on the Sensor handle if you don't like the lighter weight plastic handle of the disposable razor.

I find it interesting that these razors cost about $1.50 a piece for the blade attached to a cheap handle. If you purchase the Sensor 3 cartridges for the Sensor handle they cost about $2.50 a piece. When you buy the cartridges you are actually paying MORE for LESS!

I will give this razor my highest rating yet, a 95%. It shaves as well as the Mach 3 but at a lower cost. Plus if you don't like the handle you can place the blade on your Sensor handle.

I have a few more Mach 3 and BIC Flex 4 razors to use at home, but once those are gone I will be purchasing the Sensor 3 disposables for regular usage. They seem to be the best shave for the buck for me so far, but I am always looking for new options to try out.

Next month I will use the razor attached to my Sensor handle to see if it makes any difference.

Wilkinson Sword Tech 3 Razor

For the past two months I have been testing out the Wilkinson Sword Tech 3 razor. I was very excited to try it out as it has been hyped by many of the razor aficionados on the internet. The razor is relatively inexpensive. I purchased the handle with two cartridges for $3 with a $2 off coupon. 4 cartridges cost about $5 at wal*mart, so at $1.25 per cartridge is not too bad.

Overall, I thought it was an okay shave. I noticed I cut myself a few times. It didn't seem to cut as close as other razors, but wasn't as bad as some razors either! I think the hype was really just from Gillette haters out there.

I will give this razor a 90% ranking. While it does not shave as close as the Bic Flex 4, Mach 3, or Fusion Proglide, the cost is almost half. And cost is an important factor to me.

I still have 4 Flex 4, 4 Mach 3, and 3 Bic Advantage razors left, so I won't be buying anything new anytime soon. I can usually find a coupon for the Bic Flex 4 in the paper and that will make my future buying decisions a little easier.

Until the next time.

BIC Flex 4

It has been another two month trial for shaving. This time with the BIC Flex 4 razor that I got for free from BIC since I was thoroughly unimpressed with their Hybrid Advanced razor. Honestly, I didn't expect much more from this razor than the Comfort 3, which was a pretty good razor. However, after two months I can say that the Flex 4 razor is a pretty decent razor.

It seemed to give me a good shave for the entire month. I could tell around week 3 that it was getting a little dull and didn't cut quite as close, but I continued with my testing.

The head is large and easy to clean, it does not get clogged like many other razors. The four blades cut close without digging into my skin. The lubricating strip lasted the entire month. The cost of the razors was $5.99 for three or about $2 each.

I would rate this razor about 90%. It ranks up there with the Mach 3 Turbo (3 blade) and the Fusion Proglide (5 blade). The cost is about the same as the Mach 3 Turbo and cheaper than the Fusion Proglide.

I had a $1.50 coupon so I picked up another package of these razors. I think I should be set for the rest of the year. I still would like to test the Wilkenson-Sword Tech 3 razor. And of course, as always, if there are any manufactures that would like me to test there razors they are welcome to send them.

BIC Hybrid Advanced

After two months of use I am giving my review of the BIC Hybrid Advanced razor. As previously noted in my letter to BIC, these razors are bad.

This is a three blade disposable razor cartridge system. Each package contains a handle and 6 cartridges.

The razor costs about $6 for the handle and 6 cartridges. The cartridge connection to the handle is very cheap and I believe could easily break. I actually paid $3.99 for the razor, so my cost is about $0.66 per razor.

The vitamin E lubricating strip is junk as well. It didn't seem to do anything at all. The back of the cartridge head is tight and gets clogged easily. I found the shave to be very bad. It wasn't close at all, yet it somehow managed to cut me frequently.

In other words, even at $0.66 a razor, it isn't worth it. My rating is a 40%.

The next razor up for review in two months is the BIC Flex 4. This is the razor I bought with my free coupon from BIC. We'll see if it works any better.


.

Response from Bic

As mentioned in the previous post I contacted Bic about their Hybrid Advanced razor.

On their website it states that BIC does not give cash refunds or free samples or coupons. So I wasn't exactly sure what BIC was going to do to uphold their Performance Policy.

Here is the email that I received from BIC regarding the razor.

*****
Dear Mr. Matthews:

Thank you for your comments regarding the performance of the BIC Hybrid
Advance Shaver.

We care a great deal about the quality of all of our products and were
sorry to learn that you were disappointed with the way our shavers
performed for you. This information will be helpful to us in our
continuous effort to provide BIC products of the highest possible
quality.

We will send you a BIC Shaver replacement coupon, which can be used
toward the purchase of any of our shavers. We appreciate your patronage
and hope you will continue to be a BIC customer.

Sincerely,

BIC Consumer Affairs Team
*****

I received the coupon in the mail and purchased a BIC Flex 4. I will start using that razor next month.

Letter to Bic

The other day I found some new BIC Hybrid Advanced razors on sale at Giant Eagle so I decided to buy it and test it out. This is a three blade disposable cartridge type razor. After the first shave I realized these razors are garbage. All it did was cut me up and didn't even give me a close shave. After 3 shaves I decided to contact BIC. Below is my email to them. We'll see what they say about their product. ******** I purchased the BIC Hybrid Advanced razor the other day and I have found it to be the worst razor I have ever used, which is strange because I like the regular BIC Advanced razor. The razor doesn't seem to give me a close shave. It seems to just cut me without cutting the hair if that is somehow possible. Also the lubrication strip does not seem to work at all. I am thinking I got a bad batch or something. Was there any recalls or problems with these razors recently? Can you tell me the process to receive either a refund or replacement? Thanks

Mach 3 Turbo

The last razor in my current arsenal is the MACH 3 razor by Gillette. I had the handle and several turbo cartridges from a previous purchase some time ago. Note: these cartridges were at least a year old.

I was impressed with the closeness of this shave. After about a week though the vitamin E strip was wore out. By the end of each month I would have a few cuts here and there.

I believe the razor to be better than the Bic Comfort 3 disposable razor, but not quite as good as the Fusion Proglide 5 blade. The Mach 3 blades are about $2.00 a piece which ranks about half way between the Bic disposable and the Fusion Proglide 5 blade.

I am give this razor a 90%. It does a great job for the price.

Since, I have several more of these cartridges available I will be using these blades for the next few months. However, I am interested in the Wilkenson-Sword Tech 3 razor at Walmart. I know it is simply a relabeled Schick, but the price seems right. Of course, if any manufacture wants to give me a couple razors to sample I will be glad to run them through my testing cycle.

Schick Hydro 5

My next adventure in shaving involved a Schick Hydro 5 razor. I purchased this razor which included two blades on sale for about $1.00. I was eager to compare this razor with Gillette's 5 blade system.

After the first shave I knew right away that this razor was not as good as Gillette's. The shave was close in most areas. However, I found the head of the razor to be too large to get close in some places. After about 2 weeks the razor was no longer cutting close and it did indeed cut me a few times. There is also this clicking noise that the head makes when it is lifted from your face. I found it to be very annoying after a while.

For the second month of testing I decided to shave every other day after the initial two week period. I found that the razor did a little better with the longer stubble, but it didn't pass my test.

The price of the replacement blades is about $2.75 a piece. This is slightly cheaper than Gillette's blades, but not as good either.

Because of the price and the inability to comfortably shave for a month I will give this razor a 60% rating.

The last razor system I currently have is the Mach 3 by Gillette.

Gillette Fusion Proglide

As the quest for the perfect shave continues, my next experience involved the Gillette Fusion Proglide, a 5 blade razor. I recently purchased this razor plus two blades for about $2.00 on sale.

Knowing my shaving skills, the 5 blades made me a little nervous, so I decided to also buy a styptic pencil, which is to help stop bleeding in the case of minor cuts. After two months of using this razor I never needed or even opened the styptic pencil.

After the first shave, I was very impressed by the closeness and smoothness of this razor. However, it did not leave my face with a close smooth look, just a close smooth feel. By the end of the day you could see and feel some stubble again.

After about 2 weeks of use, the moisturizing glide strip was shot and the razor of course was no longer cutting like new. One nice aspect was the fact that the razor didn't cut me even when dull.

The razor also has a single blade to cut side burns which seemed to work well.

Overall, this is a great razor, but the question is "Is it worth the price?"

The initial cost of the razor is about $10 with 2 blades. The replacement cartridges cost about $3.00 each.

There is no doubt this is a better razor than the Bic Advanced 3 I tested a few months ago. The real test will be how this razor compares to the Schick Hydro, which will be tested next, and the Mach 3 to be tested later.

For now though I'll give this razor a 90%, mainly because of its hefty price tag.

Schick Injector Razor

As noted in my previous post, the Schick Injector razor experiment was not going so well.

After only 4 shaves I decided to abandon this razor. It was pure torture.

The razor itself was not comfortable to use. Part of the problem could be the fact that the blade was a cheap private label version.

The razor would not cut close at all even on my cheeks. But somehow it would cut me. It was not a fun process.

My rating is 25% - that is about all that it would cut - it just didn't work.

I switched back to my old Bic Comfort 3 that I still haven't thrown out (yeah the dull used one) and it worked 10 times better! I will be switching to the final Bic Comfort 3 that I have for the rest of the month and will pick up in August with a new 5 blade razor! Now that sounds dangerous.

Old Fasioned Safety Razor

My next adventure in shaving involved an Old Fashioned Gillette safety razor using a Wilkinson Sword Blade.

I must say shaving with this type of razor is very different than the usual razors that I am used to. I was impressed with the very first shave or at least part of it.

It shaved the sides of my face (cheeks) very close and smooth. The rest of the areas of my face were not so good. I tired various angles and directions, but none seemed to help very much. I was constantly cutting my face.

I think the problem was more the razor than the blade. The head was too big and it didn't seem to want to get into all those tight spots and groves without hacking away chunks of my skin.

Needless to say it wasn't a fun experience, so after 7 days of that I had to move on. It was like torture.

The blades are about $5 for 10. The razor was given to me, but from what I can tell it is about a 1930's model that currently sells for about $25.

The razor also had an "old metal" smell that I didn't particularly like.

So my grade is: 50% - it just couldn't pass my rigorous testing methods.

Up next is a Schick Injector razor - SPOILER - after only 3 days it doesn't look good either.

Bic Comfort 3 Advanced Razor

My first attempt at a close, smooth, clean, easy shave was two months of using a disposable razor. I had a pack of the Bic Comfort 3 Advanced razor, so I thought I would see what happened.

To be honest I wasn't expecting much from a "cheap" disposable razor, however, I was a little surprised. The razors cost about $1.25 each. You can often times find coupons to lower the price even more.

My goal was to shave with this type of razor for two months and evaluate the results. Again, part of my evaluation involves using the same razor or blade for the entire month before changing razors or blades.

The first week of shaves for both months were kind of painful, lots of cuts. The razors seemed to be super sharp or something. The middle two weeks were actually not too bad. There were minimal cuts and the shave was pretty close and comfortable. The final week got a little rough again. The blade was tugging at the hairs and the blade seemed dull or something.

Overall, I would rate the razor with about a 70%. They worked okay for the price, but it wasn't too enjoyable the first and last week for me.

Up next is an old fashioned safety razor.

Quest for the Perfect Shave

A couple of months ago I decided I was finally fed up with my electric razor. I would shave every morning, but by lunch time it would look as if I didn't even shave for the day. My face was never smooth.

It just so happened around the same time, when I got my money Money magazine it had an article about shaving in it. The article was simply a reference to a blog about shaving. Of course, the blog recommended shaving with an old fashioned safety razor.

I decided to start my own shaving experiment to see what the best option is to get the closest comfortable shave. I figure I'll give each razor a two month trial. I also expect the blade to last about 1 month. I figure I shave 6 days a week, so that is maybe about 24 or 25 shaves, not unreasonable in my opinion.

I have several razors that I will be testing out:

• Bic Comfort 3 Advanced
• Mach 3
• Sensor
• Old Fashioned Safety Razor made by Gillette
• Gillette Fusion ProGlide
• Schick Hydro 5
  

I purchased the Gillette Fusion ProGlide and Schick Hyro 5 razors for cheap, on sale with coupons. The other razors were already in my arsenal.

Check back in a couple of weeks for the first review of the Bic Comfort 3 Advanced disposable razors.