An average guy talks about his history of shaving

For the longest of time, I thought that the only 2 tools available in the market to get rid of facial hair - electric shavers and multi-blade cartridge razors. It is a ritual that most guys to keep them from looking unkempt, so shaving tools are a must. Let me walk you through my shaving journey that made me think that way.


My JC days
I first started off using disposable razors during my Junior College days because they were affordable and easy enough to use. Those razors had 2 or 3 blades in them and I only needed to use it every once a week or so. I re-used them many times until they become a little too blunt for comfort (when going past an area many times to achieve the same "closeness" in shave". I rarely used any shaving foam or gel as I only had to remove only a little facial hair.


My National Service days
Then I was introduced to the premium multi-blade razors during my army days when I was given a Gillette Mach 3 Turbo for free as part of the equipment army required me to have. It felt really good during the first few times I used the blade. They were really sharp and more comfortable than the disposable ones I relied on in the past. They were very smooth over my skin and was really close in shave. However, after a few weeks of using it, the blade quickly became dull and there was some tugging and pulling.

I bought new cartridges and a can of Gillette shaving foam. I only used it during the weekends because it was troublesome to use it in camp. Besides, I only had to use it on Wednesdays. Without the shaving foam, the razor was a little less effective in still gives shaves enough to pass parade inspections. But there was one problem, every replacement cartridge was kind of expensive. About $20 for 4 cartridges and each one starts deteriorating after a month or so. While they were better than disposables, the price premium was too high to justify the product.


My Post-University / Working days
When I graduated a year ago, I had the impression that the way it worked wasn't effective. I wanted to try an alternative to a razor because of the price premium. Hopefully, I will be able to get more cost effectiveness from this category.

So I read reviews about them online and it turns out there were many video reviews and tests by curious people all over the world. I learnt that the vibrating comb of electric shavers actually work like a pair of scissors, which was supposedly effective in snipping off those little hairs. Different shavers have different features and some even have a self cleaning dock that uses proprietary cleaning solution to rinse the shaving head. These features typically makes if faster and more convenience of shaving for the fast paced men of modern society.

Unfortunately, electric shavers were also on the expensive side, starting from $50 for a basic AA battery operated shaver to several hundreds of dollars depending on the amount of bells and whistles it has. Although the upfront cost of shavers can be high, it is likely to last long enough to cost you less in the long term compared to those multi-blade razors.

Feeling experimental, I bought the $50 Braun MobileShave M-90 and have been using it for more than a year now.


Recently
A week ago, I discovered safety razors. I knew I saw them in old movies before, but I never thought that I would see people selling them at a pasar malam I visited. Hey, it was a cheap China-made $4 item and shiny. Who could resist that? Even if it was rubbish, it would still work well as a decorative item, right?

Shall talk about it after trying it out!