Next Mission: Razors

Recently, I've been feeling like my efforts to reduce plastic consumption have plateaued. Is this a good thing? Have I found my threshold or am I just getting lazy and complacent? Honestly, it is more likely the latter. Hence why I have made it a goal of mine this year to get back into action! Now, I have reduced a lot of plastic use across my life: I have more reusable cups than one person needs, I use shampoo bars, I buy loose fruit and veg, etc etc etc. So I had to look at what plastic I am still using.

There are still items in my food shop which contain plastic - pasta, rice, bread, etc - I recycle what I can but I honestly feel like I cannot change this until the alternative is readily available. Our closest packaging free store is in Shrewsbury and it feels counter intuitive to drive forty minutes each way for our weekly food shop. All the good I'd do with no packaging would be undone by our carbon footprint! So that is another mission for another time, I feel. (Unless anyone has any good tips! I am all ears.)

So what are the other major areas in my life where I can cut down on plastic?

I've known for a while now that I really need to ditch the disposable razor and replace it with a fancy pants safety razor. I've already canned the shaving foams in favour of just a bar of soap but I've been putting off switching because I still had razors, I can't justify the expense until I have a new job, excuse, excuse, excuse. I will admit, I am not terrible with my disposable razors (well, yes, I am terrible with them but not for wasteful reasons). A pack of four usually lasts me about a year because I use them for way longer than the recommended 6-9 uses. I use them until they are so blunt that they couldn't even slice butter. And I can rarely be bothered to shave my legs - especially in the winter!

Having said that, and please don't judge my disgusting habits, I am still creating waste and contributing to the massive weight of disposable razors going to landfill every year. While unemployed, I really can't justify the upfront cost of a safety razor or a subscription set but that doesn't mean I can't do some research! That way I will be ready to make the change as soon as I can! So hold tight folks, here is what I've found in case any of you are looking to make the change too. I live to make your lives easier. 

Your days are numbered razor!

INITIAL FINDINGS

There are lots of options and lots of helpful guides for using safety razors. Plastic Free Pantry have an easy to read guide with some handy dos and don'ts towards the end. As do Rockwell Razors, who have safety razors available to buy through their website. Peace With The Wild also have a post on razors, with awesome pirate themed soap and Shark branded blades! What all of these posts have in common is how to responsibly replace  and dispose of the blades in your safety razor. They recommend keeping a collection in a safe box over the course of 6-12 months before recycling them at a scrap yard. Just chucking the individual blades into your curbside recycling is dangerous for the bin men and they are too small to be recycled in those facilities.

They also stress that safety razors will take getting used to - there is no need to apply pressure like with the plastic counterparts. But mostly they say how great they are and how long they will last. And they talk about how they are so much better for the environment than disposable razors are. There is also a strong emphasis on how these razors suit both men and women, fighting the long standing view that these razors are for men and men alone. Women must have pretty pink razors because reasons. Excuse me while I roll my eyes.

One final point they make is how much more cost effective a safety razor is. Yes, it is a bigger upfront cost and there will be the cost of replacing blades, but being a much better quality product means the replacements will be less frequent. (Especially considering the way I shave!) Even so, it still works out cheaper than buying a pack of four disposable razors every few months. Because the safety razor should last you years, if not the rest of your life. Or for as long as you feel shaving is necessary. Honestly, this makes so much sense but we are so blinded by an upfront cheaper price which feels like the better deal - especially if it has the on offer yellow sticker. But we are fooling ourselves. It's a bit like the reusable sanitary towels, why spend £2/3 pounds every month, every year when you can spend £15 once every few years? There is a rant about capitalism in there somewhere.

Picture from Rockwell Razors

PRICES

The prices are a lot more varied than I was anticipating. I was expecting £25 minimum, hence the hesitation. But there are some cheaper options. Buying through the specific websites like Rockwell Razors and Plastic Freedom they are more expensive, starting at the £20 mark to whatever $150 is in pounds. Rockwell are an American company, so I wouldn't advise shopping through them unless US based - just think of the shipping costs! Still, they are very nice razors.

Wearth London offer a shaving kit, including a wooden handled razor, five spare blades, and a shaving soap bar for £26.99 which seems like really good value. Especially if ditching both the razor and the foam. They also have a few other boxsets with different materials on the handle - bamboo, wooden - for similar prices.

Peace with the Wild have a nice selection, including a rose gold razor set for ladies just in case you only want to fight the patriarchy a little bit. These are also the company who sell the Shark blades and the box is just the cutest! A few of the blog posts recommend using Astra blades, but for me I really feel like buying replacements will largely come down to price. Certainly to begin with. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to do a comparison at some point in the future.

Naturally, I have had a look on Amazon to compare prices. They have some from as little as £9.99 and big name brands like Wilkinson Sword. However, I am leaning more towards the independent company ones. The ones available for a tenner seem like they might fall apart on me! But that might just be a price bias working there. Buying a safety razor does feel like an investment, something I should spend a little extra on and have it last a lifetime. A tenner does not feel like an investment.

Mutiny razor set from Peace with the Wild

ALTERNATIVES

Subscription boxes seem all the rage at the moment. I get serious heart eyes over the stationery ones. And there seems to be a subscription box for just about everything! Food, books, bamboo toothbrushes! I've seen adverts for the Dollar Shave Club on various YouTube videos but their products seem to be plastic and have no safety razor option. Also, heavily advertised towards men. (Despite society deeming that women must be hairless at all times.)

There is, however, the shaving subscription FFS (Friction Free Shaving) which is for women, available in pretty pastel colours. It is a metal handled razor with detachable heads more like disposable razor heads. They do offer blade recycling, closing the loop and meaning the razor head won't end up in landfill. A large focus on this product does appear to be fighting the Pink Tax - that ridiculous notion that because a woman's razor is pink it therefore must cost more than a man's razor, despite it probably being an inferior product. Damn, we need to fight the patriarchy more!

My biggest hesitation with a subscription is all the extra stuff which I don't really feel I need. I have removed as much plastic from my bathroom as possible by switching to soap bars and homemade cosmetics. Do I really want to reintroduce plastic bottles which come part of a set, even if it is recyclable packaging? Probably not. What I liked about the safety razor boxets was that the "shaving foam" was a soap bar. As nice as it would be to exfoliate my legs prior to shaving then using a specially formulated shaving cream for minimum razor burns and finishing it off with a deeply enriching moisturiser, it all just seems a little unnecessary. Not to mention all the moisturisers I already have. I am set for life, even if I was a proper grown up and moisturised every day. (Spoiler alert, I moisturise after I shave and that is it!) 

I suppose the other alternative is to just go hairy. That would be sticking it to the patriarchy! But then I would miss out on that freshly shaved legs on clean bed sheets feeling - and we all know how awesome that is.

The FFS gift set.

THOUGHTS

When I do get around to buying a new, eco-friendly razor I am definitely leaning more towards the safety razor over the subscription box. Maybe save the money I would be happy spending on a razor subscription on a stationery one or something. (Especially if the foster dogs keep eating my pens!) As nice as the FFS products seem, I feel like a safety razor is going to fit my needs and lifestyle better. However, I am still a way off committing to a purchase and anything could happen in the mean time. I could stumble upon a safety razor subscription where they send out new blades. I could decide to screw shaving and become a gorilla lady. I could even lose both my legs in an horrific accident - although I would rather not!

Point is, I have time to think. Time to explore. And time to ruminate. (Which is just fancy for think, but a really good word.) And I would love to hear from you guys - what changes have you implemented for a more environmentally friendly shave? Any of you using any of the products I have mentioned? Are you using any I haven't mentioned?

I want to hear from you! So lemme know below.

Listening to: This Is Dua Lipa and This Is Alice Merton