Why you SHOULD learn to Shave with a Single Blade

Today’s razor shaving has evolved into who can add the most blades to their razor. What if I told you that you don’t need 5 blades on your razor? If you could get a better shave with fewer blades and even better at a more affordable price, would you do it?

Our grandfathers used to shave with only a single blade. With that single blade, they could achieve some of the closest smoothest shaves. Let me introduce you to the art of wet shaving.

The Art of Wet Shaving

Wet shaving with a safety razor is a technique our grandfathers used to achieve great shaves. These safety razors only require a single blade to shave and would last several shaves before needing to exchange the blade for a new one.

The beginner wet shaver only needs some warm water, lather, shave bowl, and a safety razor to get started. Over the long term, wet shaving is very conservative in the amount of shaving cream and blades you’ll use.

There’s also a small learning curve. Things like learning to hold the safety razor at a 30-degree angle while shaving and tricks to get a better lather quicker. These little skills will be picked up easily so don’t let it turn you away from the idea of them.

Image: Black Lapel

Skin Sensitivity

You may have noticed we have a bigger problem with skin irritation and shaving today compared to times passed. This is because of the extra blades our razors have. You see, each razor counts as a pass across the skin with each stroke.

If your razor has 5 blades you’re getting 5 passes with a single stroke. Running a razor blade over your skin that many times with each stroke can quickly cause skin irritation. Most guys don’t even need that many passes to achieve a close shave.

With a safety razor, you’ll often make 2 passes to get a close shave. With those 2 passes, you’ll notice a closer and smoother shave compared to the many passes you’ll need to make with a modern designed razor. Not to even mention the hair clogging and other issues our modern razors run into.

With the need for fewer passes using a safety razor you greatly lower your risk of skin irritation. If you have sensitive skin moving over to wet shaving and safety razors could be the solution to your problem.

Image: HairBlog.org

Cost Effective

Take a moment and think about how much you spend on replacing razor heads. It’s no secret that buying razor refills isn’t cheap. They typically run you around $25 (£20) for 5 replacement heads. You may just be used to paying that and it may not seem unordinary.

Now compare that price to safety razors. You can buy 100 replacement blades for only $10. Plus, keep in mind each of these blades still gives you multiple shaves.

It’s a real no-brainer when it comes to the bare cost difference of these razors. If you’d like to save a lot of money on your shaving expenses, then consider changing over to shaving like your old man’s old man.

Hopefully, this article shed some light on wet shaving and safety razors. There are way more pros than cons to changing over and learning to use these razors.

Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought or if you’d like to share some of your tips for wet shaving. Thanks for reading!

Written by Wesley Oakes