Between a manual razor be it cartridge or safety razor and one of those cordless shavers which can be used in the shower with gel or foam, which one will deliver a cleaner, more hygienic, and quite possibly more sterile shave on our face? Can any of you guys give me your opinion...? Im only asking because my husband isnt sure which one to go with.
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Manual razors vs cordless electric shavers
- Thread starter erikag
- Start date
@erikag I don't think many of us would encourage the use of shower gel to shave our faces, specifically because of the theme of this forum. I would suggest a safety razor would be the better choice because it would be much less likely to cut the hair below the skin and cause ingrown hairs. This would be in my opinion, it would be more hygienic than either the cartridge or the electric razor. I'm not certain it is possible to shave in a sterile manner, but with a good shaving soap or shaving cream you can accomplish this task better than with the standard grocery store shower gel. I suggest you check out the West Coast Shaving or Italian Barber websites to find a great selection of fine shaving soaps and safety razors. Take a look at a synthetic shaving brush as well.
Good luck to you
Good luck to you
This isn't usually a concern for people. If there is a reason micro-abrasions and bacteria are a true concern, I would think the best you can do is a safety razor with a synthetic brush. Load the brush in a bowl so the soap in the tub stays out of contact with the brush. And rinse the razor with blade in alcohol after each use.
I am not sure what is meant here by "hygenic" or "sterile". To me those terms lead me to beleive your husband has a specific reason to be worried about nicks, bleeding and/or potential infections. We have had many members/freinds over the years who have had open heart surgery and as part of their recovery they are instructed to avoid shaving with razors becasue of the increased bleeding risk. This leaves them with the only real "safe" option being an electric razor. When I worked in the open heart recovery unit it was common for the nurses to shave the men's faces with a Remington rechargeable razor. They would wash the head clean between uses but it was never sterilized using heat. I always found the idea a bit creepy but it illustrates the level of concern the Dr's and nurses had regarding shsaving with an electric razor. I would assume shaving in the shower with gel using an electric razor would be consider as 'safe' but as with anything used in the shower, if it is stored in the shower it will surely grow something unsavory. I would stick with dry shaving using a shaving powder if I were using an electric razor out of concern for hygene and infection control.
Using a Double edge safety razor or a single edge injector style razor can require a bit of a learnign curve but the benefits in terms of hygene are clear. The blades are cheap and can be changed frequently. The whole razor can be stored in or rinse in barbicide. While our members are more the brush and soap kind of guys, a good can of barbasol (the yellow can is good) can be serve your husband well, particularly if he adds a bit of water to the foam (we can provide more instruction on this topic if he is interested). Canned foam or a brushless cream would allow him to avoid using a brush if that bothered him but a nice synthetic brush can really up the game. Generally, synthetic brushes can be washed/rinsed well enough to remain hygenic but if a more 'sterile' brush is desired I imagine a short soak in Barbisol would do the trick. I would as @BarberDave about how he might treat a brush in this case.
In short. I recomend avoiding Gel, either go with a soap and brush or a quality canned foam with water added. Use a single edge anything, a single edge BIC cartridge is preferred over the multi blade razors (Mach 3's are also popular but I would try single edge first). Double edge or injector razors would be preferred. If he goes electric my personal experience is to stay dry and use a shaving powder. In my experience is is very difficult to get a good shave with an electric razor if you alternate between electric and blade, use one or the other.
Using a Double edge safety razor or a single edge injector style razor can require a bit of a learnign curve but the benefits in terms of hygene are clear. The blades are cheap and can be changed frequently. The whole razor can be stored in or rinse in barbicide. While our members are more the brush and soap kind of guys, a good can of barbasol (the yellow can is good) can be serve your husband well, particularly if he adds a bit of water to the foam (we can provide more instruction on this topic if he is interested). Canned foam or a brushless cream would allow him to avoid using a brush if that bothered him but a nice synthetic brush can really up the game. Generally, synthetic brushes can be washed/rinsed well enough to remain hygenic but if a more 'sterile' brush is desired I imagine a short soak in Barbisol would do the trick. I would as @BarberDave about how he might treat a brush in this case.
In short. I recomend avoiding Gel, either go with a soap and brush or a quality canned foam with water added. Use a single edge anything, a single edge BIC cartridge is preferred over the multi blade razors (Mach 3's are also popular but I would try single edge first). Double edge or injector razors would be preferred. If he goes electric my personal experience is to stay dry and use a shaving powder. In my experience is is very difficult to get a good shave with an electric razor if you alternate between electric and blade, use one or the other.