Is it Worth a Cheap Shave?

For years I have used my reliable Braun 8585 electric shaver for my morning routine. Every 18-months or so I would replace the shave heads and be on my way to a smooth face. However, Braun decided to change the design of the replacement shave heads and my shaver has been junk ever since. The new heads yank and pull at your hair, and even the older heads, when I have been able to locate them, somehow do not work the same. So I had fallen back to the old manual disposable razors.

For a good six-months or so I had a huge stockpile of all the name-brand, good quality shavers that I received as free samples over the years during various promotions. Once my stockpile ran out, I could not always justify dropping $2, 3, 4, or 5 on a disposable razor just because they were battery operated or came with 22 blades on each shaver.

Typically, I would head to Target and purchase the cheapest unit costs blade I could find. Yes, if you see me pulling out my iPhone to use the calculator, I am unit pricing items to see which is the best value.

So over the course of the past several months, I have been comparing several lower price-point disposable razors to determine which work best for me.

– Up & Up (Target) Triple Blades Sensitive
– Gillette Good News Plus Double Blades
– Dollar Shave Club

First up, the Target brand razors. Typically, we love the quality of Target brand products, especially when you pair them with a Target coupon. So I had my wife pick me up the bonus pack of Up & Up razors to try them out. I think the package we purchased had around 12 razors in it.

Day 1, nicks and horrible shave…pitch razor.
Day 2, nicks and horrible shave…pitch razor…I figure surely maybe it was just that particular razor, and I would try the next. They were all horrible. I did not go a day with out a scratched up face. [sarcasm]We are messing with a perfect face here, so we have to keep it beautiful.[/sarcasm]

Then I switched over to the Gillette Good News! Razors, 12-Count Bag. While slightly better than the Target versions, I still nicked myself with these razors practically with every one. The only good thing was the package came with a free Custom Plus 3 razor, which was a substantially better product. Could there really be that big of a difference between cheap and expensive razors?

About the time I got fed up with the Target and Gillette disposable razors, Groupon happened to run an exclusive affiliate only deal for Dollar Shave Club. The deal was for 60 dual-blade disposable razors with handle shipped for $15 ($9 for Groupon + $6 shipping) through Dollar Shave Club. The membership fee to Dollar Shave Club was waived as part of the Groupon promotion, bringing the cost per blade to $0.25 each. Could they be good at that price point?

Absolutely! The package arrived, and upon opening up the box, there was a nice presentation of the blades wrapped in orange tissue paper among black and silver filler material. I immediately tried one of the razor heads, and was really impressed. Honestly, it had been weeks since I had a clean shave that I did not have a nick or scratch from the other products. The Dollar Shave Club razors provided a clean shave and the lubrication strip provided a nice smooth finish. Did I really only pay $0.25 per blade?

The blades are meant for woman too, so I will have to get my wife to try them and see what she thinks.

The other nice thing about the Dollar Shave Club is they appear to be waiving the $9.99 membership fee on all packages for a limited time, including monthly all the way up to a 2-year plans. In addition, if you sign up for a 6-, 12-, or 24-month plan, with bulk shipping, there is no need to call and cancel. You will receive your shipment, and will only receive another shipment if you order a new package. Only monthly packages require you to cancel if you no longer wish to receive the product.

Q: What Happens Once My Plan Expires?
A: When your plan expires, you can sign up for a new plan, or you don’t have to and all monthly payments will cease.
You never have to pay another Membership Registration Fee, even if you don’t sign up for another plan right away.

I was totally skeptical at first, but overall am sold on the Dollar Shave Club product at this price point. The basic fact is the Dollar Shave Club blades got the job done, while savings me a boat load of money. So the answer is, yes, I can afford a cheap shave!