Barbicide - alternatives

[Tanmay Jha]

Hi gents,

I was trying to purchase a 16 oz bottle of barbicide to disinfect an incoming used razor from BST but it looks like its out of stock everywhere from Sally’s to local beauty supply stores. All of them haven’t seen that size since March. I don’t want to get the bigger 64oz bottle because this is a one time thing (I use soap/rubbing alcohol usually for razors I already own). Any recommendations on alternatives that will kill the bad stuff like Hep B/C, staph, HIV etc?

Thanks!

 

[Darkknight79]

Cavicide, we use it in the lab, however it may be more difficult to source than Barbacide.

 

[Chevyguy]

Hi gents,

I was trying to purchase a 16 oz bottle of barbicide to disinfect an incoming used razor from BST but it looks like its out of stock everywhere from Sally’s to local beauty supply stores. All of them haven’t seen that size since March. I don’t want to get the bigger 64oz bottle because this is a one time thing (I use soap/rubbing alcohol usually for razors I already own). Any recommendations on alternatives that will kill the bad stuff like Hep B/C, staph, HIV etc?

Thanks!

Scrubbing Bubbles, or any bathroom cleaner that kills viruses will work. Disinfectant for electric hair clippers will work too. Sally's sells Clippercide along with a few others.

Clayton

Sent from my SM-A705U using Tapatalk

 

[ajkel64]

Over here in Australia I use Dettol disinfectant. Never used Barbicide. Once you wash the razor in Scrubbing Bubbles you should be okay as I think that it is a disinfectant and cleaner. I just bathe the razor in a diluted solution of Dettol as I found that a too stronger solution made the razor sticky to the touch.

 

[Tanmay Jha]

Cavicide, we use it in the lab, however it may be more difficult to source than Barbacide.

Awesome, thanks! I bought a 24 oz spray bottle online for Cavicide

 

[Scaramouche]

A useful chart for purposes discussed:

 

[Frank Shaves]

@Tanmay Jha, you should have a look at:

Safety razor maintenance

Cleaning Safety RazorsYou've recently picked up an old razor at the local flea market or antique mall. How do you clean it?

www.badgerandblade.com

Turns out that Barbicide contains the quaternary ammonium compound alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.

I ran into a similar issue during the beginning of the pandemic and ended up using Lysol Clean & Fresh Multi-Surface Liquid Cleaner which also contains the quaternary ammonium compound alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.

Another product worth looking for is Lysol Disinfectant Concentrate Original Scent which contains the phenolic o-benzyl-p-chorophenol.

 

[Tanmay Jha]

Scrubbing Bubbles, or any bathroom cleaner that kills viruses will work. Disinfectant for electric hair clippers will work too. Sally's sells Clippercide along with a few others.

Clayton

Sent from my SM-A705U using Tapatalk

Thanks Clayton. I am not 100% sure if household bathroom cleaners are meant to kill off viruses like HCV/HBV, so I was looking for something to use in addition to scrubbing bubbles. Granted, this is probably overkill given the low chance that the razor is actually contaminated, but never hurts to get some good recommendations

 

[Tanmay Jha]

A useful chart for purposes discussed:

View attachment 1201227

Super useful, thanks!

 

[Tanmay Jha]

@Tanmay Jha, you should have a look at:

Safety razor maintenance

Cleaning Safety RazorsYou've recently picked up an old razor at the local flea market or antique mall. How do you clean it?

www.badgerandblade.com

Turns out that Barbicide contains the quaternary ammonium compound alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.

I ran into a similar issue during the beginning of the pandemic and ended up using Lysol Clean & Fresh Multi-Surface Liquid Cleaner which also contains the quaternary ammonium compound alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.

Another product worth looking for is Lysol Disinfectant Concentrate Original Scent which contains the phenolic o-benzyl-p-chorophenol.

Quite useful, thanks! I normally would have just used soap and rubbing alcohol and called it a day, but then I started googling and it seems like those dont get rid of specific bad viruses like HCV/HBV. The perils of googling too much

 

[Roedeer]

For used all stainless steel 3 piece DEs, I took one to bits (to avoid any expansion stresses) and boiled it for half an hour.

I don't think anything except prions can get through that.

 

[woodwzrd]

A useful chart for purposes discussed:

View attachment 1201227

So, according to this chart the high level bleach soak should about kill it all. At least what is of concern for the OP right?

 

[Scaramouche]

For used all stainless steel 3 piece DEs, I took one to bits (to avoid any expansion stresses) and boiled it for half an hour.

I don't think anything except prions can get through that.

Actually, most bacterial endospores can survive boiling water for some time - up to 20+ hours. For practical general disinfection purposes though, boiling water for 10 minutes or so works just fine at killing a majority of pathogens. Not recommended for plastics, plated finishes, or natural products though, so limited utility.

 

[Scaramouche]

So, according to this chart the high level bleach soak should about kill it all. At least what is of concern for the OP right?

With the exception of bacterial spores, yes, however bleach is corrosive, caustic to skin and reactive with many metals, as well as causing permanent discoloration in many materials. Absolutely to be avoided with aluminum or plated metals, or high-carbon steel, or many plastics and natural materials. Contact time matters with most disinfectants, but particularly with bleach - desired therapeutic effect and permanent damage have a narrow margin of error using bleach. Most shaving razors (not blades) would fall into the non-critical category, so would only require low-level disinfecting, if that. Razors in general, with the possible exception of straights from unknown sources, only need routine cleaning with hot water and soap, and disinfection (if you just want to be thorough) with a fairly innocuous disinfectant like Barbicide before use. New razors don't really require anything. Lots of forum material if you search, and multiple points of view, but you are unlikely in general to acquire a lethal or even dangerous infection from an average safety razor in normal use, exceptions always possible.

 

[Tanuki]

I use Salon Care from Sally's. You can get a much smaller bottle than 16 oz.

 

[hairless wonder]

It looks like you're really concerned about killing viruses. IIRC, in junior high we learned that chlorine can kill viruses. IIRC, one of the reasons that folks weren't concerned about the possibility of Greg Louganis transmitting HIV to other divers after he hit his head on the diving platform in the 1988 Olympics was because the pool was chlorinated. If that is the case, maybe a little freshly chlorinated pool water could do the trick?

 

[BobbyB]

I clean and rinse my razor in VERY HOT water, and then, dip into a small container of rubbing alcohol.

 

[Chevyguy]

It looks like you're really concerned about killing viruses. IIRC, in junior high we learned that chlorine can kill viruses. IIRC, one of the reasons that folks weren't concerned about the possibility of Greg Louganis transmitting HIV to other divers after he hit his head on the diving platform in the 1988 Olympics was because the pool was chlorinated. If that is the case, maybe a little freshly chlorinated pool water could do the trick?

There is no need to use bleach. Soap, and water, and a good anti-viral bathroom cleaner will take care of the cleaning. I've seen quite a few razors get destroyed over the last few years of being on the forum. How often do you disinfect your toothbrush that's sitting on the vanity countertop in your bathroom. When I buy a used razor I clean it with an old toothbrush after I spray it down with Scrubbing Bubbles, or Lysol. I let the cleaning solution set on the surface for 10 minutes before I start scrubbing. Afterwards the razor get's a good rinse under hot tap water and then dried off. Most blood borne pathogens die within hours of being outside the body. So as long as you're not sharing a razor with a stranger I think you're going to be ok.

Clayton

Sent from my SM-A705U using Tapatalk

 

[Furex]

@Scaramouche great posts!

The semi-critical row only covers "straight razor handles", and not shavette heads: that seems a weird omission.

While I was looking for the source of the table, I came across this page which gives more or less the same instructions for handles and heads, though.

Hairdressing and Barbering - Infection Prevention and Control

Updated 2013

www.toronto.ca

FWIW I have personally have used with success (=not ruining the razors) high temperature water baths (95+ Celsius) with dish soap and quaternary ammonium disinfectants, followed by alcohol.

As far as I could ascertain through web searches, that should have taken care of major threats; it may sound like a belt and suspenders approach, however, at the end of the day, better safe(r) than sorry. Not all materials will pass through those treatments unscathed.

I'm not routinely tested for assorted diseases and viruses, so the fact that I'm still alive and seemingly in decent health, doesn't mean anything, but there you go.

 

[baldbarberbrian]

I’m late to the party, but you can find barbicide on appletonbarbersupply.com