So I have to take a trip for work and I'm going to be gone for about 3 days. I have to shave everyday but I don't want to take my double edge razor and soap with me. I need to run to a local drug store today and just buy a cheap razor and some sort of cream or gel. Any recommendations on something I can pick up that won't cut me to shreds but we'll still give me a decent shave? I tried barbasol once and didn't really love it but I'm open to any suggestions on cheap razors and cream that might be available locally.
Best Cheap Drug Store Razor and Cream?
- Thread starter Shattered dreams
- Start date
Cremo. It is brushless and non-lathering, but very slick. Original with the red cap has a light citrus scent. Harry's cartridges were my go-to before DE. Not as efficient as Gillette fusion, but much cheaper and performed well.
The best widely-available cream, in the US anyway, is probably Gillette Pure, an excellent cream available in just about every drug store and grocery store. Runner up would be Kiss My Face, but it's not as easy to find. Neither of these is brushless, so if you don't want to pack a brush, Cremo is good.
If you had more time I'd suggest getting a Trac II handle from an online vendor and pick up some carts at the drug store, but if you're pressed for time, go with Harry's. The Trac II doesn't pivot, so it's more like the DE setup you're used to. I traveled with a Trac II when flying, and will again.
If you had more time I'd suggest getting a Trac II handle from an online vendor and pick up some carts at the drug store, but if you're pressed for time, go with Harry's. The Trac II doesn't pivot, so it's more like the DE setup you're used to. I traveled with a Trac II when flying, and will again.
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Cremo and a BIC Metal, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
- Thread starter
- #5
I've wondered about Bic metal. I've heard it mentioned here but I've never tried it.
For a razor, how about a Van Der Hagen De razor. Available in a lot of places now including local grocery stores and that giant retailer located in just about every city. If a DE is out, then I would just go with a BIC disposable.
For cream, I like the Cremo as well, or anything from Gillette (as much as it kills me to say that ..
)will work well.
For cream, I like the Cremo as well, or anything from Gillette (as much as it kills me to say that ..
)will work well.Is there a compelling reason why you can't take your regular razor and creme with you?
You know what.. for three days I'd be tempted to skip making a trip to the pharmacy for the razor/goo. (and... toss a 9% full can of goo after 3 days?)
I know some hotels (I'm thinking Holidays Inns, but ask) have a little placard in the bathrooms that say "if you forget something (comb, toothbrush, razor, toothpaste) come down to the lobby and we'll give it to you for free", go down and grab one, its most likely one of those one blade nonpivotting bic disposables, and if they have a little free shaving cream, grab it too.
"but... but its not a double edge and I'll get crummy shaves!" Just treat the bic as you would a de, use your knowledge and experience of good prep (hot shower), watching your angles, the tried tested and true things. Hop out of the shower, hand lather the shaving cream (or use the freebie hair conditioner, its slick and will work) and shave.
I beleive in you.
I know some hotels (I'm thinking Holidays Inns, but ask) have a little placard in the bathrooms that say "if you forget something (comb, toothbrush, razor, toothpaste) come down to the lobby and we'll give it to you for free", go down and grab one, its most likely one of those one blade nonpivotting bic disposables, and if they have a little free shaving cream, grab it too.
"but... but its not a double edge and I'll get crummy shaves!" Just treat the bic as you would a de, use your knowledge and experience of good prep (hot shower), watching your angles, the tried tested and true things. Hop out of the shower, hand lather the shaving cream (or use the freebie hair conditioner, its slick and will work) and shave.
I beleive in you.
Most likely TSA flight restrictions prohibiting DE blades in carry on luggage.
No hotel carries the single-bladed Bics. They have two-blade disposables that are truly horrid.
I agree with Harry's or a Bic single blade. For the software you can get a travel sized Foamy for a couple of bucks.
If there's a Walgreen's around, you can probably pick up a King C. Gillette DE razor, some blades, and some Cremo. Otherwise, if there's a Target, you could probably get a Van der Hagen DE razor, some blades, and some Cremo.
Of the two options above, the top one might be more expensive, but it'll probably also provide a better shave.
Of the two options above, the top one might be more expensive, but it'll probably also provide a better shave.
Also, while some people hate on shave butters, I use Pinaud Clubman shave butter whenever I need to get in a quick shave. It usually results in a DFS or at least a CCS.
I didn't read that the O/P said he was flying. Even if flying, he could check his luggage.
A disposable Bic and some canned Barbasol opened my eyes to DE shaving, way back in 2012. For years I'd used an electric, a Norelco most recently, but forgot to pack it when I bugged out for a hurricane. The shaves were the best I'd had in years. When I got back home I started researching DE shaving, and here I am now. The combo may surprise you.
Absolutely!
A BIC Sensitive single blade disposable razor is amazing. The feel of the shave, the angle of the shave is a lot like a fine DE razor. It is similar to an Old Type, in that you don't need much pressure, but if you apply enough you will get a very close shave, and maybe some nicks. And it doesn't have the swivel head, so you have real control on the face's curves.
The BIC Sensitive is a great transition for someone from octopus cartridges to DE shaving. And it is no sacrifice to substitute this for a DE shave.
Barbasol regular is an excellent shave mousse. The key is to shake it a lot, as in 5-10 seconds. The first few times you use it, the mousse might be kinda dry because of all the gas, so just throw out the stuff that come out first.
Some aficionados complain that shaving mousse is not slick enough. Solution: buy some glycerin soap and put a schmear on your face before the mousse. Problem solved. Also, the Barbasol Extra Moisturizer has lanolin in it, but it is rather dense.
The great thing about Barbasol, or WalMart Equate shaving mousse, is that there is NO SKIN IRRITATION, like some people report from shaving creams and soaps. This is especially true when you are using a first rate blade and razor, including the BIC Sensitive.
Washing your face beforehand with a soap that is non-irritating helps. An excellent choice is Neutrogena, one of the truly great soap bargains. And it lathers, so you could use it as a shaving soap, either lathering with your fingers or a brush. This is important to know because you really shouldn't go carrying canned aerosol shave mousse on a plane, as the propellant is flammable. If you don't believe me, a can and a lighter make a pretty powerful flame thrower!
I don't need to tell most of you about witch hazel. But did you know that witch hazel is a truly amazing topical treatment for mosquito bites? I read about this way back in my college days, and I've been using it ever since. It works. You should splash some on as soon as possible, and the itching will go away quickly. If you have to wait and hour or more, you will need to apply it twice.
These days, some drug stores don't have much fancy shaving supplies, like soaps and DE blades, but surely they will have Barbasol and BIC Sensitive razors. Neutrogena is harder to find. Dove Soap (the sensitive flavor) is a non-irritating soap, and also can build a lather that is good enough to shave with.
BIC single blade razors usually cost about 20 to 30 cents, each. This makes them the equivalent of 40 to 60 cents for a double edge blade, so they are no threat to DE blades on cost. But they are cheaper than an octopus razor.
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Sounds great, except for the $2,000 roundtrip airfare to Europe.
Haven't seen Palmolive shaving products or soap in stores in the U.S. for years (online, sure, you can find anything). Never even heard of Wilkinson Pronto. What is it?
Don't think you can buy Trak II in stores here, either (they disappeared in the 1980s), though I lived in a backwater area; online, yes. Saw them in India, though. I liked them when they came out in the early 1970s, and still like them better than octopus razors, but not enough to use them again. Paired with a tube of India's Vi-John shave cream and a horsehair shave brush, you get a very nice, inexpensive shave, India style.
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At least here in Germany Palmolive Classic foam, cream and stick are everywhere esp. supermarkets. To get the sensitive cream or foam you might have to get to a bigger supermarket (like Kaufland) or so.
Track II is called G II in Germany, and yes, you can still buy the blades in drugstores (no handles though).
Wilkinson Pronto are disposable single bladed razors which are absolutely ok for what they are (but without a pivoting head which seems to overburden most Germans). None the less, it is the most sold disposable razor in Germany. dm-drogerie markt - dauerhaft günstig online kaufen - https://www.dm.de/wilkinson-pronto-einwegrasierer-p4027800080106.html
Track II is called G II in Germany, and yes, you can still buy the blades in drugstores (no handles though).
Wilkinson Pronto are disposable single bladed razors which are absolutely ok for what they are (but without a pivoting head which seems to overburden most Germans). None the less, it is the most sold disposable razor in Germany. dm-drogerie markt - dauerhaft günstig online kaufen - https://www.dm.de/wilkinson-pronto-einwegrasierer-p4027800080106.html
Can you look on a package of the Wilkinson Protos and see where it is actually manufactured? It looks a lot like a BIC single blade, which are made in France.
I loved Wilkinson Bonded single blade razors. But the real Wilkinson is extinct -- just a stepchild brand name now.
(BTW, I noticed that "shaving foam" is "mousse" in French. That sounds a whole lot better than the derogatory language used by Americans for canned shaving cream on this site -- goop, etc. So now I call it mousse, which is what it looks like. While we're at it, we really should change "sour cream" to the French: "creme fraìche." )
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The Wilkinsons are all still made in Solingen, Germany to my knowledge (and that's onn the bag). Maybe they buy the plastic handles somewhere else?!
And yeah, shaving mousse sounds good. The Palmolive is indeed by far the best foam, ehm, mousse on the German market.
I thought that this stuff (Palmolive, Wilkinson) were on the shelves of supermarkets and drugstores worldwide.
And yeah, shaving mousse sounds good. The Palmolive is indeed by far the best foam, ehm, mousse on the German market.
I thought that this stuff (Palmolive, Wilkinson) were on the shelves of supermarkets and drugstores worldwide.
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