Completely Unbiased Analysis of the Annual Cost of Shaving: Cartridge vs. DE

[Hoos]

At first I thought DE shaving would be cheaper; at first I actually believed it. It can be a cheaper way to shave, however, once I started getting into the variety of razors, soaps, creams A/S and colognes, the costs started mounting.

Now? It's all about the pleasure and indulgence of a good shave, a gourmet shave, as Leisureguys calls it. Hang the expense - I'm worth it.

You hit it right on the head!

If it were one razor, one blade type, and just one soap or cream, it really would be much more cost effective.

But, kind of like potato chips, who can stop with just one?

 

[r5cackus]

I must say this is a great thread. I have spent the last 6-7 months experimenting with different soaps/creams, razors, aftershaves, etc. but being a college student, am not at liberty to be financially burdened with my ADs. I've settled to 2 razors (one go-to, the other travel), 1 kind of blade, 1 brush, 1 soap, 2 aftershaves, and colognes I do not consider being a part of shaving regiment. There is so much out there I've tried, and more so yet to try, that I just can't afford right now. But long story short, I'm not going to be spending any money in the next 8 months for the best shaves I've ever had. Pretty cost-effective if you ask me. =]

That reminds me. I'm going to be selling what I don't need right now here shortly. A multitude of items, so keep an eye on B/S/T!

 

[jss]

"So, according to what I've decided to called POBME (Price of B&B Membership Equation) "

As I always say, there is no such thing as a free education....

 

[jss]

So, according to what I've decided to called POBME (Price of B&B Membership Equation) /QUOTE]

As I always say there is no such thing as free education....

 

[crocto]

i was thinking about this too. 1 fusion blade would last me a month and shaved every other day (just like now) so i would get 15 shaves out of 1 fusion blade. and a 4 pack would cost $15 bucks (or there abouts).

i can get a week out of 1 DE blade shaving every other day. cost is $1.99 for a 5 pack.

so not only do i get an extra blade i'm spending a ton less money. at least on blades. aftershaves and creams...i'd rather not talk about that.

also you aren't factoring in lost productiving due to hanging around the boards.

 

[tvphotog]

Nice job. I'm delighted to see the advantage to the blades, I had calculated just about the same differential.

Now that I've added my SBAD, it'll take a few years to amortize those expenses to have them come out better than Mach 3"s.

 

[spinyeel]

Cost was not a factor in me converting to traditional wet shaving.I just wanted a better shave.The fun factor in experimenting is priceless. Cheers Phil.

 

[JoePerri]

I agree that it is the hobby aspect that kills you. We all COULD just buy one razor, cheap blades, inexpensive soap & a brush and save a LOT of money. But most of us don't. We buy one, then two, then many razors, soaps, creams, brushes & accessories. I started this last August, bought a bunch of DE stuff then went to straights. Then I started looking for rare & custom razors. Once I pay for my Ellis custom I will have spent well over two thousand dollars in the first year. No savings here.

Joe

 

[blade08]

In theory, DE shaving is cheaper, for me and most others around here, its definitely not. Anyway, I don't really care for the costs

 

[SepticTank]

If you're DE'ing as a hobby - then that means you can allocate the costs to two budgets and perhaps avoid some handbag/shoe tax in the process

 

[maxpower]

Apples to Apples comparison, DE shaving is cheaper

Apples to Apples = owning one razor, using one blade brand, using one soap/cream using one bruch

I will use my case as an example. I have ever since beginning shaving used a brush and soap, but only recently started using a DE. My setup did not change dramatically between cartridge and DE shaving because most of the creams etc I was already aware of and I had already settled on my soap of choice.

So with all else equal, I can make a fair comparison, changing nothing but the DE for the cartridge, you save money, lots of money.

It is not DE shaving itself that is more expensive or less expensive. It is whether you choose to make shaving your hobby or not. If it remains merely a personal maintenance item (albeit an enjoyable one) then it IS much cheaper to use a DE instead of a cartridge. That of course is on a purely economic level.

If, however, shaving becomes your hobby, be prepared hobbies are expensive.

Good point!

I was shaving with the Fusion and ended up buying two or three different models before switching to DE. I also have an electric shaver

My DE setup is simple:

Lees Razor's brand (I know it was a rebrand) entry level badger brush $23
Merkur HD
100 Derbys at $12 shipped
A couple of packs of Feathers and Merkurs
Target $5 Latte cup/bowl
Soaps/creams that I haven't finished yet but own:
- AOS Lavender
- MWF (without bowl)
- Tabac soap with bowl and a refill
- Tabac stick with refill
- Proraso
- Nivea
- Palmolive
- and two Mama Bears on the way (when she gets back from vacation)

I either have or will soon be ahead with DE shaving. I am very happy with my razor/blade/brush setup. It is the soaps and creams that I need to watch out for.

Interesting thread. It was a fun read. Thanks for doing the math for us!

 

[clipperuk]

3. Electric razors(quick,deadly, and costly) Who doesn't love the smell of petroleum distillate on their face first thin gin the morning? led to the hardest amd mosr irritating of razor bumps,road rash. and razor burn. Mind you, they did an excellent job on my head-but it was my face I was most concerned with. Replacing the heads when they got dull was expensive. Also, if you kept it long enough, at some point you could no longer find the parts you needed to keep using it which led to an upgrade costing more money.

marty

Costly upgrade? USD 65 every 2 or 3 years?

 

[krawlx]

I think that for me, after cutting out the ADs, I do get cheaper shaves. I've only bought one item (Merkur Futur) this year and am working my way through the modest collection I acquired before that.

 

[vsp]

At first I thought DE shaving would be cheaper; at first I actually believed it. It can be a cheaper way to shave, however, once I started getting into the variety of razors, soaps, creams A/S and colognes, the costs started mounting.

Now? It's all about the pleasure and indulgence of a good shave, a gourmet shave, as Leisureguys calls it. Hang the expense - I'm worth it.

I said this on a similar post about a month ago too. All the creams, brushes, stands and stuff should really be left out of the comparison.

For most people, DE shaving introduced them to wet shaving as well. In other words, they realized that soaps/creams and a brush made their shaves much better.

A person (man, mostly ) can use a DE setup, canned goop and that's it. Or that person could use the brush, cream/soap, hot pot and all the paraphernalia and still shave with a Mach3/Fusion.

Most of the stuff that our ADs cause us to spend money on are actually orthogonal to the rig we use DE / Gillette multi-blade cartridge.

For a fair monetary comparison, in my opinion, only the razor and blade should be considered.

2 cents.

 

[sucuri]

I dont even want to go there. You add the cost of all the high end brushes, razors, creams and soaps and the "actual" cost of wet shaving with a DE is many times that of cartridge

 

[joelmole]

I'll do a little math work, taking into account fixed and recurring costs, and here I'm going to assume a pretty minimalist approach, just as a baseline scenario. This assumes face lathering, and that the cost of after shave is the same between the two.

DE Setup

Fixed costs:

$10 - Gillette Super Speed Razor

Recurring costs:

$0.019 per day - Crabtree and Evelyn BBB, $35, 5 year life span assumed
$0.040 per day - Derby blades, $.20, 5 day life span assumed
$0.063 per day - Tabac soap, $15, 8 month life span assumed

Total daily recurring cost: $0.122

5 year cost: $10 + ($0.122 * 1825) = $232.65

Cartridge Setup

Fixed costs:

$10 - Gillette Mach 3 Turbo Razor (set aside the fact that cartridge razors are more fragile and probably won't last forever)

Recurring costs:

$0.175 per day - Mach 3 Turbo blades, $1.75 a piece from Amazon, 10 day life span assumed (this may be way too generous, and that would have a huge impact on the final tally)
$0.162 per day - Edge Sensitive Skin Gel, $4.86 a piece from Amazon, 1 month life span assumed

Total daily recurring cost: $0.337

5 year cost: $10 + ($0.337 * 1825) = $625.03

Difference: $625.03 - $232.65 = $392.38

Monthly Difference: $392.38 / 60 = $6.54

This means that given these two particular setups, you could essentially spend $6.54 a month extra on non-essential shaving supplies per month and it would then break even to the cost of Mach 3 shaving. The math gets a little muddy if you spend this money on more consumables like shaving creams, soaps, blades and whatnot, because presumably you would use them along with your Tabac and Derbys, and essentially your daily recurring cost wouldn't rise in proportion to your extra expenditure, assuming your additional consumables give you roughly the same daily cost as Tabac soap and Derby blades. The math is a little more clear cut if you spend this surplus dough on non-essential additional items, like more razors, extra brushes, bowls, scuttles, etc.

Let me know if any of my costs or lifespan assumptions are inaccurate.

 

[huntmol]

Wow, awesome job joelmole! I hadn't thought about calculating a per day amount, and I really liked how you accounted for the Tabac & brush use.

 

[monkeyman]

One of my co-workers makes one fusion cartridge last a month! Most days when I see him he has at least a days growth on his face and even when he does shave, he has a lot of missed patches and irritation and it looks like crap.

Now the humourous thing is this....he thinks I'm the crazy one for turning to DE shaving. I've told him all about it but he just thinks it's too involved. All I know is going to work with a superior BBS shave everyday has boosted my self confidence. Can you really put a price on that? I'm in sales so more self confidence means more money in the end. More money I can use to buy more shaving gear.

 

[Shane]

If I were concerned about money then I would have found a much cheaper interest. However, I think that even with the monetary pitfalls that sometimes come with the acquisition disorders we have, the intrinsic benefits of a quality shave far outweigh the monetary cost.

 

[Eagle]

It's a nifty thought but I'm buying more now than I ever dreamed of even a few years ago. It's not wetshaving per se. It's hanging out at B&B listening to everyone rave about this and that (bits and bobs as one of our UK brothers puts it--I like that). I resist for a few days or a week, then a twitch sets in, then a need, then a burning desire until finally I'm clicking away more credit card dollars.

Just placed another order about a 1/2 hour ago w/ SCS as a matter of fact. Can't wait to get her new soap .