How do I sterilize a razor?
- Thread starter icedoverfire
- Start date
Why don't you do what my grandfather used to do? Always keep a large glass of scotch around and then you can just poor it over the razor and voila, sterilized. You might want to wipe it off the blade though. Scotch and open pores don't go well, unless the scotch is making it's way out.
When I was a teenager and had a slight case of acne my dermatologist told me to dip my Atra cartridge in rubbing alcohol before I used it. It seemed to help as I never got any razor caused infections.
Clayton
Clayton
I think a lot of the cleaning/sterilizing suggestions are a bit overboard. As others have pointed out, a DE razor doesn't need to be "sterile" since it doesn't touch your skin. To be honest, the blade doesn't really need to be "sterile" either, and most blades aren't. If they were, why would Personna make a special "med prep" blade that goes through extra sterilization procedures? You just need to be sure that the razor is relatively clean and somewhat sterile.
My procedure anytime I buy a new razor or sell one on the B/S/T is as follows:
1. Scrub with an old toothbrish using Dawn and/or Scrubbing Bubbles
2. Soak in a barbicide solution for 10 minutes (an isopropyl alcohol solution will also work)
3. Polish with Maas
4. Shave/ship
My procedure anytime I buy a new razor or sell one on the B/S/T is as follows:
1. Scrub with an old toothbrish using Dawn and/or Scrubbing Bubbles
2. Soak in a barbicide solution for 10 minutes (an isopropyl alcohol solution will also work)
3. Polish with Maas
4. Shave/ship
No offense intended, but there is no such thing as "somewhat sterile." Sterile is an all-or-nothing phenomenon.
I agree with the body and intent of your post, though. A clean razor is good enough.
While many of these cleaning procedures are wacky, other folks need to keep in mind that having an unreasonable fear of germs is very common, and is no picnic. It's the most common mild form of OCD in the world. It doesn't mean somebody is foolish, or overly-cautious in other aspects of their lives, or a some sort of a wuss. It just means they have a small issue. You don't like snakes? They don't like germs. Some folks seek counseling, others don't. I personally choose to manage my phobia on my own. My friends marvel at how the guy who's always with a different girl, or the guy who shook off the broken wrist in a bike race (and completed the course) feels compelled to wash his hands so much, or to carry around a small bottle of hand sanitizer (I call it crazy lotion, haha), or casually decline a bite of somebody else's food. It's not something I generally advertise, and the reason I chose to manage it on my own is because I feel it informs the rest of who I am... Which is somebody I'm pretty satisfied with. So lay off the germaphobes... Don't try and reason with them, phobias aren't caused by a lack of facts or misunderstanding of how something works. A phobia is an unreasonable fear, and that's it. I won't even print here what I'd do with a used razor... But it involves radiation gloves, an iron box, and a section of ocean with a depth of at least two miles, haha...
Ha, I suppose that "somewhat sterile" is akin to "a little bit pregnant." It was a poor choice of words, but yes, my point is that a "clean" razor is good enough, and that even a new razor and new blades aren't strictly sterile anyway (otherwise Personna med prep blades wouldn't cost twice as much as their lab use blades, which are exactly the same except for the sterilization).
You have my condolences. I highly doubt that most of the people on here that overly-sanitize their razors have any sort of unreasonable fear, though. Most people probably just go online and follow whatever cleaning procedures that come up on a Google search. In the end, though, how "clean" you want something to be is your own personal prerogative. If you want to soak your razor in boiling bleach for 24 hours before you use it, then more power to you.
I have my own personal limits when it comes to used shaving supplies. I will never buy a used brush, cream, or soap, because such products can't truly be sanitized. Others are comfortable buying these items used (and I have sold these products to others on the B/S/T), but I would never be comfortable doing so. To each his own.
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We actually aren't sterilizing our razors, cleaning with chemicals or boiling only sanitizes. Nothing is going to be totally germ free. Just curious to know if you guys sanitized your cartridge razors before you used them the first time. Being new doesn't mean they are as clean as you guys are trying to get the old DE razors. Remember they are made in a manufacturing plant.
Clayton
Clayton
I'm with you there. No problem cleaning up an old metal razor, but the other stuff...
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