Fix Our Earth: A Comprehensive Guide to Plastic-Free Shaving

BY: STEPHANIE LICCIARDI, GROUP FOR THE EAST END ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATE
FIX OUR EARTH

Traditional shaving is plastic-laden. You might use a plastic handle, plastic razor head, plastic packaging, and at least a plastic cover for your shaving cream can, if not a totally plastic tube. Between Plastic Free July and the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) planned for September 2020, it is a timely season to reduce plastic consumption in targeted areas of your life. If you are passionate about removing plastic trash from our shores, check out our previous blog post on conducting your own beach cleanup. This post will provide you with a range of plastic-free or reduced-plastic shaving alternatives that you can easily implement all at once or slowly over time.

The most convenient way to switch over your shaving routine is to buy a zero-waste kit from an eco-friendly store called Package Free. There is the safety razor kit for $40 and a pivoting head razor kit for $82. After considering the pros (basically everything) and cons (price) for a few months, I purchased the Pivoting Razor Zero Waste Kit and I haven’t looked back! Both kits come with an excellent shaving cream bar, replacement blades, a drawstring canvas bag, and the razor you choose.

How the Pivoting Head Razor Works
If you want to do your own research on the brand, Package Free includes The Leaf razor “The Essentials” pack in this kit.

The pivoting razor works just like the conventional drugstore ones, except you replace the blades instead of the entire razor head. When your blades are dull, you flip them around to the unused side. Once that side is also dull, you recycle the blades.

To recycle them, you collect them in an aluminum can and put them in regular recycling. Since some municipalities do not accept razor blades, another option is to collect yours and participate in Albatross’ blade take-back program.

Pivoting Razor Cost Breakdown
Want to know how a one-time $82 cost for the shaving kit has secured my shaving routine for 7 years? Separately, the razor is $79, the shave bar is $11, and the blade refill is $3. The $82 zero-waste kit comes with 30 double-edged blades. You snap these blades in half to use them, so you technically receive 60 edges. You can load the razor with one, two, or three blades depending on your preferences. I use three, so that gives me 20 replacements before I have to buy more. Don’t forget: the blades are made to be flipped around to the unused edge. Now, that’s 40 plastic disposable plastic razor head replacements eliminated from my waste stream. I have been using the same three blades for three months and will probably switch them out for a fresh set next month. If it always takes me four months to dull both sides of a blade set, then I’ll replace my blades three times a year. 20 sets of replacement blades divided by three replacements a year means that I will need to purchase new blades ($3 for 10 blades/20 edges) after about seven years. So, that’s how I spent $82 to secure my shaving routine until 2027.

The Safety Razor: A Lower-Cost Option
The safety razor is probably what your grandfather used to shave. It uses a single, exposed blade to remove hair and they range in price from $20 to $100+. Safety Razors provide a very close shave and they use the same double edged blades as the Leaf Razor. Since I have never used a safety razor, this thorough article on safety razors should provide you with all the information you need.

A Lower-Cost (but still plastic) Razor Option
For years, I used this Venus razor with built-in shaving cream (equal parts laziness and environmental concern). It eliminated the need for an extra disposable shaving cream bottle in my shower so it’s a better, but not perfect, alternative if you are not ready to purchase a zero-waste razor. The refill heads fit on any Venus razor, so there is no need to buy a new plastic handle if you already use that brand.

Shaving Cream
If you want to start slow, look into shaving cream alternatives. When I still used bottled hair conditioner, I put the tiniest bit on my legs/underarms to shave after the built-in shaving cream ran out on my razor head because the blades were still sharp after the moisture bars were finished. If you do this too, you will be assigning multiple uses to a single use product, thus reducing the amount of plastic clutter/waste in your shower.

You can purchase the Package Free Shave Soap Bar on its own for $11. As someone who is 110% lazy when it comes to shaving, using this bar has been painless. It’s moisturizing and I’ve gotten zero shaving cuts while using it.

Lush sells shaving creams in their black pots for $13-$14. Check out Lush’s recycled black pot program that ensures their packaging doesn’t end up in landfills or our waterways. Their solid conditioners are $12-$13 and I imagine you could use them as a plastic-free shaving cream alternative without any issue.

Final Thoughts
I love my Leaf razor. The replacement blades take up virtually no space in my bathroom. It provides a close shave and I don’t have to replace the blades as often as I had to when I used disposable razor heads. I don’t have to think about buying new blades until 2027!! I can’t imagine what my life will look like when I’m 30, but I know what my razor will look like!