1. Don't shave. Grow a wild and wooly beard.

2. Electric clippers. For that permanent five o'clock shadow look.

3. Electric shaver. Easy.

4. Cartridge + foam. Smooth.

5. Double edge safety razor. Very smooth. Requires some skill.

6. Straight edge razor. Super smooth? No idea personally.

7. Laser. Also no idea personally.

What this article completely misses, is that there are more than two options.

I personally switch it up depending on what I am doing that day.

There is no right way to shave.

But sure, they do last forever.

These were the inexpensive mail-order discount razors and the special shave butter they advertised, I forget the name of the company but it was the first one I was aware of that bypassed the Gilette racket by doing everything via mail. (edit- DollarShaveClub?)

Smooth or not, I'm sticking with my electric razor.

I'd say it gets very very close to a manual razor in terms of smoothness.

I’ve never replaced any heads on my shavers either. I lose them before that.

I got a cheap one sub 20 and it lasted 3 months.

I tried getting a wired one hoping it will last a bit longer.

It may just be me, my hair is really hard.

The most convenient thing was a Gillette Styler that would last for I can't count how many months, but was ultimately disposable. I later found a MINISO brand that was less than half the cost that was rechargeable with only minimal paper packaging. Not as close but good enough. Ultimately it's disposable too but I'm still on my first one.

I'm in the electric clippers camp personally. A good model can easily last you 10+ years and keeps my dry skill happier. I'm lucky they are still easy to find. Good luck finding a straight razor in your local shops if that's what you're into though.

While I don't think they require as much skill as people think, they are a bit harsh IMO. Some people probably can shave daily with them, but when I tried it was pretty rough on my skin.

Edit: Well I got the Merkur 34C after 23 minutes of research.

Ha, it is for permanent hair removal. Might be good for the upper cheeks, not sure.

Also, as you get older, your ears.

Also protects others from my bad breath, or recycles the chocolate smell. :-D

Depends on where you go. The various DE/SE subreddits it absolutely is.

For me, and many many others who have tried both, eg in the subreddit for DE shaving, DE is much better for a) your skin and b) getting a close shave.

Your hair doesn’t need 4 blades running across it. It just needs one sharp blade over it.

Fair it may take one or two shaves to “get used” to the new way of shaving but that is only because most people start on 4-blade.

However, the real trick is to get the eos brand sensitive shaving cream with shea butter and colloidal oatmeal. It might be marketed for ladies, but it's way better than anything you could waste your life whipping up with a brush.

I simply apply ordinary soap to my face with my hands when I shave with my double-edged razor.

It works just fine.

Soap is, indeed, “good enough”. But for a minimal investment you can buy the shaving soap cakes, cup, and a shaving brush. Way cheaper than the stuff in a can, a little more luxurious than hand soap.

    >but shaving with 4-blade cartridge designed for easy shaving is still 'miles' ahead compared to shaving with double-edged razor

I actually tried switching to a straight razor. Found it requires a lot more skill than I'm willing to put in to learning. But it appeals to me as the ultimate in reusability.

The double edge safety razor is so much easier to clean out.

For me shaving with DE razor is miles ahead in comfort over cartridge

Yes, and, as I probably haven't said, I've been doin' it for 'years', and I do have a favorite soap/razor brand/razor handle... you name it... And I rarely ever (1/10 prob) get cuts, and the end result _is_ better, purely quality wise (double-edged razor is just sharper and can access spots, like under your nose, that 4-blade razor, let's say it's 4-blade, just can not).

My point is that after a while, you realize that you can get 80/90% of the quality with less than 20% of time invested. (Un)fortunately enough, the calculation is not that simple. You need to include the money factor, the frequency of shaving factor, the energy/focus factor (you can't just shave using a double-edged razor at 6am with your eyes still half way closed, and also expect no to cut yourself; you just can't, no matter how experienced you are - it is still 'razor' sharp :), with next to no safeguards, depending on your razor handle)... And I get that in many cases, the money factor is more (or the most) important, but you still can't just ignore all other factors.

That said, I strongly believe that modern 4-blade cartridges can/should be less expensive.

Also, I have next to no experience with electric razors, so take that into consideration. (Also, if anyone knows some electric razor model/brand that is well worth the money, I will really appreciate the suggestion)

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-electric-raz...

I have sensitive skin and a fresh DE blade cuts better with just water than a cartridge razor because it's sharper.

But before I got a DE razor, as an outsider, I also assumed you needed to take shaving seriously and be an accessories guy to use one, and thankfully it's just not true.

This is what I fretted over to no end before I actually tried shaving with a double-edged razor.

Turns out I needn't have worried, as shaving with a double-edged razor turned out to be exactly the same as shaving with a cartridge razor.

No special techniques needed.

"Look at the reddit groups with everyone having some favorite brush or soap lather."

All that stuff is completely unnecessary.

I just lather up some ordinary soap with my hands and smear it on my face before shaving with my double-edged razor and it works great. No need for any fancy equipment, creams, brushes, pre/after-shave, etc.

Better yet, don’t look. Just because dweebs want to spend their time fluffing their feathers in front of other shaving dweebs doesn’t mean that any of that is required. (And if shaving accessories is your schtick, go with my blessing as I tend to my own dweebery.)

And the first few times I shaved with a DE safety razor, it went fine. It’s a safety razor, not a straight razor, what are people expecting to happen?

This is interesting too, because it worked for me on the first / second try. Didn't have any learning curve at all. And I didn't use any fancy foam or anything. Just a regular cheap ~$2 foam / gel from the supermarket

For 4-5 months of the year (summer) I shave my head 2x or 3x a week, and I don't understand this comment. How are cartridge razors more convenient than safety razors?

Safety razors are just hands down better, IMO. It's a more comfortable shave (depending on the blade), the blades can be bought in bulk for $0.05 cents each, they take less than 30 seconds to change out, they last longer than cartridges, and there's no plastic waste.

Also, I fully agree with the price factor - they are less expensive, and as a bonus there is no plastic waste (at least in most cases, depending on the packaging of your razor blades). But that was not my point.

That said, I don't work for Gillette (or any related company), and don't get commission for saying any of this (this is all just 'IMO' type of comment), and apart from anecdotal evidence (I've had multiple conversations with people with 20+ years of shaving experience, using both 4-blade razors and double-edged razors, and they all, more or less, share my opinion) I can't really provide any data (maybe I could try to find some, but I don't care about this topic 'that' much).

I hope that this clarifies my previous comment.

Perhaps my hair is just soft, and I suspect it is, but I started out taking 10-15 minutes and now I can do a quick shave in 5.

It lasts longer, it’s cheaper, and easier on my skin — I break out less often.