If you shave your face with any sort of frequency (daily, every other day, weekly), chances are you use a multi-blade cartridge razor—a Gillette razor is what smart money would bet on. It’s the most common option for a reason. Cartridge razors are cheap, readily available, and easy to pick up new blades for (which frequently aren’t as cheap).
But if you’ve often found yourself suffering from razor bumps, ingrown hairs, or razor burn—all issues that come readily to those with coarse or thick hair—you might need a course correction. That is because multi-blade razors tend to cut too close. Or, well...It’s not that they cut too close; they cut too much.
By the time three to five blades track over a hair follicle, it’s underneath the outer layer of the skin. At that point, it’s simple mathematics that some of these hairs will not grow back perfectly straight out of your skin. They get stuck underneath your epidermis and cause those big, fat ingrown pimples.
Out in the world of shaving, there are single-blade razors, safety razors, multi-blade cartridge razors, hell, even electric razors. In the past decade or so, traditional single-blade razors, aka safety razors, have enjoyed a bit of a renaissance. These blades are particularly good for men with sensitive skin or that thick, coarse hair.
Safety razors, since they have only one blade, are able to shave close to the skin without going overboard. That comes with some risk. It is easier to cut yourself with, since the blade is sharp and unprotected by some of the features—like moisturizing bars—that you find in cartridge razors.
There’s also a pretty steep learning curve associated with them, particularly if you come from the cartridge-razor world. For those who put in the work and get the hang of it, many say a safety razor gives a far superior shave. And they do save you money in the long run.
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