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reducing cost of skin care/hair care/bathing/shaving products

post #1 of 18
8/31/09 at 11:16pm
Thread Starter 
so today i had to go buy new razor cartridges and shaving cream, and i decided to reduce my shaving expenses by switching back to the mach 3 (had been using the fusion) and trying good old barbasol w/ aloe instead of spending another 30 bucks on art of shaving shaving cream. i have to say i'm pretty happy with the results. i forgot how much i liked the mach 3 from a design standpoint and the barbasol was great. i know people talk about it drying out your skin but i really don't see how it can since it isn't on long, i rinse thoroughly after shaving, and then i apply a moisturizer. this isn't the first change i've made. i also have started using neutrogena in place of anthony logistics for a number of products and i've stopped using bumble and bumble shampoo. anyone else enjoying reducing their expenses in these areas? have a go to reasonably priced product that everyone should know about? or am i just turning cheap?
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post #2 of 18
8/31/09 at 11:21pm
how much shaving cream are you using. also just buy a large thing of 'kiss my face' stuff. costs like $12 and you're GTG For liek 6 months
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post #3 of 18
10/3/09 at 5:48am
I got rid of all the products that were in my shower and replaced them with one bottle of hemp-tea tree castille soap and I am very pleased with the results.
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post #4 of 18
10/3/09 at 5:20pm
Have you considered using a shaving brush and shaving soap? Those will last you a few decent years.

I'm using Van Der Hagen's glycerin shave soap, costs just $2 online.

I'll never go back to using shaving cream again.
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post #5 of 18
10/3/09 at 6:35pm
Ditch the cartridges and start shaving with a safety razor! A lot cheaper until you get hooked and start buying all kinds of things..
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post #6 of 18
10/3/09 at 6:39pm
My advice: Do what your grandpa did. He knew better than you.

That means shaving soap and brush, shaving oils and double edge safety razor.

shaving soap has an expensive up front cost ($15 ish) but last forever. Way better than walmart foam shit. Also, you can use a double edge razor like a man. Blades are 10 cents each. A blade can last you about a week, mach 3? $20 for what 8 blades?

Also, no need to wash your hair every day. Your shampoo will go twice as far. But please use deodorant daily. Oh and poop before you shower, eliminate toilet paper. Wait wut?
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post #7 of 18
10/3/09 at 7:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Davidko19 View Post
My advice: Do what your grandpa did. He knew better than you.

That means shaving soap and brush, shaving oils and double edge safety razor.

shaving soap has an expensive up front cost ($15 ish) but last forever. Way better than walmart foam shit. Also, you can use a double edge razor like a man. Blades are 10 cents each. A blade can last you about a week, mach 3? $20 for what 8 blades?

Also, no need to wash your hair every day. Your shampoo will go twice as far. But please use deodorant daily. Oh and poop before you shower, eliminate toilet paper. Wait wut?

A nice brush alone will cost $50+

I went safety razor route thinking I was going to save money, but actually ended up spending a ton. Fun new hobby though! And the vintage razors I have bought can be resold for what I paid
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post #8 of 18
10/3/09 at 7:09pm
If you go with a straight you have a high up-front cost (maybe), but no more blades needed - ever. Keeping it sharp requires a strop (old harness belt would work here), and some green chrome paste (which is rather cheap). A hard soap like Tabac is a bit spendy but will last you a good while. And a good badger brush will last years. Boar works almost as well and is significantly cheaper.
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post #9 of 18
10/3/09 at 8:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cavalier View Post
A nice brush alone will cost $50+

I went safety razor route thinking I was going to save money, but actually ended up spending a ton. Fun new hobby though! And the vintage razors I have bought can be resold for what I paid

http://www.amazon.com/Tweezerman-280...4612756&sr=8-1

My brush. Works fine. Not planning to upgrade for a nice long time. Razor was 23 bucks off ebay. Soap can be had pretty cheaply (I stick to proraso which is about 12 bucks for a tub that lasts forever) and blades at 15 bucks for 200. Not that expensive if you restrain yourself and don't get sucked in by product hype. The difference you will see between a 12 dollar soap and a 35 dollar one is minimal compared to the difference you see when moving from wally world junk to a proper soap so start with the cheap stuff.
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post #10 of 18
10/3/09 at 8:43pm
+1 on the DE Safety Razor. I started up with this a few months back (in large part because of a SF thread). The initial outlay can be as high or low as you want but either way you will save money in the end. You can get a decent Razor for $10-20 and a Badger Brush for $25 on the bay. Soap/cream is in the $5 or $10 range and should last 5-6 months. Blades are about 25 cents each and should last a week. Once you get the Razor and Brush the annual outlay is under $20 a year.

What's cool though is that shaving has become a daily event that I look forward to. That nice fresh scented soap and no more irritation/cuts "trying to get one more shave" out of a dull razor.
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post #11 of 18
10/3/09 at 9:06pm
Oh and do please get the sampler pack from West Coast Shaving. If you don't you could end up with a blade that ruins your face and give up when the only problem with your DE setup was that your blade wasn't right for your face.
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post #12 of 18
10/3/09 at 9:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by js4design View Post
so today i had to go buy new razor cartridges and shaving cream, and i decided to reduce my shaving expenses by switching back to the mach 3 (had been using the fusion) and trying good old barbasol w/ aloe instead of spending another 30 bucks on art of shaving shaving cream. i have to say i'm pretty happy with the results. i forgot how much i liked the mach 3 from a design standpoint and the barbasol was great. i know people talk about it drying out your skin but i really don't see how it can since it isn't on long, i rinse thoroughly after shaving, and then i apply a moisturizer. this isn't the first change i've made. i also have started using neutrogena in place of anthony logistics for a number of products and i've stopped using bumble and bumble shampoo. anyone else enjoying reducing their expenses in these areas? have a go to reasonably priced product that everyone should know about? or am i just turning cheap?

DE safety razor - merkur classic can be had for about $25 and is an excellent razor. the cost of the blades is virtually nil. col. conk shaving soap can be bought for $3, and has pretty good ratings even compared to the $20 soaps. use a coffee mug or something to hold it in, you dont need a shaving soap bowl or holder. The brush another user posted above is going for $12, and also get's good reviews on badger & blade. so... you will have invested $40, which will last you years...and you will have a better shave.

one of the best facewashes you can use is cetaphil, which isn't expensive. so this shouldnt pose a problem. $8 per bottle i think?

giovanni makes good shampoo's and conditioners. sulfate free, and goes for about $8 a bottle.
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post #13 of 18
10/4/09 at 12:21pm
Thanks for pointing out that brush! I have been using the free ones from Art of Shaving and need to upgrade (but was hesitant at the prices I saw!)
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post #14 of 18
10/5/09 at 3:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Faded501s View Post
. Soap/cream is in the $5 or $10 range and should last 5-6 months.

Which soap/cream can be had for that price and last that long ? I was looking at mamma bear soaps but those don't appear to last that long. I minumum requirement would be for it to contain glycerin.
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post #15 of 18
10/5/09 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hboogz View Post
Which soap/cream can be had for that price and last that long ? I was looking at mamma bear soaps but those don't appear to last that long. I minumum requirement would be for it to contain glycerin.

ive had a disc of tabac for about a month and it doesnt even look like any of its been used so far. It was maybe like 12-15 bucks but I fully expect it to last 6+ months. Do the math: edge gel $4 can lasts a month and sucks. High quality disc $15, lasts at least half a year and works waaay better
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