As a lady, I like to have smooth legs. However, as a busy working mom… well, let’s just say that they aren’t as smooth as they were when I was on the dating scene. I recently heard about Dollar Shave Club and thought it sounded like a pretty cool concept.
You pick a razor, pay a monthly fee and they send them right to your door. You can do the monthly plan, where you get new blades every month. Or, you can do the “not so hairy plan” where you get blades every other month. You can also pause and resume anytime you want.
Oh, and they have this ridiculous commercial:
I laughed my butt off, so I figured I’d give them a try. Because, really… humor is how you get me. Just ask my husband.
There are three razors to choose from:
The nice people at Dollar Shave Club sent me a couple of their different razors to try out, the Executive and the 4x. And all in the name of a fun review… I made my husband try them too.
The Executive Razor
I had Travis try out the Executive razor first, because he had a super hairy face that needed to be bushwhacked. The Executive has 6 stainless steel blades per cartridge, a special trimmer edge and a wide rubber guard with wave fins to bring the hair up so that it gets a deep shave. This razor subscription gets you 4 cartridges each month, so you can change it out once a week.
My husband went in for his macho shaving routine and came out as smooth as a baby’s bottom. When I asked him his thoughts, they were pretty much “Holy Crap, I thought I was going to slice my face off!” Travis usually uses a Mach 3 razor, so this was literally DOUBLE the razor blades pointed at his cheeks! He was impressed at the close shave, but didn’t feel that the razor head offered him enough movement to get over his bumpy parts like moles.
The Executive Price: Is it worth it?
Travis usually buys the Gillette Mach 3 cartridges, which end up being about $3 per cartridge. The Executive razor cartridges for $9 per month, equal out to $2.25 per blade. So there is savings, on top of the convenience of having the razors sent right to your door.
The 4x Razor
Next up is the 4x razor, also called “The Lover’s Blade” because it’s good for the ladies too. The cartridge has 4 blades in it and it has a 90-degree pivot head that is good for turns and angles. The 4x package also gets you 4 cartridges each month, so you can change it out once a week.
Since this one is recommended for ladies, I grabbed it right out of the package and jumped in the shower. I’m actually quite lucky because my leg hair is very fine and light, so you really can’t see it unless you’re ALL up in my business. To give you an idea of my view of acceptable furriness… I typically shave my legs once a week and my underarms every other day.
Oh, and for comparison basis, here is what I usually use:
Yup, that’s a Bic Soleil razor — not the nicest razor out there, but it got the job done.
I tried the 4x razor out with the Shave Butter which is kind of similar to shaving your legs with some really nice conditioner. My first thoughts were, “Holy Crap, I’m going to slice my leg off!” The difference between the crappy razor and the Dollar Shave Club razor were immediately noticeable. The razor base felt quite substantial in my hand and the blade glided through the Shave Butter, like butter… just as advertised. And the shave was a super CLOSE shave. Even three or four days later and I could hardly feel any hair poking up at me.
Since Travis found the Executive a bit too rigid for his face, I snapped a new blade into the 4x base (sharing razor blades is not cool) and had him try this one too. After letting his face hair grow out for a few more days, he gave it a spin and said that the 4x was a little less scary than the Executive and still gave him an impressively super smooth shave. If forced to choose between the two by a nosey wife/blogger, he would pick the 4x.
The 4x Price: Is it worth it?
My Bic razors cost about $5 for 4 razors at Target, making them $1.25 per razor (assuming if I go to Target I’m JUST buying the razors and not also checking out the makeup section, the clothing, kids clothes, and um… a Frappuccino from the in-store Starbucks). The 4x razors cost $6 a month for 4 razors, making them $1.50 per razor. So, they are a little more expensive than I’m used to but MUCH better quality.
If I’m buying them just for myself I’d do the “not so hairy” package and pay $6 every other month. However, if Travis and I decide to share a subscription we would do the monthly version and still end up saving money.
All in all, we both really liked the Dollar Shave Club experience. It seems quite convenient and the products they are offering are really great. They even give you a special referral link where you can earn $5 for every friend who signs up, so you can actually shave for free.
Have you tried out Dollar Shave Club? Would you do a razor subscription service? How many blades is TOO many… I mean what’s next, a 19 bladed razor?!
Disclosure: I was provided Dollar Shave Club razors and Shave Butter to review; however all thoughts and opinions in this review are my own. If you choose to use my special referral link to click through and try Dollar Shave Club for yourself, I will receive a referral credit. My husband says ‘thank you’ for keeping my legs smooth.
Bic = BAD!!!! I’ve come close to cutting off my own leg with a Bic. Their pens are safer than their razors! I’m a Venus girl myself.
It’s funny, I never had an issue before with the cheapo razors. Now that I tried the fancy one, I’m kind of ruined though… =)
I should probably upgrade my razors. I’m extremely good at hacking myself to bits though, 4 blades does seem a bit frightening.
I thought 4 blades was pretty intimidating too… but it did a REALLY good job and I didn’t slice myself once. Granted, I was going a bit slower than normal!
I looked in to this a few months ago and debated about doing it. Then I read that you can order the razors directly from the factory site (Dorco) for even cheaper…so I did that. I’m a sucker for fun packages, so I miss that I didn’t get a fun set up and reorders every month, but I’ll survive. I think I got the 4x and it’s pretty good. I am usually a Venus girl too and I think those last longer, but when these new blades are cheap, I guess the point is to actually change them out!
Oooh, that’s a good idea to look into factory-direct ordering. I am absolutely guilty of not changing my blades out enough, so maybe this will actually keep me on track!
I come from hairy stock. I may need to look into this.
Hands-down favorite comment of THE WEEK! lol
🙂
Ya know, I get that sponsored posts are necessary at times, but a razor service review doesn’t interest me. I honestly didn’t even read it. No offense, maybe it’s just me?
Hi Gail – Actually, this post wasn’t sponsored. I reached out to Dollar Shave Club because I thought it was a cool concept and their commercial made me laugh. Sorry you didn’t find it interesting.