To separate the lazy/clumbersome from the wannabe-oldskoolers: shaving

[klutch]

I find the electrics pinch your ballsack too often to be practical.

 

[klankymen]

yoyoyoyo, dead thread bump going down here....

To all you Mach3 users out there, how often do you change the blades?

I was complaining to a friend that those shits are so expensive, gotta put new ones on every few weeks, and he was like "nah, that shit's made to last for months", but I thought hell no, after a couple of weeks I feel like they're cutting the crap out of me, and they feel dull....

I also use a single blade razor sometimes, of which I chuck out the blade after every use, but I'd at least expect the Mach 3 to last somewhat longer than that. Any definitive words?

 

[TC]

I replace mine every month or so. Buying the 8 pack of replacement blades isn't bad at $15 (USD anyway). You figure it's only about $2 a blade and it lasts you at least a couple weeks.

 

[klankymen]

Yeah, I buy my blades from the states.... you pay about 10 euros (13 usd) for a 4pack here X-D

Anyway, once a month, sounds about right to me.

 

[Jay]

I use a Mach 3 blade, and change it about every three weeks. Keep in mind that I only shave on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Also, I only shave my neck, since I am now bearded. But even before that, it was three days a week.

Besides the Mach 3, I highly recommend Neutrogena skin clearing shave cream and Neutrogena post shave lotion. I have very sensitive skin, and these products are wonderful. Plus, women dig the smell of the post shave lotion.

For the beard, I use a Wahl beard trimmer I bought for $15 at Target. Works great. It is essentially a 3/4 sized electric clipper.

 

[Whappeh]

It depends on my mood. I'll go months, if not years, with out shaving some times.

 

[toma_alimosh]

I change the blades every 2 weeks, otherwise they get so damn blunt you may as well bandage your whole fucking face.

 

[Strelok16]

I use a disposable blade gilette thingy, it works alright

I would use a straight razor though, if I had one. I heard they work really well once you learn to use them right. my razor always leaves some rough stubble spots on my face, no matter how hard I try to get rid of them, there is ALWAYS some fuzz left. A straight razor doesnt have those stupid rubber pads on it, so I figure it would work a lot better.

 

[NecroJoe]

The thing about electrics: You can't just use one a couple times to make a decision. It actually took me face like 3 weeks to get "used" to it. Also, once I got into the habit of using it frequently, that helped a lot.

With a razor, I can skip a day or two, and not look homeless. With an electric, I can only skip one, and by the end of that 2nd day, I'm borderline on work-appropriate appearance. But, with an electric, I would do a quick once over in a matter of a minute every day, and my face stayed smooth, and looked good. Just like shaving with a razor, the shorter the hair you're shaving off, the better shaving feels.

That being said, that was when I was clean shaven.

This is me more recently, but still before I had a method down. It looks much better now.

With a goatee, here's my tool kit:
I shave with a Mach 3 I have an electric trimmer with a depth-adapter for longer facial hair.
Here's the trimmer set I have, but I really only use the trimmer, and the larger adjustable-depth head.

I usually shave with just the Mach 3. If I've had a few days off, and my facial hair is a bit long, I don't try to shave it all off with just the razor. I use my trimmer without the depth adapter. It's basically like a very small hair clipper, and I use it to "knock down" the hair first. Doesn't take more than 20 seconds. Then, I go over it with the Mach 3 with shaving gel and I get a smooth shave without the tugging I'd have gotten if I had just done it over the longer hair.

For my facial hair, I use that same trimmer to shape the sides, then I use the longest setting (9) of the adaptor and "comb" through my facial hair with it. This can take a while as you kinda hafe to work through it in all different directions to get all the hair to feed through the grooves so it all gets trimmed. Then I pull the depth-head back off and trim my mustache free-hand. If I tried to trim my beard with a scissors, there's no way it's be even. It would look like a lawnmower fell on my face.

Sounds more complicated that it really is, but it works well for me.

If I were to go back to being clean shaven, I would go back to electric, but it would be a 3-ring deal, not the bars-across kind.

 

[73GMCSprint]

yoyoyoyo, dead thread bump going down here....

To all you Mach3 users out there, how often do you change the blades?

I generally shave twice a week with a Mach 3 and change the blades every 3 months. My facial hair is pretty coarse too. If you dry the blades after you're done shaving they last WAY longer. Before I started drying mine I was changing blades every month and a half, maybe 2 months.

 

[TC]

I like to use extremely hot water to heat the razor. Cuts like a hot knife through butter. Might help extend the life of the blades.

 

[Ottobon]

high quality Electric razor at 1/2 battery power shaves almost as well as close as disposable, but is quicker and more comfortable. Plus i can do it well driving.

When i have used disposable blades, the best lotion i ever found was designed for womans legs. Kind of made me think that mens hygiene products are actually a conspiracy.

 

[mgkdk]

Plus, women dig the smell of the post shave lotion.

Ewwww no, I hate lotion The only time I use lotion is if I have to be out in the sun for a longer period of time during the summer, and then I go 'ew ew ew ew' when I put it on

 

[fbc]

Blade change every couple of weeks for me - that's with using hot water, shaving oil & foam. Stupid fast-growing, thick stubble.

 

[darkshark0159]

This is my razor. Mach 3? Quatro? Fusion? Ha! Try the Quintippio. Talk about a close shave.

 

[Suedschleife]

Tried out many of the years and ended with disposable blades (Mach 3). Electric made me look like a lobster and straight blades required more maintenance than I was willing to do.

 

[ahpadt]

Using disposable blades, but can't shave more often than every 3 or 4 days, otherwise my skin start to itch.

 

[Crazyjeeper]

I use a Fusion, and I only shave weekly or bi-weekly (college, whee), so my blades last a really long ass time.

 

[tigger]

All I ever really use is a cheap Norelco trimmer. I generally hack a goatee or mutton chops or something even more ridiculous out of my annoyingly-fast-growing facial hair once a week. I don't have to shave daily for school or work ... so I don't.

When I used to actually shave, it was Mach 3 all the way. Blades only lasted me a few weeks, but I've never used an electric shaver that gets that close.

 

[NooDle]

razor blades FTMFW

A regular one, without 800 blades or vibrator included

with regards to the second question : about 3 weeks or so.
Depends on how lazy I am/often I shave. You can sort of tell if the blue bit at the top starts to fade, that it's time to get a new one