Kira's Web-Treehouse for Plants 🌱

🪒 Safety Razors

for Transfems & Everyone Else Too!

I wrote this because I think a lot of folx end up using crappy disposable razors that don't work well and are quite expensive over time and generate a lot of waste!

what are these things?

• what is a safety razor? what makes it "safe"?
  • safety part seems to be this mechanism that holds a disposable razorblade [hold one up] in such a way that the part of the blade that is exposed
    • has no way to touch your skin without the guard in front of it pushing the skin down so it can't catch on the blade
    • show kinda how, if i just pushed an angled razorblade on my skin, it'd catch on the skin, ball it up, and slice into it
      • the safety razor prevents this balling-up of the skin from happening & holds it down flush so only the hairs stick out
        • this is MY interpretation based on MY examination; might not be accurate

what do i use?

• model of safety razor i use?
  • WEISHI Butterfly ($15)
• model of disposable razors i use?
  • Platinum Japanese Stainless Steel Double Razor Shaving Blades "for Men" ($10)
    • $0.20 / each, and each lasts for 3-4 uses
    • i buy one pack of these once / 2 years (!)

operation

• technique: just the weight of the razor press against your skin & lightly drag it down/across/against the grain
  • you CAN use more pressure, but no need
• i only use this in the shower
  • so i can use the warm water to open my pores
  • and also rinse accumulated hair off under the showerhead
• i find just warm water to be enough on most places; i've never used shaving cream with this _ though it might be beneficial for areas that are more sensitive (tummy & chest :()
• i find unscrewing the head a bit + running under showerhead makes cleaning off accumulated hair debris easier
  • mostly just noticing when hair bits build up in area above/below razor
• it's able to get quite a close shave, so depending on the area's sensitivity:
  • shave AGAINST the grain (closest shave; arms)
  • shave WITH the grain (farthest shave; genital area)
  • shave ACROSS the gain (medium shave; chest & tummy)
  • i built this sense just from experimentation & seeing what my body liked & didn't like
  • if i get razor burn after use, then that's a signal i need to get a less-close shave (or maybe try shaving cream)

safety

• the ways you can nick yourself (sides + "body corners")
  • note that i've never cut myself /w this thing except for the body corners
  • maybe also be careful if you have skin tags; i bet this could nick them
• this is why i don't use it on my more jiggly/fatty areas, like inner thighs (too much potential for body corner nicks imo)

where do i use it?

• hands
• arms
• chest
• tummy
• shoulders
• NOT face, NOT legs, NOT genitals area (too sensitive :( )

use & disposal of razorblades

• my skin is pretty sensitive, and usually i notice quickly which side of the blade feels courser than the other, so i tend to mostly use one side over the other, though end of up switching once 'the good side' gets more worn
  • sometimes you pull out a disposable razor that just kinda sucks a lot more than the others; i just chuck it
• q: when to replace disposable razor?
  • when it starts to feel kinda painful to shave, or i notice razor burn afterwards (i get red bumps)
  • my safety razor came with this plastic container
  • i keep my old razor blades in here
  • it's inside a plastic baggy in case any somehow slipped out
  • when it gets full, I shake-slide most of them out into something like a plastic water bottle, tape the lid down, and write a little warning in sharpie on masking tape to put on it

other tools i use

1. for my legs i use this trimmer, it's great not as close of a shave as a razor, but it takes like 10 minutes and no painful stubble, and short enough that you can't see what's left

2. for my face i use this tri-shaver thing (not sure what they are called) not as close of a shave as a razor, but it takes 3 minutes in the morning and it's never cut me, and is still pretty smooth. i bet a newer one (this thing is old) would give an even better shave