As promised, I'm back on a mission to #DitchThePlastic in our bathrooms this week. Now, I'll admit this solution isn't 100% plastic-free (I'm still working on that), but it involves far less plastic than our previous set-up. You may remember a few years ago that there was significant uproar when women finally fell in that we were being fleeced with a "sexist surcharge" - i.e. being sold products specifically aimed at women (and therefore pink!) at inflated prices. One such product was the razor. Personally, I always used to buy men's razors because they were significantly cheaper, but the ridiculous amount of plastic that came with them bugged me no end.
So, I've got a new solution: the safety razor. I have a beautiful bamboo one from Bambaw but there are many different options out there. I'll admit, it's a pretty scary yet elegant thing to look at, but now I've got used to it, I find it's far kinder to my skin. The trick is to let the weight of the razor head do the work, and to take it sloooooow. Otherwise it may seem as though you've committed a gruesome murder in your bathroom.
Credit: Bambaw
The beauty of a safety razor is that it takes one single stainless-steel blade, which is completely recyclable. We have an old drinks can in my bathroom cabinet and just add the used blades to the can once they are completely blunt. Once the can is full, we'll just pop it in the recycling bin. But based on the rate in which we're getting through these blades, the same can will be in our cabinet for a few years to come as the blades seem to last far longer than "conventional" razor blades. Unfortunately the blades we have from Derby don't come in plastic-free packaging but I guess the plastic provides extra peace of mind when it comes to safety. They are viciously sharp and I would certainly hate for Izzy to get hold of them. That being said, a pack of 100 blades cost us a mere £9.99 so while there is still plastic in my bathroom cabinet, it'll be there a good long while yet. And to further save costs, Ben and I share the razor itself, just making sure to swap blades.
We've also switched to traditional shave cream and a brush - it lathers up beautifully and smells utterly divine. Again, the shave cream we're currently using is in plastic (from The Traditional Shaving Company) but there are several options out there for solid shaving bars that are meant to work just as well with traditional brushes. When we come to the end of our current supply, we'll be investigating some of these solid options and will report back. In the meantime, happy shaving (with the direction of hair growth!!).