Switched up my razor blade frequency after a barber convention demo
I was always the type to stretch my blades for a full week, thinking I was saving money. Then I saw this guy at the Chicago Barber Show last month do a side-by-side shave with a fresh blade on one side and a 3-day-old blade on the other. The difference was night and day - the old one tugged like crazy and left irritation, even though I thought it still felt sharp. He explained that micro-dulling happens faster than you think, especially with thicker hair. Now I swap after every 2 full head shaves, no exceptions. It costs me an extra $8 a month but my clients are way happier and I get fewer ingrown hair complaints. Has anyone else noticed a difference going fresh more often?
Yeah, I read something similar in a barbering trade journal a few years back that said blades lose their edge after about 45 minutes of actual cutting time. Makes sense with what you saw at that demo.
Wait hold on, that demo guy actually shaved half his face with an old blade in front of everyone? That sounds brutal to watch. I can feel the tug just thinking about it. I've been pushing my blades to like 5 or 6 shaves and convincing myself it's fine. Maybe I'm just used to the irritation at this point. Your $8 a month thing really puts it in perspective though, that's basically nothing for way happier clients.