Shaving, Waxing and Hair Removal. Frugal tips techniques and help. Money saving ideas.
This site inspired by the news group: misc.consumers.frugal-living
Yet another way women are ripped off for pretty colors and fancy smells. Also, > men's shaving cream/foam is much cheaper (lasts longer too IMO) if you don't > mind the manly scent. that's why i use LIME-scented shaving cream or baby oil when i shave at all. baby oil is good for softening really tough hair... Tip # 4: Mount a mirror in your shower. Wash your face & hair...rinse. Put on shaving cream...finish washing rest of body. By that time beard is nice and soft ! I have a medium beard and only go through 2 - 3 blades a year ! Downside...you cut yourself for the first 2 - 3 weeks. :*( BE CAREFUL ! ! ! -- Frugal razor tip #2: my friend told me that blades for the ladies >Sensor Excel cost several dollars more per pack than the men's do. >But aha! the men's blades fit the ladies razor. So if you don't mind >a lack of colour-coordination in your razor, there you go.
Yet another way women are ripped off for pretty colors and fancy smells. Also, men's shaving cream/foam is much cheaper (lasts longer too IMO) if you don't mind the manly scent. Waxing is DEFINITELY one of those YMMV things. Some people find it incredibly painful, others think it's no big deal. If you have sensitive skin, it may also cause redness and irritation. I also think it depends on what "kind" of hair you have. My hair, evidently, is very tough to pull out. Even when I had waxing done at a salon, typically only half of the hairs would come out at a time, the rest would pull and then not come out. So to get 90% of the hair out, I have to wax three or four times, and then pluck or shave the rest. It does last longer, although "longer" is also relative, mine starts growing back in about a week. But, it's worth trying, you can heat up hot wax in the microwave (but be careful!) so it's quite a bit easier than when you used to have to heat it up in boiling water.
Lynnette Schatten (lynne@glue.umd.edu) wrote: : Sounds intriguing, but doesn't it hurt a lot??? Not after the first couple of 'rips' on each leg... Another poster mentioned that YMMV, depending on your skin and hair type - I have dark hair and fairly sensitive skin but having cold waxed my legs for a couple of years now, I can say definitely that the regrowth is finer. In fact as a treat before I got married last year I had my legs waxed professionally. The beautician peered closely at my legs and said "I thought you wanted them waxing, it hardly seems worthwhile!" which made me laugh. Linz, who sits with the first strip for up to five minutes before ripping it off :-/
>What is Dr Bonner.s Peppermint soap? Dr. Bronner's (people have gotten confused because of similar misspellings before) is a kosher, 100% vegetarian soap manufactured by a quasi-religious group out in California. Notorious for very entertaining labels and popular among allergics and environmental types. >Is it a bar soap? It's available in both bar and liquid (liquid both bottled and in bulk), but we find the bulk liquid more economical for our needs. It seems expensive but when you take into account that a tablespoon of soap in a pint of water can produce lavish lather for many days, it's not so bad. >Where can one buy it? Health food stores, camping equipment stores, some drugstores. -- Mari E. Morgan, morgans1 AT mindspring DOT com "...ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?" Yes, that's a spamblock. Replace it with mindspring.com to email me.
Instead of canned shaving cream, which I find useless anyway, I use a brush and shaving soap - lasts for years. I was given, as sort of a joke, a bottle of "Mr. Bubble," which in conjunction with the shaving brush, works very well too. I will try the baby oil trick as soon as I find some horizontal space in the bathroom!
Paul Bowser wrote: > I recently read about a new product in the U.S. It is a peppermint > oil-based liquid that you submerge your razor blades in, to keep air > and water (and therefore corrosion) away. It is supposed to > substantially increase the useable life of your razor blades. The > magazine (I'm not sure which one: could have been GQ, Esquire, or > Men's Health) said it worked. > > Well, I got to thinking, and I figured that you probably didn't need > fancy-schmancy peppermint oil. So I took some baby oil (unscented, a > couple of bucks for a huge bottle), poured some in a dish, and dunked > my razor in that. > Mount a mirror in your shower. Wash your face & hair...rinse. Put on > shaving cream...finish washing rest of body. By that time beard is nice > and soft ! > > I have a medium beard and only go through 2 - 3 blades a year ! > Downside...you cut yourself for the first 2 - 3 weeks. :*( BE CAREFUL ! ! ! > -- > > Denny For safety sake you might want to make that a metal camping mirror. If a glass one, make sure it is securely mounted. Dropped mirror = cut toes:-( They do sell shower mirrors that mount to the shower head. Water runs through the back of the mirror to keep it from fogging. I don't recall the exact price, but I don't believe they were very expensive. I bet it would pay for itself pretty fast with the reduced cost of blades and cream. As for viking beards: The keys to comfortable shaving (amongst other things) are moisture and lubrication. Moisture to soften the hair, lube to prevent your skin from getting slashed. Most of the mens' magazines I read (not *that* kind of mens' magazine, thankyouverymuch) consistently recommend Edge progel, or any kind of gel, over foam or regular soap because they deliver more moisture. Also, the longer you wait between applying the gel/foam/soap and shaving, the more chance it has to soften those whiskers. So take a really hot shower, put on gel, wait for 5 or more minutes, then shave. You should try to shave in the direction your hair grows (ie with the "grain" rather than against it). After shaving, put on some kind of lotion or aftershave gel or whatever to remoisturize. Your skin will thank you. I recently read about a new product in the U.S. It is a peppermint oil-based liquid that you submerge your razor blades in, to keep air and water (and therefore corrosion) away. It is supposed to substantially increase the useable life of your razor blades. The magazine (I'm not sure which one: could have been GQ, Esquire, or Men's Health) said it worked. Well, I got to thinking, and I figured that you probably didn't need fancy-schmancy peppermint oil. So I took some baby oil (unscented, a couple of bucks for a huge bottle), poured some in a dish, and dunked my razor in that. Works beautifully. My razor has lasted at least twice as long as ever before so far. In addition, the extra lubrication from the oil seems to give a more comfortable shave with fewer nicks & cuts. Frugal razor tip #2: my friend told me that blades for the ladies' Sensor Excel cost several dollars more per pack than the men's do. But aha! the men's blades fit the ladies' razor. So if you don't mind a lack of colour-coordination in your razor, there you go. Here is a tip # 3: Do not buy those foam shaving creams until you have tried using a normal hand soap bar that produces a good lather. I have not bought shaving cream for years now and I know it saved me a bundle. Just work up a good lather in the palms of your hands and slap it on. I wet my face with warm water and leave for about half a minute to soften the beard. The first few times you have to be careful in case the razor "pulls" but once your skin is accustomed to it you'll have no problems. (p.s. lux soap is my favorite but no doubt there is better) NOTE: I do not have a heavy beard so this frugal idea may not apply. It would be interesting to hear from someone with a heavy beard! My husband has an extremely heavy, tough "Viking-type" beard and very sensitive skin. (What a combo. *sigh* It means major expense.) He prefers either Ivory or Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap for shaving and says it works just as well as expensive, fancy foams and gels. I have to say we envy you folks who can get a month's out of an el cheapo disposable razor! Our big problem is the blades. :-( Even with cleaning, drying, oiling, and all that, he still gets less than a week's daily use out of each Sensor blade or Bic Twin "Heavy Beard" disposable razor before they start tearing up his skin. (I'm talking about a bleeding mess, not about a minor touch of razor burn.) For us that equals about $3 per month just in razors (and a lot of stuff thrown out, which also bothers me).
Anyone have any suggestions on further controlling the razor cost? -- Barbasol (one of the cheapest shaving creams out there) has some not-terribly-manly scents, too. Back when I made a habit of dragging small knives over my skin to create stubble ;-) I preferred the lemon-lime, since after rinsing it only left this very vague citrus smell like I'd perhaps just drunk a little lemonade. I suppose it does go without saying that if you can stand it and if your lifestyle allows it, not shaving at all is perhaps the least expensive method. I shave maybe once or twice a year, and yes I wear shorts and skirts-without-hose casually anyway, and dark hose or tights hides any evidence of gorilla legs if I have to wear a skirt/dress in a more formal situation.
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