Shaving without plastic

A while back I changed my shaving routine, going from cartridge blades and canned foam first to a traditional double-edge blades in a holder. I revived the use of my shaving brush. Then I got my grandfather’s all-metal razors after my grandmother died. I moved from blades cased in plastic and sold in blister packs to those wrapped in paper. My last step is to quit using a plastic-bottled shaving soap and find something that’s plastic-free and preferably animal-free: I’ll keep you posted.

I won’t republish these steps because I blogged about it along the way on my main blog, finishing here with links to all the earlier steps there.

But I never wrote about the blades. I used to use Wilkinson Sword blades, made in Germany, but apart from the (admitedly small amount of) plastic waste, they’re not a sharp or flexible as I like. After researching my options, I bought a box of 100 Korean-made blades, wrapped in paper and boxed — 10 smaller boxes of 10 — in cardboard. Evidently a pack for shopkeepers.

These are the Dorco ST300 blades, sold in many places, including this current eBay auction with good photographs. Watch out: I believe the Dorco ST301 blades are packed in plastic. Reviews at Badger and Blade.

The downside: when I got them mailed to me they came in a bubblewrap mailing envelope, but I’m hoping to find them at a professional beauty supply shop. And a 100 blades should last me about two years or more.

By Scott Wells

Scott Wells, 46, is a Universalist Christian minister doing Universalist theology and church administration hacks in Washington, D.C.

1 comment

Comments are closed.