Are 99 Cent Razors any good? Surprisingly, yes!
Recently, several of you have written in to ask for my thoughts about saving on shaving (ha!) and also to ask if there is a less trash-tastic way to remove bodily hair.
(The razors you buy in a store almost always come with tons of plastic packaging, presumably to reduce theft rates, as razors are a hot item to steal.)
Like magic, at nearly the same time, I got an email from a 99 Cent Razor, a company that offers deep discounts on razors that rival the expensive ones in stores.
(I personally am still working thru a stash of free razors that I got from my couponing days years ago. They're lasting me forever because my not-so-hairy body is pretty gentle on razors. But I took a break from those to try this out for you all! Also, I am nearly thru my stash, so this is perfect timing for me.)
Before I agreed to try a trial package of their razors, I took a peek around their website and pestered them with questions because I'm pretty picky about what companies I'll share with you all.
Is this really affordable? What kind of packaging do these razors come with? Are there reusable options?
How's the quality?
99 Cent Razor has a supplier that makes their razors, so all the razors they have are private label.
However, my 99 cent razor feels exactly the same as the pricey ones from Gilette and company.
(Honestly, I would not be surprised if one of the big companies actually makes this razor. Such is the case with many private label products.)
They offer a non-disposable model for men (just replace the blade head), but not for women.
Why?
The supplier does make one for women, but 99 Cent Razor felt the quality was inferior. So, they carry the disposable version for women, which they feel gives a better shave.
BUT!
I use "men's" razors allll the time with no issues at all.
So, I asked if I could please have a blue razor, and it turns out, you don't need to have whiskers to order the blue variety. 😉
I've used it several times now and am pleased to report that it is fine and dandy. The blade and handle quality are just like the $15 razors you can buy in stores...just way less expensive!
They did also send me a pink disposable one to try out, but I haven't used that one yet.
However, just by looking at the handle you can tell it's definitely higher quality than a lot of the disposable razors out there...it's kind of like the Venus variety, except far less expensive.
By the way, my contact at 99 Cent Razor told me that as the company grows, they're going to work on sourcing a high-quality non-disposable razor for women. But honestly, I'm not too worried about that since the blue razor is workin' fine for me.
How much packaging?
I was so pleased to see that my razors arrived with no plastic packaging. It's just a razor in a box with shredded paper and a few packing peanuts.
The packing peanuts gave me pause, but I ran one under water and was thrilled to see that they're the sort that dissolve into nothing. No styrofoam!
I recycled the cardboard boxes and put the shredded paper and packing peanuts into my compost bucket.
SWEET.
Is it frugal?
For $2.95 in shipping, you can get a great two blade starter set (more on that in a minute), but the awesome thing is that even past the trial offer, you can get a great deal on blades for the future.
Free Trial Offer ($2.95 shipping)
99 Cent Razor has a great introductory offer which costs just $2.95 for shipping.
You get either two disposable razors (the pink women's variety) or if you go the blue route, you'll get a handle and two blade heads.
(Go the blue route, FG Nation! You know you don't want a disposable razor blade. 😉 )
This is a really great deal...two high quality blades and a handle for 2.95!
Just click here to get started.
When you sign up for the free trial, you'll be asked to choose between having refills shipped every 1, 2, or 3 months, so choose whatever works for you. You can cancel or pause as necessary, depending on how fast you use your razors up.
The subscription package is $6.95, which includes five $0.99 razors and $2 for shipping.
I think that you'll be hard pressed to find a better deal on a better razor anywhere else ($6.95 total for 5 high quality razor blades is CRAZY cheap!), and I'd venture to guess that you'll be back for more.
I'm definitely going to buy mine from 99 Cent Razor once I'm out of fresh blades.
No-Subscription Option
If you don't want a subscription and you trust my "These razors rock!" opinion, you can just skip the free trial and go right ahead and order a pack of razors.
_____________________________
Holler if you have any questions!
And if you run into any problems snagging your free trial, let me know, and I'll get you in touch with the super helpful folks at 99 Cent Razor.
This post contains affiliate links but is not sponsored in any other way.
The razors themselves are a huge source of plastic waste! I highly suggest getting an old fashioned safety razor like the one grandpa used in the 50's. My handle was $10. And it ALL metal. Been using it for years. Blades can be purchased online in bulk or at most grocery and pharmacy stores. Online in bulk blades can be as cheap as 5 or 10 cents each. They are double sided so last a long time and are steel so they are completely recyclable. I buy one box every 2 years and both I and my husb use them. Even with his sensitive skin and heavy beard growth my husb says he gets as good or better a shave than using the plastic ones.
I second the Double Edged Safety Razor route! I have my great grandfather's razor (though a new one is less than $20 and a vintage one can be had for $5 if you look around long enough.) I also bought 100 blades on Amazon for something like $7 a couple years ago and I'm still going through them! Of course, I wear a beard so I don't get as much use out of them as others do.
For soap I use an Arko stick (a Turkish shaving soap which costs a couple bucks on Amazon) with a brush but I've heard a bar of Dove or even Ivory works well in a pinch as well.
Shaving can be expensive but it really doesn't have to be.
I third the safety razor. We started looking into the 99 cent and dollar razor clubs and decided it was cheaper (and less waste) to use the safety razor. It is actually better for my husband's skin. Normal razors give him horrible ingrown hairs and tons of irritated skin. The safety razor is the first thing he had used that he can shave every day. He also has the brush and Argo soap. He loves it.
Agree! I spent $30 on a fancy and pretty Merkur razor that will last the rest of my life, and now buy something like 100 blades for $5. Blades get recycled and come packaged in little pieces of paper inside a thin cardboard box. By *far* the most frugal and environmental shaving option.
True, but if you opt for the men's variety from 99 Cent Razor, the only waste is the blade head. So, that's not super different from the straight razor.
I've never tried straight blade shaving before. I suppose I should give it a shot at some point.
Hey Kristen! The main difference is that for the safety razor, the blades are all steel and 100% recyclable. But with a disposable razor head, recycling centers won't take them apart, because they are so small, to recycle the plastic and metal. So, it just goes to the landfill. There may be some areas that do recycle them, though. My hubby has also switched to the safety razor, but I have never gotten comfortable shaving with them. Although, I plan on giving it a go anyways! But if not, then this would be a good second option. Thanks so much for the post! 😀
One side note, that packing paper ribbon thing could be used as Easter grass if you were into that sort of thing. 🙂
True, true. It'd be less annoying than that green plastic stuff.
I was going to say the same thing! I don't use the plastic stuff because we have cats. So I collect up colored paper (school notices have been good for this) in the few weeks before Easter and then just shred it up. When the basket is empty after the holiday, the paper gets recycled.
I am definitely going to keep this in mind. I wish I knew about it the other day when I walked into CVS and cringed over the price of razor blades. I bought 2 packages a total of 10 blades) for 40 DOLLARS! Ugh. I did get $10 in Extra Bucks but still. Even the disposables are expensive.
Thanks for the tip!
Ohh, bummer! Next time you can get 45 blades for that price.
Does anyone know if there is any difference between men's and women's razors, other than the color?
I was wondering that, too. Like, are the handles at different angles since men mostly use them on their faces and women use them on their bodies?
I'm not sure! The men's razor has a flexible head, so it tilts just fine to shave legs and such. I've never had a problem using the men's version of any razors for my own shaving.
We've been using a brand called Dorco for about a year. Supposedly, they make the razors for the Dollar Shave Club. They make a non-disposable version for women as well as men. My very hairy husband loves their razors (after being a die-hard Gillette user). I've been very happy with the women's razor. I'm also not very hairy-so it doesn't get tons of use, but I feel like I get a good shave when I do use it. I think we paid about $40 to get my husband the razor about 50 replacement blades. The women's version was even less expensive.
What the *bleep* is the difference between a razor for a man and one for a woman??? C'mon, really?!?!!
Erm, the color, mostly, it seems! I don't seem to find much of a functional difference at all.
Thus, my blue razor. 😉
(I don't think I've bought a "women's" razor for a good 10 years now. 😉 )
This is an easy question. A man's razor makes you more manly. A women's razor makes you more womanly. If a woman uses a man's razor, it's fine because, she's a woman, and that's just they way it works. If a man uses a woman's razor, he must do pennance or else face revocation of his man card.
I use a double edge. I get the man credit and the classic, retro credit...making me just super-kewl.
Thank you for posting this...I've been meaning to ask about frugal shaving options! The other expense that kills me is ink cartridges for our printer. I tried the generic ones and got burned (totally didn't work), and looked into refilling at Costco but they don't have all the colors for our Epson. Time to get a new printer with better options or ?? Seems that like razor blades, the device is only a fraction of the cost and the refillable parts costs the same as the device many times over.
We switched first to a black-and-white laser printer because that was the bulk of our printing. You can get laser cartridges every couple of years online at good prices. Since we were doing a lot of colour printing, we found that our ink jet cartridges were drying out. So when an HP Colour Laser went on sale we got that. I use it to print up labels for my canning and soaps. The laser cartridges never dry out and can easily be recycled at places like Staples.
This is so true. Printer ink is a terrible rip-off. I'm nervous to use generic ones, but the ones that go with my printer are stupid expensive.
AnneT has good advice. Best practices break down into three parts:
1. When you buy a new printer, consider lifetime cost rather than just price. Consumer Reports includes this info when reviewing anything that prints.
2. Buy a printer with separate cartridges for each color, so you don't have to replace that which is not empty.
3. Print in B&W unless you really, really have to have color. Set B&W as your default and remember to check every time before you print, to see if the default has been overridden.
Right now I have two printers. There's the fancy multi-purpose machine that also scans, and the old HP. Why do I have two? I use the HP as a B&W only. A few years ago something about color printing broke but B&W worked fine. So I still use it with the black toner I already own and leave the color slots empty.
The fancy machine also photocopies but, frankly, it uses more toner than the 25+ year old antique copier I was gifted. It only does single pages and the whole bed moves back and forth and I will keep using it for as long as its toner remains the cost-effective option.
Yep, I print almost everything in B&W and also in draft mode. Works fine for most purposes. The only time I use color and high quality is when I'm printing photos on photo paper.
Ouch, 10$ shipping for the free trial to Canada. I think I'll stick to what I'm using now.
For a couple years I was just using my bf's old cartridge after he found it too dull to use. We'd just swap the old cartridge onto a different handle and throw out my old one. He switched to a safety razor two or three years ago, and I've just been using the same cartridge ever since. Apparently my girly hair just doesn't dull the blade.
Like other commenters, he really likes the safety razor. It took a little getting used to, but he gets better results with it, and much less irritation.
I like those corn starch packing peanuts. I wonder why they aren't used more often in packing and shipping.
Yes! Especially because regular packing peanuts are basically indestructible post-use.
My frugal way to shave is to reuse the blades after my husband is done with them. They are completely usable for me. He has used replaceable heads and currently uses disposables. They are not cheap!! We usually manage to but them for $2 each after coupons and sale price. But I guess for that it means we are both spending $1 each. I don't think I will ever catch up to his throw aways. My grandmother used to do this. (I'm 52 so this was while ago)
Another tip for frugal shaving: use shaving soap or cheap hair conditioner. Shaving cream - modulo a crazy-good sale + coupon - is stupidly expensive.
Yes! I haven't bought shaving cream in eons. I just use bar soap, lather it up nicely and then shave. Works great for me.
(I understand more specialized soap is important for facial shaving.)
Looks like your post really spiked up their orders. I received an email saying the orders totaled triple what they had in inventory, so my order would be delayed. The email mentioned your blog specifically. LOL!
Yes, they emailed me this morning to tell me the same thing! But it sounds like you won't have to wait super long for your order.
I went to do the free trial and couldn't decide on the men's or women's razor. They offered me the men's one, in addition to the women's before I checked out. All for 99 cents shipping!
I just got mine in today! And it came just like the one you showed my husband will try it out this weekend...
I am looking forward to trying these out. Thanks!
I just tried my first (leg) shave with the men's trial razor. I am quite impressed! I always have terrible issues with cuts and razor burn, perhaps because I can be counted among the hairier of women with sensitive skin. Not to fear with this one! Huzzah!
Before committing to a subscription, I'm going to see how long the blades last. I also think I'll try my husband's straight razor and see how it compares. (It's actually a family heirloom, if I remember correctly.) Nice to have two great low-waste and frugal options, instead of lots of crappy ones. 🙂
Yay! Mine is working great for me too.
On your recommendation I ordered a subscription for my boyfriend. I didn't get a confirmation email--so I sent the company an email asking about it. Didn't get contacted back by then either.
Starting to wonder whether the company is a scam and whether I should shut off my credit card.
Have you had good customer service experience with them? Your blog truly is the only one out there that recommends them. Just concerned I guess! I do hope it works out. I'd really like to support a small(er) business.
Ok, that's weird! They were up and running when I wrote this post. Hmmm....
I just went on their website to order razors (first time I've needed some since the original post went up) and it looks like the links in the original post are all dead because they're relaunching their website: http://99centrazor.com Might that have something to do with the lack of contact?
Just went on their website and under their own reviews (on the men's razors at least) there are complaints that voicemails and emails go unanswered and people cannot cancel their subscriptions. It did not sound good at all.
99 cent store razors are dull, and don't shave close