What is the Best Safety Razor?

If you think about making the leap from an electric shaver to wet shaving, you might be feeling lost and confused. What is a safety razor and how can you choose the right one for yourself? Picking a safety razor which offers the right balance between aggressiveness, handle length and head weight can be tricky. But, I’ll try to help you find the best safety razor this summer!

First of all, let me explain what a safety razor is. It is just a regular razor with a guard specially designed to reduce the risk of cutting your skin. When looking for the best safety razors for a wet shaving beginner, there are two major things you’ll want the handle length and the head.

In general, the grip (the handle length) determines how much pressure you should apply while shaving. Long and short handles are the only two types. For a beginner, a short grip is more recommended, since it accepts varying pressure. On the other hand, if you have dense or coarse hair to contend with, a long grip is a better solution (even though it requires a developed shaving technique prior the use).

When it comes to the head, there are two main types: open comb and straight bar. What is the difference between those two? Open comb heads simply gather hair and guide it to the blade and that way they offer a close shave, in particular for people with dense growth (or after a few non-shaving days). However, this head style exposes the skin more directly to the edge of the blade, therefore it may cause razor burn and getting nicks. A straight bar razor, nevertheless, provides a smoother presentation, while protecting skin from nicks and reducing friction. For a beginner, a straight bar is usually more recommended.

It is very important to pair the safety razor with a blade that forgives some mistakes. The best blade for a novice is sharp, coated for a more forgiving, smoother shave.