Sly Bald Guys' Blog

As some of you have noticed, until yesterday I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. Well, this was due to me travelling for business part of the time while I was absent from the blog. While I was in the Denver airport trying to get through security, it made me realize that I've been thinking of doing a post on "how to carry on all of your head shaving gear while travelling" and now is the time to do it. Here's how:

First off, you need to know the rules. If you haven't travelled in a while, then you probably don't know that you have to separate all of your liquids from your other stuff and put them into on quart (not gallon) sized bag and each liquid item must be in a 3 oz container or less. The TSA outlines this as 3-1-1 as the picture up above details.

Secondly, it is important to separate your razor, blades, and other non liquid items into a separate bag. Remember, you DO NOT need to pull this bag out when going through security. Also, you can bring a safety razor (HeadBlade, Fusion, etc) on the plane with extra blades. Here's what the TSA says about razors in their prohibited items section:

"Razor-Type Blades - such as box cutters, utility knives, razor blades not in a cartridge, but excluding safety razors (must be checked)."

From that line, it's my best guess that straight razors and double edge razors should be checked and you should not attempt to carry them on.

One of the toughest thing about this 3-1-1 rule is that it can often be hard to fit all of the things that you need into 1 quart size bag, so here is a list of all the products that I know of that come in bottles or packages that are 3 oz or less.

Shaving Creams/Oils/Gels

HeadSlick by Headblade - 2 oz
Pacific Shaving Oil - 1/2 oz and 2 oz sizes
Shave Secret Oil - 1 oz
KOS Shave Oil - 1-2 oz
Matte for Men - 2.5 oz


Exfoliating Scrub

HeadShed by HeadBlade - 2 oz
St. Ives Apricot Scrub -1 oz (Found in the travel section of stores like Target)


Lotions

HeadLube Matte or Glossy by HeadBlade - 2 oz
Matte for Men with SPF 25 - 2.5 oz
Neutrogena - 1 oz (If you stay at a DoubleTree they often provide this for free)
Neutrogena with SPF - 1 oz (If you stay at a DoubleTree they often provide this for free)

Bump Control

ClearHead by HeadBlade - 2 oz
TendSkin - 1 oz

One thins you'll notice is that HeadBlade has a product in every category on this list. They actually sell a travel kit that you can buy. The best part is that once you buy it, you can then refill the little bottles with product from your regular sized bottles. Both of Matte for Men's products are also below the 3 oz limit.

By sticking to products on this list or other products that you find that are below the 3 oz limit you should be able to fit all the product you need into the quart size bag. Remember that if you're are going to be somewhere longer than a week it will probably be a good idea to bring larger portions and just check your bag.

I've been trying out the King of Shaves Alpha Gel for the last week and have found that overall it's a good alternative to some of the products that we've reviewed here in the past, but not a great alternative.

The reason that I can't give it the complete two thumbs up is that I can't get a consistently great shave with it. One day I'll get a very smooth shave and the next day I won't. You may think this might be contributed the actual razor blade, but the great shave I got was actually with the same razor two days after getting just an ok shave.

Why would this happen? My theory is that due to the thickness of the gel, the blade can't always get as close as some of the thinner creams and gels that I've reviewed. It seems that you need to make sure you really wet the razor and your head when shaving with Alpha Gel if you want a really slick surface.

The weird thing is that I get a great face shave with it every time. I do use the Fusion on my face, where as I use the HeadBlade for my head.

Pros:

Does get a good shave
Typically a buck or two cheaper than the alterntatives
Provides the best face shave of all the gels that I've tried.
Doesn't dry out your skin

Cons:

I didn't get a consistently great shave
The strong menthol smell

Ok people, I know that BaldRob already did a review on this (BaldRob's Review), but I felt I should get my own word in also. Unlike BaldRob, I'm a shower shaver. So, I'll give you my perspective as it relates to shower shaving.

I was a little nervous as I squirted the 3 drops of oil into my head; I mean, this little amount is supposed to protect my precious dome from the razor blade? So, I added a 4th drop for good luck. I then rubbed the oil all over my head and grabbed my blade. In the first couple of strokes I was very impressed with how slick the shave was. I kept Rob's tip in mind of keeping the skin and blade very wet while shaving - this really helped. As I got done with my first pass from front to back, I noticed that my head was still very lubricated and went for the back to front pass without adding any extra oil. My head was still as slick in that pass as well. After shaving my head, I moved onto my face. I have to say, that I enjoyed the experience with my face even more.

So, what are the pros?

- Very small container (.68 oz) which makes it great if you are a traveler as myself.
- You get up to 100 shaves per bottle!!!
- The oil provides a great coat to protect your head - which seemed to cause less irritation to my dome.
- The price - at only $6.99 at Drugstore.com, you can't beat that for 100 shaves!
- Great face shave!

Any cons? Yep...

- Unlike BaldRob, I wasn't a big fan of the smell. I found it to be a strong menthol smell.
- Though the oil was slick and provided a great coat, I didn't get as close of a shave as I do with other gels and creams. This may have to do with the fact that it clogs up the blades pretty good. The oil is deceiving though. Right after your shave your head feels very smooth, but once you wash most of the oil off, you can feel the stubble.

Overall, this is a great value for the shave as it relates to price per cost.