Headblade vs Safety Razor?

[Cardelli]

Been thinking about what product will be the best for me. There are mainly 3 things that are important for me (except a good shave ofc!)

1. The price: The problem i have to day is that i am a student only working part time as a subsitute teacher which means i do not have all the money ini the world and buying the gilette blades is getting really expensive.

2. Skin irritation: I have very VERY snesitive skin on both my head and face and no matter what i do i get a razor burn from my gilette mach 3 not sure what product provides the least amount of irritation to my skin.

3. Clogging up the razor: I do not shave everyday, so whenever I shave the razor becomes clogged up with hair and shaving gets really hard. I spend more time trying to get the hair out from the razor than i do shaving.

Any advice on which of these 2 products will fit my need the mos are greatly appreciated!

[Sir Harry]

The safety razor is the best if you're looking to save money. Safety razors can be easily removed from the handle and wiped clean, and if you care for them properly, you can get many shaves from the same blade. Granted, the handles in most cases are extremely high, but with safety razor shaving making a comeback, the handles may be cheaper than you think, and most come with a pack of razors (The safety razor my mom sent me for Christmas a few years back came with a pack of Dorcos) Check out Amazon and Ebay to see if there's one in your price range.

[rodey201]

Safety razor sounds like the best option for you. Its a one off investment but after a few weeks the money you have saved on blades will cancel out the price of the razor. Although saying that, the razor i biught cost me less than ten pounds om ebay and does an awesome job. There are also so many diffetent types and manufacturers of blades so you have alot more choice which could help with your sensitivity. Feather blades for example tend to tug on my scalp whereas Wilkinson sword classics leave my scalp feeling bbs and zero irritation. They are also a piece of cake to clean which will help with clogging.

[tafinney]

Tomorrow marks one week that I have been shaving my head.
I started with a Headblade ATX and have since replaced it with the Gillette Fusion Pro-Glide with the lubricating strips on both sides as of last night.
For whatever reason, my hair (both head and face) refuses to be cut with a razor going WITH the grain, so I must go AGAINST the grain... all the time.... from every conceivable angle. Using the ATX was very difficult the first five days as I had to create ways to hold it firmly as I shaved the same spots repeatedly. Last night, using the Gillette, I had zero problems controlling the razor or the angle of the blade. It was a much more effortless task, and the shave was closer.
I think the ATX design is great, it works as designed and would be great for those lucky people that have hair that accepts razors. I am not one of those guys though. So, I will stick with the Fusion for now.

[kerryman]

Interesting  topic .I was just discussing this last night with friend of mine who is sly for the last years.I've been shaving my head for a week now but i've been using a disposable 2 blade until my head and myself have mastered the art of it. I haven't cut myself yet which is good considering i have a large mole on my head.Any way he told me that when when he was using the Mac 3 he was constantly cutting himself.He now uses disposable 3 blades and says that works for him .No cuts and a lot cheaper.

[reddog]

I've tried almost everything, and my favorite is the double edge razor. Blades are so cheap, I use a new one for every shave. Also get no irritation, and I shave against the grain only. The only drawback is it can take extra time, and concentration is a must.

If I'm in a hurry, I start with my Remington electric, then run over my head in the shower with a Schick Extreme 3 disposable razor.

[agentfortyseven]

As others have said using DE razors is great as the blades are inexpensive and easy to rinse out. Currently I use the headblade for my head and a DE for my face for whatever reason I had trouble with the back of my head using the de razor. Oh and someone posted on here the other day about a sale on this website theshavingedge.com that is going out of business so that could be a good place to look into either option.

[gwsmallwood]

I'm going to go in a slightly different direction.  I use primarily a double-edge razor and occasionally a single edge GEM/EverReady style.  But for someone brand new to traditional shaving tools, it's really hard to beat an injector.  The blades are a little more than double edge, but they also last longer.  You can pick up an injector for really cheap, and other than lightening up the pressure a little bit, the technique is exactly like a cartridge.

Due to your 3 main concerns, I would definitely give a traditional razor of some sort a shot.  While there is a little bit of an up front cost, it's minimal compared to a few months of cartridges.  There's also a bit of a learning curve as far as irritation goes, but once you get past it you can't beat the comfort levels.