Electric Shaver Vs Razors

Electric Shaving Costs: How much money does an electric shaver actually save you?

While some aspects of traditional vs electric shaving can’t be objectively quantified – be it comfort, closeness of the shave, practicality – we can certainly present the costs and savings in an unbiased manner. So, let’s talk money!

Many of the people now uses electric razor. Chances are you are too (or at least contemplating the idea). Other most men prefer to shave the way most our fathers and grandfathers did in the old days – and we say most since electric razors are not as recent in India as one might think.

Most shaving journey starts during teenage years with a Gillette Mach 3 and for some use & throw razors.

The results were disastrous & shaving was still far from an enjoyable experience. A better option would be to try an electric razor. The beginning is not as smooth, but eventually the improvements in techniques and the regular use of more suitable razors finally makes the difference.

Comfort and closeness aside, another significant difference caused by switching to electric shaver is related to cost. But let’s see exactly what that means.

How does electric shaving compare to wet shaving in terms of costs?

Shaving Cost

Shaving Device Vs Razor Cost

Takeaway: for wet shaving, the costs over a three-year period start at ?2000 for just the shaver, replacements and shaving cream and can go up to ?4000, all included. But for the razor cost goes up-to ?6000 over a period of three years.

Razor costs Significantly three times over electric shaver

Putting it all together

It’s safe to make the following observations:

1.     Wet shaving with blade razors will likely cost more than any other option. This is mainly due to the obscenely high price of the refill cartridge blades. There are other disadvantages as well.

2.     Electric shaving will be the most economical option for the vast majority of men. Especially when compared to blade razor shaving. Also, a large part of the men that use an electric razor only shave dry. Again, one of the main reasons of switching to electric shaving is ditching the shaving cream and the associated hassle. As a result, there are no additional costs with shaving creams or brushes. Moreover, dry only shavers also tend to be less expensive, so the initial investment is as low as ?1500.

3.     The increase in expenses with electric shaving has to do with a higher purchase price of the shaver – that only applies in the first year. And even so you can get away with as little as ?3000 over three years and that’s including the razor & replacement blades. Compared to ?6700, that’s quite a difference.

Conclusion

After taking into account pretty much everything that’s out there, it comes as no surprise that electric shaving is, in the majority of cases, the most economical solution

Shaving is such an integral part of our life style as men that it makes a lot of sense to try and make it as enjoyable as possible. Many men hate shaving because it causes them a great deal of discomfort and pain. And as we’ve seen from the tables above, this not just bad for your skin, but for your wallet as well.

Apart from a less steep learning curve when compared to traditional shaving (with a DE or straight razor), there really isn’t any compelling reason to use multi-blade cartridge razors. Electric shaving can also help you get rid of shaving mugs or lathering all together, costs less and you’ll be saving more than money in the long run. Give it a try.

Necessary disclaimer

It’s important to clarify several important aspects:

 1.     The numbers presented above reflect what yours truly believes to be a relevant selection of products and scenarios for most men out there. We are all different and we have different shaving habits. Some of us shave daily, others shave every other day; some prefer to spend more or less on razors and creams and some don’t use creams at all. There is a great deal of variety of use cases and it’s obvious that we can only address the most common ones.

 2.     The cost estimates are based on average prices from large retailers and will include popular products from their respective categories. For example, Nivea is a very popular choice as far as shaving creams go, while SYSKA SH7200 is a reasonably priced and commonly used electric razor. SYSKA Shavers comes in variants that are suitable for various use cases, like wet & dry or dry only operation; there are also models that come with a dock & charge station, like the SH966K for example.

 3.     Since all the shaving methods that we’ll analyze imply very different up-front costs, it’s fair to present these costs over longer periods. An electric shaver means a high initial purchase price, so the costs for the first year won’t accurately reflect the costs in the long run for the years to come. Given proper care, an electric razor will last for many years. For the sake of this comparison, we have considered 3 years to be a relevant period (even though you’ll likely use a good SYSKA electric razor for a much longer time).

 4.     Shaving creams, pre-shave products and cleaning cartridges are optional for electric shaving and they are depicted accordingly.