So I was thinking about this the other day, my skin seems to be reacting a tiny bit to my razor. It suddenly occurred to me that I’ve never checked the ingredients associated with my shaving razor. WHOA. Yeah. Think about it. That moisturizing strip on your razor, there can be some pretty scary ingredients there.

Most razors these days include a moisturizing strip so what healthy hair removal options are out there?

• Natural razors? Nope. None that I’ve found yet. “Natural” is not a regulated term so there are still some pretty ugly ingredients on the list for most of these.
• Using a safety pin to remove the moisturizing strip from your favorite razor? Maybe. Some are probably easier than others. With the Schick Hydro for example that moisturizer is embedded deep down in there. For some though that strip actually sits on top so some people seem to have had some luck with removing the moisturizing strip. I’m wondering if I could maybe soak the razor in warm water to remove the embedded kind. I haven’t tried that yet.
• Go old school with a safety razor? Yes. Maybe. Ok yes this is an option but I’m still not sure about it because it seems to require more skill to shave without nicking yourself. And the bikini area … this scares me a bit. Modern razors have the ease of use thing down. I think I need to do some more research on this one. There’s definitely no moisturizing strip on this kind of razor.
  
• Electric razor? Yes. The trick appears to be finding one that is meant for use on legs, bikini area, and underarms and doesn’t quit working after 6 months. Ideally waterproof and cordless. I’m open to suggestions from anyone who has a favorite brand/model.
• Switch to another form of hair removal? Yes. Maybe. At least if you can find something that works well and works well for you personally.
  • Epilator? Haven’t tried that yet and is maybe one of the more promising options. But I think the hairs have to be long enough and not too coarse.
  • Sugaring? I haven’t been successful with that personally.
  • Waxing? Maybe I need some tips but I always have hairs left.
  • Threading? Is that even possible for legs? That seems like it’s not an option.

Most of the alternatives are extra time consuming. I don’t want something that takes too long either.

I’m absolutely not going to go all hippie granola on this one and go the “accept your body hair and don’t shave” route because I personally don’t like body hair. I shave because I want to not just because of what society says. I actually find armpit hair on guys rather gross too and I just try not to think about it. I don’t expect guys to shave their underarms but it does make me gage a little just thinking about it. So no. Not shaving is not an option (for me at least – what you do to your body is your business.)

So what kind of razor or hair removal method do you use?

Do you have any suggestions on hair removal options that are natural / healthy ingredients? Any tips on razors without the moisturizing strip? Any tips for women shaving with a safety razor? (I haven’t googled that yet so there may be plenty of resources out there I don’t know about yet.) 🙂