Killing the cat - My Experience With Dollar Shave Club

I wanted to get a cartridge razor or disposables for travel, but I really didn't want to spend even the $7-10 on decent disposables. Out of curiosity I decided to spend $3 and join the Dollar Shave Club for an order. I picked the cheapest 2 blade $1 a month +2 shipping.

The first order never made it. No idea what happened, but about a week after I ordered I checked their site and it showed delivered like 3 days before. Nope. So I sent an email to cancel. They asked why, I explained I never got the order, so they said they'd cancel, refund the $3 and re-send the order any way. I got it today.

First, you kind of get what you pay for. The razor itself was cheap as heck. I mean, super cheap. It took me a bit to get it attached to the cartridge, just because there was no guide, or at least one I was used to. But I didn't care, $3 is $3, but I'd gotten that refunded so $0. At $3 I'd still be okay with it. They also sent a sample of their Shea Butter. I decided to make it a Dollar Shave Club Shave 100% and used the butter and the razor.

First, I think the butter has numbing properties. It made my lips tingle quite a bit. I'm okay with that, until you read on...

So I buttered up and shaved like a mad man. I've kind of forgotten how to shave with a cartridge, and my first pass was not very good. So, I went again, this time buffing it. Amazing stuff. Worked great, was slick as heck and I got a BBS. Seriously, a BBS! For $3 a month a BBS? Seriously. Forget this DE business.

So I finish up, clean off, and apply some AS. No sting. What? A BBS and no sting? Holy cats! Very awesome. Again, $3 a month, no sting and BBS? It also took all of 3 minutes.

Wow, so this was fantastic! And then about 10 minutes later as I'm sitting watching TV thinking about what I was going to write on this fantastic review, something odd happened. My face started to hurt. Out of nowhere, it was like I was suddenly getting a quick sunburn. And then I realized it: Their Shea Butter had a numbing agent and it was just wearing off. That's why I had a BBS with no razor burn and why I got no sting.

Of course there was sting. Of course I scraped the heck out of my face. I just couldn't feel it until the numbness wore off.

So BBS, but only because I couldn't feel what I was doing to myself. No nicks or weepers though.

Customer Service: 5 Stars
Shipping: 3 Stars (Quick, but 50% rate for me)
Cartridges: 3 Stars (seem decent for 2 blades)

I think if I was a young 20 something who taught himself to shave and I found this and their numbing Shea Butter, I'd be pretty happy. For people like that I'd recommend it, actually. They're inexpensive and feel it, but they work and if you use their Shea Butter you won't feel a thing.

 

This was with no pressure? I shaved with a persona 2blade disposable a week ago. No razor burn but massive tugging. Not a good experience.

 

I did DSC for about a year before I went to DE. The "humble twin" is exactly the same as the cheapest cartridge you can buy on Dorco's website. In fact you can actually get it cheaper there. All of DSC's razors are Dorco's on a monthly stipend.

 

It's a cartridge, so yeah there was plently of pressure. You can't shave with these without pressure, they weight about 1/8 of a gram. I don't know, but they're so light it felt like the box was empty.

 

Yeah, they are. If someone wanted to go that route it would be a better deal. I think I'd probably do that if I hadn't found DE.

 

I kept what was left from my DSC subscription for air travel as well - however I plan to pack a travel tech as well and just find blades at the other end.

 

I was a click away from joining the DSC when I decided to give wet shaving a try first.

Thanks for the review. Entertaining and a further indication that I made the right choice...

 

So what about the cat?

My cat and I aren't on speaking terms and I came here looking for some advice...

 

Dorco (dorcousa.com) makes some nice disposables and replaceables. I reviewed the 3-blade here, but I like the 2-blade (atra-type) even more.

 

It is better to go straight to the source rather than to DSC if you want Dorco products.

 

Honestly, part of my curiosity was the same as yours. I think we did make the right choice too. However, if I needed cartridges for some reason, I wouldn't hesitate to join, get their shipment, and then cancel. I never liked 2 blade cartridges and I liked these. I'm curious about their other offerings now.

Sorry man. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. It's a bit mangy and twitchy, but it's back.

You know, normally I agree with that kind of thing. DSC is just a middle man after all. But, while you can get the blades in bulk from Dorco and it works out to be a little less over the year, DSC does offer more. I did get the sample of the Shea Butter, but what I thought was kind of cool, was they sent along something called the Bathroom Minutes. Basically a little newseletter, fun fact type thing to read while you're on the toilet. I thought that was kind of funny, and I'm a sucker for that kind of marketing.

 

Dorco is also pretty generous with the discount codes and sales. Anywhere from 5% to 20% off once you get on their email list or order from therm. They're also on retailmenot.com

 

I also agree that the dorco 2-blader feels a bit light and cheap (at least as compared to the 3-blade model), but the smaller head and much easier pivot win the day for me. Much more maneuverable than the 3 blade and with both, the blades are nice and sharp. My only serious critique is that the cart tends to separate too easily from the handle when you drop or bang the razor. And the cart can be a little difficult to line up and mount. But, I think those are Atra design flaws, not Dorco ones.

 

You can the Parker chrome Atra handle for $20.00 and use the Dorco carts and have a great system. Parker's Chromed brass handles for the Atra and Trac II are a best value in the shaving world IMO.

 

I'd planned to toss the cartridge and store the extras and handle until I needed them. That seemed kind of wasteful, so I thought I'd use it one more time tonight before getting rid of it. I wanted to do a more 'realistic' shave with it, in other words no face numbing butter.

I mixed up some Proraso Red and did three passes. Honestly, I should've kept it at two passes I think. The third was needed, but I caught a nick under my nose. No big deal, just a small one. Did get a DFS though, quickly and smoothly. And burn, don't forget the burn. Glad I'm getting the burn because otherwise I think I'd be tossing my DE's on Ebay and joining DSC!

Not really.

The DSC/Dorco twin blade and Proraso Red shave was pretty good, but it struck me as an odd combination. I wanted to keep the oddity going and thought to myself, what AS would really fit here? And I topped it off with a healthy dose of the Veg.

When I went to DE's, I began shaving daily. It was mainly for enjoyment. When I did carts I did every other day and with my Norelco I did it every day, but quickly. With the DE blades I prefer I get 3 good shaves out of them, after that they're filled with weepers and nicks. I think if I went back to cartridges and used these twin blades every other day I'd do okay, and the 5 carts for $3 shipped probably would last me a month. A daily shave, probably not. But three shaves a cart is probably about right I think.

 

Thanks! I'd thought of eBay/vintage, but more pricey that I was interested in for a razor I don't use often.

 

West Coast Shaving has them.

 

Thanks again!

 

The Dorco site says the 2 blade is compatable with Atra but not Trac II ... just an oversight on their part or will it now not work with Trac II handles?

 

No, the trac II has a channel that the handle slides into on the back of the cartridge and the Atra pivots via a pair of claws on the razor handle.