Greetings, As I get more and more into wet shaving the more homework I do about the history of shaving... One of the things I remember from my childhood was going to the barber who always had a jar of Barbicide that he kept combs and razors in.. I always loved that Jar with that wonderful blue colour! I know the purpose of Barbicide is to kill any nasty's that could travel from patron to patron... Oh, how I would love to have one of those old jars with the wonderful blue liquid sitting on my bathroom counter.. But the thought is... is there any point at all for a single home user to ever use Barbicide to store a razor between shaves?
Seems like overkill to me. Just get some high test isopropyl alcohol, tint it blue with some food color, and ta-da! All the nostalgia with none of the price.
None that I can see. I use marvicide on used ebay/flea market razors before I use them but beyond that I see no point.
I bought a bottle of Barbicide concentrate from Sally Beauty for about $3.50. I think the mixture is 32 to 1 and I use it in wide mouth mason jar when I need to disinfect something.
Since I am owner/operator of The GROOM ROOM, here's the basics of what you should be aware of when using barbicide... 1) Should not be used for sanitizing objects that have come into contact with blood (only use for combs, scissors, brushes, etc... which have been used to cut hair.) 2) For the sanitizing of blades, razors, etc... (items which have scraped or cut into the skin), use at least 70% alcohol. 3) I wouldn't allow your DE razor to remain in the barbicide for any longer than 20 minutes (directions say for at least 10 minutes), as it can have a tendency to eat away at the razor's finish over time. 4) The 70% alcohol liquid itself does not disinfect objects... it's when the object is removed from the alcohol and allowed to air dry, that disinfects (the evaporation of the alcohol is what is doing the disinfecting). After an immersion in alcohol (one to two minutes), simply wipe with a cotton ball to speed up the disinfecting process. 5) You can leave your razor in the alcohol as long as you like, but to disinfect it, take it out and allow it to air-dry, or CAREFULLY wipe it with a cotton ball or pad. Adding blue food coloring is a fine idea, to give you that 'Barbicide' color. 6) You can purchase a Barbicide glass container from an Barber supply company. Hope this gives you a little more info on Barbicide.
Troy gives the definitive answers. I would say he is right in buying a barbicide jar from a barber supply, if bought on ebay they are sometimes overpriced plus heavy shipping fee , the jar hasn't changed much at all over the years. I would recommend a Jeris jar like the one pictured , they are on ebay and usually can be had for $10 , they are worth much more but often times ignored. I always see them under search term " Jeris". I like old barber shop sterlizer equipment but like razors the prices for such things has doubled in the last year.
You can also find Barbicide on Amazon...and they have the large and small jars available also...I bought some and mixed it per directions...it's says to immerse items for ten minutes and I'm only using it for DE razors that I buy second hand, and after I've cleaned them...only use it one time per razor, no need for more than that but it should guarantee they're disinfected...that shouldn't damage the finish, after that I just rinse and dry the razors as usual after shaving with them...
