For my razor, not my face! I was unsure whether to post this to General or Shave School, so I went with the shot that would hit the most eyeballs. I use DE/SE almost exclusively, and occasionally a shavette. After shaving, I always give my razor a good rinse under hot tap water, shake, and then swish the head (with blade) in a jar of alcohol, mostly to drive off any residual moisture, but also for any incidental disinfectant benefits. Then I gently shake the razor off and let it air dry. I figure this practice falls under the category of "can't hurt." So...is there any additional benefit to using Barbicide instead? I've searched around and can't find a clear consensus, so I thought I'd give you guys a shot. Also, on alcohol: 70% or 90%? I'm actually seeing mixed answers there, too. Group wisdom, commence my enrichment. EDIT: Wanted to add that I did glance through this thread, if anyone else wants to take a look. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/disinfecting-vintage-safety-razors.21014/
My 2ยข... Alcohol if you're going to do it. Barbicide's label actually calls for daily batches if memory serves. That'd be even more unnecessary.
I use Barbacide, 10 minute soak after cutting my cousin's hair and giving him his weekly straight razor shave. For myself, I use Scrubbing Bubbles on my daily use razors, once a week or so. My stainless razor goes into the barbacide for a few minutes after the shave, gets rinsed off, disassembled and dried, then put away. This is mostly to prevent 'tea stains' or surface rust on either the blade or razor. I do not use Barbacide on vintage Gillette gold plated razors or Zamak razors. That's a recipe for bad juju and a damaged finish.
I don't use anything daily, I think Barbicide is more for when the razor is used on different people like in a barber shop. Periodically I will clean a razor in an ultrasonic with hot water and some dish detergent. This really gets the soap and whatnot out of the nooks and crannies and keeps it looking like new. I figure if dish soap is good enough for my dishes it's OK for my razors. If I develop a flesh eating bacteria I'll let you know.
Most of what I'm hearing so far is confirming my current routine, at least enough that I'm comfortable with it. I wonder if barbers have to make a new Barbicide mix daily because of the intense usage and multiple points of contamination (i.e. customers), or if the solution loses its effectiveness. I saw that Barbicide claims to hold its effectiveness and color longer than it's competitors, but I don't know what kind of longevity they mean.
Are you saying after the shave? Under normal use a cold, hot or warm water rinse will service any and all DE razors. Remove blade and dry razor with towel, insert blade or remove blade and hang back up for the next use. Way overkill with alcohol, barbicide and or a scrubbing bubbles bath.
I hear what you're saying. I use scrubbing bubbles from time to time when I get some soap scum buildup. I use alcohol after each shave to displace any water droplets and prevent water stains; I figure the alcohol will evaporate cleanly, and it may be overkill. I haven't been worried about disinfecting, but I wondered whether anyone thinks differently. Also, everything has *someone* who's passionate about it. I figured I'd flush out the BARBICIDE 4EVER crowd, if there is one. ;-)
Right, forgot to mention, the Scrubbing Bubbles is only to remove the soap scum film. I'm not actually worried about disinfection. I don't see how germs from my face pose a risk to myself.
Not mostly, always. I always sanitize a razor in barbacide after it's been used by another person. I also don't reuse the blades.
Poor wording on my part, but that's what I meant. Most of your use is sanitizing after use by others, which you always do. So here's a question: What does Barbicide do that alcohol doesn't? Is it a more powerful or effective disinfectant? I'll try to do more research.
I suppose there's no right or wrong way, just ones personal choice way. If you want to give your razor a bath everyday it's not going to hurt it.
Barbacide kills viruses, bacteria, and fungus. Alcohol by itself isn't as effective against viruses. A 1% solution of bleach in water to I'll be enough to sanitize for that matter. If you rinse your razor after sanitizing it you are most likely putting FAR more germs back on it. The aerator screen in your faucet harbors a tremendous amount of bacteria and in point of fact your normal drinking water (that you rinse your face with and shower with) has far more bacteria in it than you'd ever realize.
If I buy a vintage razor from an antique shop I go through a fairly rigorous cleanup procedure with hot water, soap, toothpaste, Scrubbing Bubbles polish with Flitz, etc...and then a final wipe with alcohol. I only use one razor on a daily basis. I put in a new blade every Sunday morning...so during the week I just rinse the razor and air dry. I don't remove the blade every day, nor do I clean or soak my razor in alcohol every day. On Saturday when I remove my old blade I disassemble the razor, toss the blade and give the razor a good scrub with Scrubbing Bubbles, mostly to remove soap scum, and let it air dry. Once a month when I do my routine weekly clean up I give the razor a polish with Flitz...because I like to see it shine. Everyone has a different comfort level with cleanliness and sterilization of shaving equipment. I certainly would sterilize my razor if others were using it (absolutely never share blades). Oddly enough, I would never buy a used brush and I would never share my brush. A hard surface like a metal razor can be sterilized, but you cannot sterilize hair/bristles. My 2 cents worth (3 cents CDN)!
Wow, I feel like I'm a complete slob or are you guys germ freaks? LOL After each shave I just rinse the razor under running water and lightly towel it dry. I don't open or disassemble the razor until its time to change blades. I do clean the razor with SB at each blade change, but that's it.
Oops...I guess it's good to read an entire post. If I buy a new (vintage) razor I scrub it thoroughly with Scrubbing Bubbles, then rinse and she's ready to go. If SB kills 99.9% of germs I'm guess I'm not worrying about the .1% that are still lurking.
Well, like I said, I use alcohol primarily to drive off moisture (to prevent rust and water stains, and maybe combat some soap scum). That's more important on carbon steel blades, which I sometimes use. It's probably overkill. On the same note, if I was overly concerned, I'd dip or wipe the razor and blade in oil. If I kill some germs with alcohol, that's fine too, but I'm not worried about it. And no, when I shaved with cartridges, I never even considered sanitizing my razor. I rinse it, shook it, and left it in the shower. So that aspect doesn't bother me.
