noticed razor cartridges are getting quite pricey?
In many grocery and drug stores here you either have to tear off a ticket-like stub for the type of refill you want and pick up the blades at the register or else they have the refills on the display racks with very well attached inventory control alarms that go off if you do not pass through the checkout and have them deactivated.
I, too, read years ago that the face was to be soaked for three minutes before applying the lather, but for those of us with a very thin cuticle on our skin, all of that soaking made it too soft and as I would shave, blood would rise up through the pores so I would bleed without cutting myself. After that torture, my face would feel and look like raw meat so I had to find a gentler way.
I remember back in the early 60s that there were regular razors with a slightly bigger handle that contained a wind up mechanism to give a vibrating shave. Does anyone remember the injector blade razors?
As for the cost of haircuts, I had my very pleasant and attractive lady hair cutter start cutting my hair entirely with clippers, thinking it would be faster. We determined which comb or guard to put on the clipper to give me the length I wanted, 5/8 of an inch. I had no idea of doing it myself, but Jason cuts his own hair so I figured, "Why not give it a go?" I went and bought a $54.00 set of Whal clippers with all of the guides at the beauty and barber supply store owned by a friend. Now, I can do it myself, even managing to cut it even across the back of my neck. Two haircuts at home paid for the clippers. I do it over my sink and vanity and then put the hose in the central vac and suck it all away.
Doesn't shaving in the shower waste a lot of water? I step in, turn on the water a little bit to soak the wash cloth then turn it off. I squirt a bit of the liquid on the cloth and start washing. If it's a thinner cloth, I have to add some water about halfway through. When I am finished, I rinse and wring out the cloth (only used once) and fill one of those plastic cups that used to cover the scrubber cap on some Kenmore agitators, then shut off the water. I pour that on my hair then add a bit of shampoo and lather. I turn the water back on and divert it to the hand held shower head to rinse off. I rinse my hair first and add a bit of conditioner, letting it work while I rinse the rest of me then rinse out the conditioner and shut off the water. I am waiting to be investigated by the water company when they see how my use has dropped.