You know how at certain points in your life you just want to cut through all advertising nonsense and just get the facts? I think after you have kids is one of those times. No more BS!  Does it really matter if my razor is named after a Roman Goddess? Does it really matter if it has a curvy handle? Will that help me get the best shave I can on my legs? Why do men and women have different razors anyway?

I have always been skeptical about the need for women's razors.  What could possibly be better about a woman's razor? If you think about it, men are shaving a part of their body with VERY sensitive skin.  So, you know that men's razors have to be careful not to irritate the skin. Also, it's got shave close, not miss many spots - since it's shaving the face.  Any razor that left skin...well...ugly...would be a problem on the face. Right? Whether that's from a rash, bumps, or missed spots. Also, men's faces are much curvier than women's legs.  They've got to get around the chin, under the neck, etc. etc.  Women's legs may cover a lot of area, but it seems that they must be easier to shave. They have tougher skin, they're overall less curvy.  And, they're less visible than a face.

Despite this, nearly every woman I know uses a girly looking razor.  I decided to see what the internet has to say about this.

What do women's razors have to offer?  Gillette.com has a page giving a very attractive looking defense of the women's razor.  They point out that women shave in places they can't see (behind the knee for example.) But frankly, I can see pretty much everywhere I shave.  The back of my knee isn't exactly a place with a lot of hair.  And it's not impossible to see the back of your leg.  You just...turn in your heel and look.  So, are women really shaving blind? I don't think so.  Also, they point out that women move the razor much faster as they shave, so they need razors that are less likely to knick them, and shave a larger area, so their razors get duller faster.  Plus, women are more likely to go over areas several times.

Hmph.  I think we move our razors quickly and go over areas multiple times because our razors are dull. Also, we have people banging on the bathroom door asking us why our showers take sooooo looooong!  So, we try to hurry.  But, if we had sharper razors, maybe we wouldn't need to go over the same area so much.  Plus, I don't really care about whether my disposable razors get dull too fast if they're dull to begin with.  I'd rather have a razor that gave me a good shave from the start.  I'll just replace it when it gets dull.

Anyhow, I also came across this blog post from a guy who says the best razors in the world for men to use are the ladies disposable pink razors.  Really?? Is this just a case of "the grass is always greener"? His complaint is that he has to replace his razors too often, and he never really gets that smooth flawless shave that he sees in men's shaving commercials.  As he says,"Because these cheap things are way sharper than the best men's razor. Think about it... these razors aren't made to shave a small area like a face, they're for shaving an entire LEG. Hell, TWO LEGS!" He goes on to explain how to make it look more manly by applying a black sharpie, action figures, and a parachute. (click the image to go to his website.)

This is an interesting claim, that these pink razors are the sharpest.  Maybe I'm having trouble taking his argument seriously because of the name of his blog: www.i-mockery.com.  Or maybe it's the way the gorilla man on the left is giving me the stink eye.

I also came across exactly the opposite point of view, a women's blog (Beaut.ie The Irish Beauty Blog) bemoaning the fact that men's razors better than women's. She reports that one day, her boyfriend let her borrow his dull razor, "the blade needs changing anyway" and found that "even though by his standards it was blunty McBlunt, by mine it had the keen edge of a Samurai sword,  or one of Batman’s Ninja Star yokes. It zipped up and down, razing and deforesting, and the shave it gave was so close I couldn’t feel a whit of stubble afterwards...."  This just confirmed my suspicion.  Actually, I had a similar experience with one of my husband's razors in a desperate situation. He usually uses and electric, but has a disposable one on hand (I dont' know why...maybe for emergencies?) Anyhow, I ran out of razors, and he let me borrow it.  Ditto to the girl above.  The shave was smoother, easer, and there was almost no subble afterwards.

In the comments section of her article, all sorts of women wrote in saying they've been using men's razors for years! And the most commonly mentioned one they use: The Gilette Mach 3 Turbo.  And guess what, one women points out that the Mach 3 Turbo refill blades fit on the Venus razors - because they're all made by Gilette.

Now for the clincher: eHow has an article called"How Razor's Work" with a sub-section titled "Why Men's Razors Are Sharper"!!  They say, "Men have more hair in a smaller area than women do, so a sharper blade is needed to cut through the additional stubble. Also, men's facial stubble may be coarser than leg hair, and women tend to have softer skin than men, prompting a need for a more delicate razor." AHA! So, it's true!  But also hard to believe that women's leg skin is softer than men's facial skin. They end their article with a statement of added benefit, "Men report soft and dewy facial skin, because the razor exfoliates every time they shave."  Okay, so maybe they're just confused about the soft skin issue.

Anyway, this was eye opening - it's not the size of the leg that necessitates a sharper razor, it's the density and coarseness of the hair!  So, women's razors are duller so that we don't cut ourselves.  That's the main point.

But what are the benefits of using a sharper razor? eHow.com listed one - exfoliation leading to softer skin. So long as you don't cut yourself, a sharper razor will relieve you of some of those pesky rough skin cells.  Also, with dull razors, I think women sometimes feel the need to apply more pressure than they should, and irritate the skin going back over areas again and again to get every last hair. It might be counter-intuitive, but if you get all the hair on the first try, with a more gentle touch, the whole shave might be less irritating. And faster.  That's just my guess.

But here's another idea.  You know those little red bumps women get, particularly in the bikini area? (If you gross out easily, stop reading now....) Those are little in-grown hairs.  So, after you shave, a tiny layer of skin grows over the hair follicle, and creates a barrier for the hair when it comes back up.  That's why they itch.  The treatment is basically exfoliation - but the problem with this is that if you're too rough you'll irritate already irritated skin.  So, what about the gentle exfoliation of a sharper razor?  Again, making sure not to cut yourself, it seems to me that regularly shaving with a sharp razor would lead to regular gentle exfoliation, which would lead to less red bumps.

Well anyhow, that's my theory.  It's time to put it into action.  On our last Diapers.com order I got some Mach 3 razor refills and attached them to my Venus razor.  Well, I nicked myself for the first time in a long time, but I am not dismayed! Everything else I suspected seems to be playing out according to plan...  Plus, I still get to keep the girly looking handle.....

My new "girly" razor.