Razor blade storage is important to ensuring it’s suitable for use on your bare skin. How to clean a razor blade for shaving involves properly storing it to keep it clean, sterile and to extend its life.
Here’s how.
1. Rinse The Blade Under Running Water
Some guys make the mistake of shaving without rinsing the razor blade while they’re shaving. The more clogged your blade is with hair, the less effectively it shaves your remaining whiskers. Keeping the blade clean makes sure your shaving experience is efficient and free of clogged hair.
While some men like to fill a sink with water and swish the blade in the standing water to rinse it, rinsing a blade under running water helps to quickly remove the whiskers from the blade more effectively.
Start by holding the razor blade facing downwards under the water so that you are rinsing the blade with water entering from the back of the blade. The hairs are stuck at the front of the blade so push water through the blade from the back to wash it back out the same way it got stuck.
Plus it’s clean water coming from the tap. When using a blade on your skin and potentially cutting yourself, you’d better have a very clean sink if you’re going to fill it with water and put the razor blade in it.
2. Get A Blade That Makes It Easier To Clean
With multi-blade razors, the hair often gets stuck between the blades. That can’t happen with a single blade. A Double Edge razor blade is relatively easy to keep clean since there is only one blade.
There are also some blades such as the Schick ST2 disposable razor that comes with a great feature: one-push cleaning. It’s basically a small moving part at the top of the blade that you push down on to dislodge hair stuck between the blades. Use it under running water while shaving and when you’re done shaving and your blade remains clean at all times.
3. Keep The Blade Dry
One mistake guys make (me too…) is leaving the razor blade in the shower area or next to a sink for convenience. The problem is that if you leave your razor blade in an area near water or humidity from hot shower water, the blade stays damp when you’re not using it. This can lead to germs, bacteria and rust on the blade over time.
Also, dampness helps to dull blades by corroding them. You’re already dulling your blades when you use them so keeping them dry when not in use may help to extend their life.
Higher end razors like the one shown above may come in a protective case for storage. If not, leave your razor upright in a dry place where it can air dry after use.
4. Other Tips
Some guys like to soak a razor blade in oil (mineral oil for example) after shaving. This gets rid of water moisture and keeps the blade lubricated. Don’t try this with a disposable blade with a lubricating strip as the oil can deteriorate the strip.
Also, most disposables – especially the cheap ones – aren’t worth extending their life this way. Replace them when necessary without pushing it.
You can also dry your blade when you’ve finished shaving. While you might pat – don’t rub – the blade dry after rinsing it, standing it upright in a dry area also works to quickly dry it on its own.
Can You Sharpen Your Razor Blades? (With Jeans?)
There are some products available that claim that you can sharpen your disposable razor blades and extend their life. Whether or not they work – or are even worth it for cheaper disposables – is a good question.
But there is also a long-rumored belief online that you can “sharpen” your used razor blades by running them repeatedly up your denim jeans. While you’re not wearing the jeans of course…
It’s important to note that videos available that describe the method in action show that you are supposed to run the blade up the jeans in the opposite direction that you would normally use your razor blade. This linked video shows before and after microscope shots of a “sharpened” blade that show the corroded and dirty (before shot) razor and the cleaner (after shot) blade.
So in actuality, it seems that the jeans might “clean” the corrosion off a blade rather than actually sharpening it. Whether or not you feel comfortable using the same blade on your skin, potentially cutting yourself with it, etc over several months or longer is another question that might need to be asked.
While there seems to be people on both sides of the argument – yes it works, no it doesn’t – some guys who tried the method found that it wrecked their jeans or ruined what was left of the blade. It’s possible they simply did it wrong and didn’t follow instructions.
Having not done this myself, I’m going to side with the skeptics. Not sure how “sharpening” a blade with jeans would actually work. Presumably the guys drive the blade sharpening trucks around the neighborhood ringing a bell so you can bring them your dull knives could skip the expensive sharpening machines and simply bring a nice pair of jeans along if this method actually worked.
I imagine that whatever you have left of any lubricating strip(s) from the blade would end up on your jeans too.
When a disposable blade is at the end of its shelf life, it’s best to get a new one.
Conclusion
- How to clean a razor blade for shaving involves properly cleaning it while shaving and afterwards, storing it upright in a dry place and replacing it when it’s time.
- Rinsing a blade under running water while shaving and once shaving is completed is the best way to keep the blade clean at all times.
- Some nicer razor blades like the Schick ST2 disposable razor come with a push features that when depressed, clears out clogged hairs from the blades that have gotten stuck.
- While blade sharpening products and methods are rumored to work, it’s probably best to replace a disposable blade when it’s time.
How do you clean and store your razors? Let us know in the comments below!