A while back I promised that I would be trying to find more "green" ways of hair removal. I was mainly concerned about how I've been using and throwing away plastic disposable razors for years.
Razors
I read about the Recycline Preserve razor which is just one of those razors with the replaceable heads, only the handle is made of recycled yogurt containers, so I bought one. I also bought 5 replacement heads. You know, it is all well and good to make the handle of recycled stuff, but I am here to tell you that if the razor part of the thing sucks, then there is really no point. The first time I used this razor, the blade dulled immediately. I had to throw away the first replacement blade after 2 uses. For the next 5 blades, the same kind of performance, so this was no fluke. While I might be throwing away smaller pieces (razor heads rather than the whole razor), this was worse than the disposables. Also, the replacements were not cheap. About twice what regular replacement heads would be, and they don't have coupons for specialty brands like Preserve. I tried buying regular razor heads to fit the Preserve handle, but none of the drugstore brands fit. I have finally settled on a store brand razor instead, the Bic Soleil. It just shaves so cleanly and so well. Not like trying to shave with cardboard, which is how I would describe shaving with the Preserve razor.
Thumbs down for Recycline Preserve Razor.
NOTE: This review has been updated for the Preserve Triple Blade Razor, here
Sugaring
I also mentioned that I would like to try sugaring. This is like waxing only with a solution made of only sugar and water and lemon. I got the Parissa Body Sugar set from Whole Foods for only $10. It was easy to use and I don't feel like it was really that painful at all. The cleanup was also easy. Bonus: the strips used for the removal are washable and reusable. Unfortunately, there were a lot of very small tiny hairs that could not be removed with the sugaring. I have also been struggling with ingrown hairs on my legs after sugaring (yes, I used the special oil that was supposed to prevent them - it didn't work). My conclusion about sugaring is that it is good for some areas of the body, but not all. For me, it does not work for legs for the reasons stated above. But for other areas, I believe I will continue using it.Thumbs up (with caveats) for body sugaring.
