Eco Friendly Shaving & A Father’s Day Giveaway

I’m not afraid to admit that I shave my face not because I like to, but because I have to.

I’ve never been a fan of the deed, and given that my facial hair doesn’t grow as rapidly, or as fully as other men I’ve become rather lazy and somewhat indifferent about the ritual.  I can usually go about 2 or 3 days without needing to shave and I’ll admit that often I’ve gone longer (much to the chagrin of my wife).

That being said, it’s still something that most men need to do and when it comes to shaving, an environmentalist like myself would often wonder…what is the most eco-friendly way to shave?

The answer to that question isn’t necessarily as easy or as straight forward as one might think.

If surveyed, my guess is that many would say that using an old fashioned non-disposable razor is the least harmful to our environment.  Old school shaving has the advantage of using one razor unit and replacing only the blades which certainly is perferrable when compared to disposable razors that are tossed out as a whole unit.  However most men who shave this way also use a shaving cream and that’s where there can be cause for concern.

I looked online into what goes into the making of shaving cream and I found an article that mentioned a number of the harmful ingredients that went into a typical shaving cream recipe.  While this tends to have more to do with health than say a carbon footprint, it’s still something worth being aware of.

Most of us would also recognize that shaving with disposable razors are chock full of eco no-no’s.  Not only is the idea of simply using and disposing of plastic razors with metal blades bad from a general waste point of view, the energy footprint required to produce the billions of disposable razors used world wide each year (about 10 billion in the US alone) is astronomical.  The whole concept of disposable razors is based on convenience and has little regard for its environmental impact.

Then there are electric, rechargable razors.  Is the environmental footprint of a product that takes a lot of energy to produce but minimal amounts to maintain and can last for years, better than the smaller energy footprint of manufacturing small disposables?  The answer, quite simply is yes.

PSST…I’m giving away an Electric Razor, so keep reading as you can enter at the end.

There certainly are a number of aspects to consider when making this comparision and there are others who have written about this in far greater detail than I could.  I found a thorough and insighftul comparison between electric and disposable razors in an article written on slate.com by Brian Palmer called Trimming Your Carbon Footprint and I’d highly recommend you read it.  It makes for a compelling argument as to why using a rechargable electric razor is the most eco-friendly option.

My preference almost since the very beginning has been to use electric rechargeables.  In fact in the 25+ years that I’ve been shaving, I’ve only shaved manually about a half dozen times.  I’ve owned about 4 electric razors in that time and each has lasted me several years and a few thousand shaves.  Over the years the technology of the razors have become better as well, using better blade systems and longer life rechargable batteries inside.

Ironically enough, just as the razor I had been using for the past 6 or 7 years was slowly showing me it was time to put it to pasture, I received an e-mail from the people who work with Philips and their line of electric shavers.  They asked me if I’d be willing to try one of their new products and to discuss the eco-advantages of using electric shavers versus disposable ones.  It wasn’t a hard sell for me since A) I had always used electrics…and iroinically always used Philips razors, plus B) my old razor was on its last legs.

I was sent a SensoTouch 3D razor with GyroFlex 3D system.  It’s way more Star Trek than I’ve been used to and it showed me just how far the technology has come since I received my first electric shaver for Christmas back when I was 16.  While it was funky enough to look at, it meant nothing if it didn’t shave well.  I know many who prefer manual razors say that electrics can’t cut close enough but this new razor managed to get around every difficult spot on my face quickly, efficiently and with a smooth, close cut as a finished product.

Now having said all that…and since Father’s Day is coming up, I wanted to make sure this piece would have some potential benefit to those reading and looking to get an electric razor as either a gift or just for themself.  So I convinced Philips to let me give one away.

While I couldn’t get them to let me give away the 3D razor, hand-held phazer look alike, I did convince them to let me giveaway another pretty sweet razor instead.

I’m giving away a Philips PowerTouch PT920.  The shaver has a value of about $120.00 and would make a great gift for Father’s Day!  To enter simply follow the steps below and get as many entries as you can!  The winning entrant will have the razor shipped directly to their home, but it won’t get there in time for Father’s Day…sorry.  If you win, just tell Dad/Husband that it’s coming…and heck, it’s a cool gift worth waiting for!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m using Rafflecopter for the giveaway and the winner will be selected at random.  Contest ends June 15th at midnight and the odds of winning depend upon the amount of entrants and ballots submitted.

So enter now to win, and if you don’t I hope you’ll still consider making the right choice for the environmment when it comes to shaving.

NOTE: Information on Philips Sustainability Commitment is available by clicking here.