Best shaving club for 2023: Dollar Shave Club, Harry’s and more

One of the first razor subscription services, famous for its 2012 viral video, Dollar Shave Club razors offers three razor options for your daily shave: two blades, four blades and six blades. All cost less than $9 per month for replacement blades and the one-time cost of the handle.

The Dollar Shave brand started as a simple razor subscription brand and has now expanded into several men’s grooming product lines, including skincare, haircare, fragrance, deodorant, shaving and oral care.

For your first order, Dollar Shave Club invites you to purchase a starter pack, which includes two replacement cartridge refills, a handle, and shave butter for $5. After two weeks, you’ll automatically receive a restock shipment of two cartridge razors for $20 (or more if you add additional products). You can customize both your Dollar Shave starter kit and your replenishment shipments to also include body wash, face wash, shampoo, aftershave dew, toothpaste and toothbrush.

Although the Dollar Shave brand is for men, I have purchased and used Dollar Shave Club razor blades in the past and they have worked well for ingrown hairs on my legs and armpits.

Harry’s focuses on simplicity, style and premium craftsmanship for its shaving and grooming products. There are only two handles to choose from for their men’s razors and one type of razor cartridge. Its Winston handle is metal with non-slip rubber grips for $20. For $9 you can get the Truman, which has rubber coating all over and comes in orange, navy, and green.

Like Dollar Shave Club, Harry’s offers an essential shave starter pack for $5 that includes a razor blade cartridge and shave gel. With a Harry’s Shave Club membership, you get eight new cartridges for $16 (plus shave gel for an extra $6), every two, three or five months, depending on how often you shave.

In addition to blades, Harry’s also sells facial cleanser, aftershave, soap and other body care items.

PS I have also used Harry razors with good shaving results. If you really want a women’s razor for a close shave, Harry has a brand called Flamingo that sells them, but they don’t offer subscription boxes. The Flamingo razor has an ergonomic weighted handle and a rubber grip for easy shaving.

Billie’s ambition as a shaving club is to provide quality women’s razors and body care products that cost no more than men’s. Women’s personal care and shaving products are often subject to the “pink tax”, which means they cost more simply because they are marketed to women.

The brand sells a style of razor, available in seven Instagram-worthy colors. It has five blades and a charcoal soap strip around the blades to help the razor glide smoothly for a comfortable shave.

Billie’s $10 starter kit includes a handle, two cartridges, and a magnetic holder to store the razor in your shower. The company then sends you four replacement cartridges per month (or however often you choose to get a blade refill), which also costs $10. Billie also sells body lotion, shower gel and shaving cream.

What I especially love about this company is that they celebrate and normalize women’s hair, whether you choose to shave or not, with their Project Body Hair campaign. Anyone can submit a photo of their body hair, and you can see photos of other people who have contributed. In a society that often demonizes any kind of physical flaw in women, this approach is downright refreshing.

Coarse facial hair can be difficult to shave, but frizzy or curly hair is even more difficult. Bevel’s Shaving Kit is designed for men of color to meet their specific skin and shaving needs.

The shaving kit mimics what you would see at a hairdresser, with a shaving brush, skin oil, shaving cream and aftershave balm. All of these skin products contain moisturizing oils to prevent bumps, razor burn, and ingrown hairs on the face and neck.

As for the actual hair removal, instead of a multi-blade cartridge, you use a single-blade safety razor. The full kit is $85 with a subscription (or $90 without), and Bevel will send you refills of razor blades, oil, shaving cream, and balm.

For men who love a straight razor shave or just consider themselves a bit of a hipster, there’s the Supply razor. This sleek, single-edge razor is made from aerospace-grade stainless steel and uses easy-to-change injector-style blades. Its unique design makes it stand out from typical safety razors. Oh, and this high-quality razor has a 100-year warranty.

Why yes, of course there is a starter kit. It includes the razor handle with three months worth of blades, a shaving brush, shaving cream and aftershave for $99. For just the razor, it’s $59, and new blades are $6 for eight blades — which the company says will last you months.

Like Bevel, the Supply Single Edge Razor is designed to minimize skin irritation, razor bumps, ingrown hairs and razor burn. Its unique and high quality design makes it stand out from the typical safety razor.

Yes, those prices are high, but Supply offers you a 100-day trial. If you don’t like it after trying it, you can get a refund.

Supply also sells a few extras. For $39 you can get a nice, albeit superfluous, leather case.

Ah, yes, Gillette. I bet you have used one of his razors in your life. In response to all those razor subscriptions that have popped up in recent years, Gillette also offers its own shave club to help you save money.

You can choose between two starter kits, the ProGlide Shield Kit and the SkinGuard Kit. Both are usually priced at $14, but are free with a subscription and come with a handle, blade, and travel case. Refills cost $26 and you can get them every one, three, or six months.

These prices are actually competitive with Amazon, at least for some products, and not all Gillette refills on Amazon offer Subscribe and Save. If you really want to “set it and forget it” with your razor blades, Gillette On Demand isn’t a bad deal.

Oh, and for the ladies, you can get Gillette’s Venus razor on demand. For $7, you get a free handle, blade cartridge, and shower gel and shower hook. Refills – which also include four cartridges – cost $18. You can sign up to get these top-ups every month, every three months, or every six months.