Shaving. I’ve been doing it since I was thirteen years old.
Yes, that’s kind of young to start shaving.
I don’t know if I had more hormones than other boys my age or if I’m older than I believe am, like some professional baseball players from Cuba, but what I do know is when I grow out my facial hair, I look like either the Missing Link or Robin Williams’ chest.
Growing out my facial hair isn’t a time consuming affair. My five o’clock shadow sprouts out at about noon. After one day without shaving, I look Brad Pitt-cool. After two days without shaving, I look mature. After three days without shaving, I look scruffy. After four days without shaving, my face looks like the back of my head.
Ever since college I’ve been using my trusty Gillette Mach3 razor and it has served me well over the years. The Mach3 razor, which was the first triple-blade razor ever, was the first non-disposable razor I ever used.
It was great for the first few months. Shaves were much closer and more comfortable than the crappy disposable razors. Then I ran out of razor cartridges and shortly after that I found out how frickin’ expensive replacement cartridges were. It seemed like Gillette grabbed my Mach3 razor, pointed the handle at me, and then screwed me with it.
However, the shaves were great, so I kept buying the replacement razor cartridges, like a crack addict.
Being the cheap bastard that I am, I try to make each razor cartridge last a month. I do this by shaving my face every other day, not shaving my face on the weekends, shaving my chest once a month, and shaving my…Um…No wait, that would be waaay too much information.
Recently, long-time Impulsive Buy reader Goldberry asked if I’d be interested in a free Schick Quattro Midnight razor sample she received. Again, being the cheap bastard I am and my desire to have something new happen in my lonely life, I told Goldberry I’d review it.
About two weeks later, the razor arrived in my mailbox and I almost instantly put it to the test. I planned for the razor’s arrival by not shaving for three days, and I looked like a bum.
The main feature of the Quattro is its four blades, which gives the Quattro four chances to cut my hair or four chances to make me bleed.
After my face was properly lathered up, I took my first stroke with the Quattro. The first stroke I took surprised me because it didn’t pull on any of the long hairs like my Mach3 razor does. The protective wires that run perpendicular to the blades might have had something to do with that.
When I was done, I felt like it shaved just as well as my Mach3 razor did. Although I will admit, it was a more comfortable shave.
Despite the comfortable shave, I had some problems with the Quattro. It was hard to even out my Elvis sideburns because the head of the Quattro is slightly bigger than the head of my Mach3 and I wasn’t used to its size. Also, the longer hairs would get clogged in between the blades. Dipping it in water, rinsing it under running water, or constant verbal abuse couldn’t get the hairs out.
However, I did eventually get the hair out by running my fingers masochistically down the blades several times.
Mmm…The feel of cold metal on my skin. It’s intoxicating.
Oh…What?
Anyway, a day later I shaved with the Quattro again, except with much easier stubble. It plowed through my sexy Brad Pitt-stubble just as easily as my Mach3 could and this time there wasn’t any clogging.
Overall I was pleased with the Quattro. It gave me a shave just as good as my Mach3, but did it more comfortably.
Will it replace my Mach3?
I’m not sure because the price for the Quattro’s replacement razor cartridges is slightly more expensive than the Mach3’s. Well I guess that makes sense, since the handle of the Quattro is slightly thicker, which means it’s a little more uncomfortable when I’m getting screwed with it.
(Editor’s Note: Our fellow reviewers at The Message Whore also reviewed the Schick Quattro Midnight awhile back. Their review was much less favorable. You can read their review here.)
Item: Schick Quattro Midnight
Purchase Price: FREE (Thanks Goldberry!)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Pros: Four frickin’ blades. More comfortable shave than my Gillette Mach3. The feel of cold metal.
Cons: Longer hairs will become clogged in between blades. With four blades, it shaves just as close as my Gillette Mach3. Being screwed by razor companies.
I use an electric razor, myself, although I occasionally use a Mach 3 also. I like electric razors because, while you do have to replace parts occasionally, there’s a lot less expense involved (other than the initial expense) and much less chance of cutting yourself. I think regular razors probably do work better on heavy beards such as yours (which I don’t have.)
My husband uses an electric also, but he puts on a shaving powder that gives him a much closer and smoother shave (and he smells damn sexy afterwards). I thought about using the Quattro for my legs or pits, but I love my Venus. :o)
I’m not sure if you’ve revied it yet or not, but I fell for the “awesome” tv ads for the Gillette M3 Power. “it sends micropulses”. Horses**t. It’s a 10 dollar vibrator that jumps all around your face. I’d love to see you review that one!
I’d love to try one of these new fancy schmancy razors on my legs, but I’m too damn cheap. I buy 12 disposables Bics for a buck and that lasts me about a year. Talk about a bargain!!
4 blades seems like overkill!
Your reviews KILL, but I dig this guy’s photo of the Quattro experience.
http://img10.exs.cx/img10/5854/shaving7.jpg
Here Is A Link For All The Ladies To try The Razor For Free
http://www.quattroforwomen.com/sq_master_flash.cfm?rd=1
I Had A Link For The Men’s Razor But Cant Find It.
If I Find It Ill Post It.
Good Review!
I’m convinced that the more blades there are, the more chances there are to cut yourself.
My boyfriend is a Lance Armstrong-esque bike rider and so he shaves his legs. He uses some fancy multi-blade thing. When we got snuggly enough that I brought shower supplies over to his place, he was surprised to see me with a disposable Bic, albeit pink. He was further stunned when I quickly shaved my legs in the shower sans gel/cream/goo. Moral of the story, my legs are as baby smooth as his, and I only used one blade. Would someone explain the purpose of multiple blades? Why not just multiple strokes over the same area with one blade?
Infamous,
I think the idea is that you increase your chances of cutting yourself if you go over the same area several times, not to mention that your skin gets dried out if you keep running a blade over it.
These razors remind me of an old SNL skit for a razor that had something like thirteen blades.
But that’s how they get you, with the freebies. We have received a number over the years (I suspect the high school sells a list) because my teenage son receives them too. Free razor, $15.00 for replacement blades. What a racket.
I think the purpose of multiple blades is for several reasons: laziness, prevents razor burns and prevents in-grown hairs.
Once you go electric you can never go back! And not that vibrating thing, if I have anything vibrating by my face it’s definitely NOT going to have razor blades attached to it – as a matter of fact, I don’t want anything that vibrates or has “vibrate” in its name near my face! I got one of those Norelco Cool Skin rechargable shavers for X-Mas and it rules! You can take it in the shower and it has a shaving cream dispenser built in – although the shaving cream refill packs are a bit pricey.
Chuck – I’ve always thought about getting an electric razor, but I felt paying $100 for something decent was kind of high. Plus I have to clean the razor and eventually replace the blades, which I hear are kind of expensive.
Goldberry – Maybe I’ll use the Quattro on my legs and pits and then let you know how it was.
The Delawarean – I’ve also been curious about the Gillette M3 Power, but the initial cost, plus the cost of batteries made me decide not to try it.
Webmiztris – I wish I could use the el cheapo razors, but I’m afraid of looking like I just shaved on a plane during extreme turbulence.
nat – I wonder if that dude shaved off all his hair, including eyebrows.
Damon – Thanks for the link. I just requested a free sample. Wow, I get to review a women’s product. Sweet.
TheInfamousJ – Going over the same area with a razor is bad, because eventually you’re going to be scraping off skin and that’s painful. Also, the razor burn it may cause doesn’t look very good, especially on a face. Although for Mikael Gorbachev it might look normal.
Toni – Unless you like the feel of cold metal on your skin. Oooh, cold metal. Intoxicating.
Peggasus – Yup, just like the cell phone companies. Get a free phone, but you gotta pay the monthly subscription.
Rygar – I don’t know if I’ll ever give electric razors a really chance. There’s something soothing about hearing the blade glide across my skin and cut down hairs. It’s like the feeling I get when I tear a piece of paper into strips.
why do men’s razors always get the new advancements first? our legs not as important as faces? i havent seen a 4-blade razor for women anywhere around here…
If I’m gonna get screwed, it better be with one of those new vibrating ones. It must feel great when you are shaving your testic . . . um . . . beard.
I use the M3 Power. I was as skeptical as ev eryone else but I must say, I will never go back!!! It is the smoothest shave I have ever gotten. Some days I can go two days without shaving…it’s that smooth. I’ve also never cut myself with that razor. I thought it was a bunch of horses__t too but damn if the thing don’t work spectactularly. I highly recommend it.
For what it’s worth, the woman’s version of this product (dark pink instead of black!) is not really very good, so it’s not a surprise that they’re giving it away for free. It would probably work well on a man’s face, but not on a woman’s legs. It just gets clogged up with hair and doesn’t cut very well.
I love the electric I got for x-mas. Don’t think I’ll ever go back to regular blades. But they do need some getting used to. I got kinda chaffed for the first week, but after actually reading the instructions, (I know, it goes against all things manly) it actually said that it will take some getting used to. Now I love it.
It’s a Norelco and cost my wife about 250 bucks. Good thing I didn’t have to pay for it.
Megan – When you get back to the States, you can pick up the women’s version of this razor. It’s PINK! It’s SOOOO CUTE!
kaos – Vibrating blades near my balls must blow badly.
Fred – I think skin type is the reason why people have different feelings about the M3 Power. I might try it, but I just got this razor and I like to run things into the ground, so I think I’ll stick with it for a while. Until they create Nair for Men that specifically deal with facial hair.
Visitor – Well when I get my free sample, my hairy legs will definitely clog up the blades.
greg – I was reading somewhere that your face will take about 30 days to get used to an electric razor, but I could be wrong about that.
I have sensitive skin and a single blade feels like I’m ripping the hairs out two blades don’t last so long I love the power M3 and will no longer use anything else
I use the Mach3 Turbo and buy my blades in quantity off eBay. Some patience and persistence, and you can get them about a dollar each. Far better than those two bladed razors of the ancients (then again I tended to buy whatever was cheap.) Plus if you apply too much pressure and cut yourself, you get three parallel cuts and you can tell everyone you got clawed wrestling a jungle cat.
Regarding foamyhead, that’s Rob Cockerham:
http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/shaving/shaving.html
gko – Buy Mach3 blades off of eBay…Frickin’ brilliant! Dammit I bought underwear from eBay, why didn’t I think of buying Mach3 blades. Thank you.
Have tried the quatro, and the M3 Power (M3 power turbo i think) my face is a 3 blade face. The extra blade on the quatro just cuts me. I think the reason is the fact i shave without looking most of the time, and also dry shave allot. The M3 has the ablity to do what i need.. and i dont ever worry about cutting my self when i am shaving the most sensitive parts.
If you listen to the commercials for these razors they tell the whole story.Each blade does a specific thing.Only one blade makes the cut at the skin.Do we need to have hairs charged,pulled trimed?Give me a rasor with just the one blade that does the cutting,and I will vacation with the money I save.
Hey Marvo, your review inspired me to write about my first time shaving my legs. Here’s the link! I suppose I should trackback to this particular article so I’ll do that as soon as I can 🙂
http://www.kaonashi.fierceblogs.com/index.php?p=141
Travis – Dry shaving? Shudder.
Bob – Or you could grow a beard and save even more money.
Toni – Was your first time shaving a recent occurrence? Only kidding? 🙂
I got a free Schick Quatro in the mail and I thought it was the coolest thing and being even more cheap than you when it comes to beauty supplies, I was really excited to get it. Unfortunately, I would give it a rating of 1 for the following reasons:
1) when you drop it (as I do a lot in the shower) the head breaks off and it’s really hard to get back on without shredding your fingers when your hands are soapy in the shower
2) you have to hold it a just the right angle to make contact with the skin. Otherwise, it feels like it’s just shaving off the top layer of skin
3) i swear that the stubble grows back twice as fast as a gillette 2 blade with moisurizing pad
Just my 2 cents!!
PS – being female, I use it on my legs and underarms….:-)
Target has their own brand of razor cartridges which are compatible with the Gillette Mach3 razor. They cost less than half the price as Gillette’s own replacement cartridges.
I personally use the Gillette Sensor Excel (2 blades). The Gillette brand package of 10 replacement cartridges costs about $12 at Target. The Target brand package of 10 replacement cartridges costs about $4. Even better, I personally like the feel and performance of the Target brand better than the original Gillette cartridges.
does target make them for women too? personally, I have yet to find a razor that does what i want it to do. Stop the hair from growing back. If they create that razor, despite the price, I will buy it. I know they have that whole electroshock therapy for your hair folicals that will prevent hair growth, but that just seems a little too kinky for me. What happens if you get lost in the alaskan wilderness and need the hair for warmth? maybe the perfect razor won’t stop hair from growing back forever, just a month or so. Also, anyone know a good elec razor for women?
CheapShopper – Well I requested for a free woman’s Schick Quattro, so we will see if my legs and underarms like it.
Robert – Unfortunately, I don’t have a Target here in this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I’ve been praying to the Shopping Gods for one, but this state has yet to receive one.
Amy in GA – If you don’t like electrolosis, you can go the laser removal route, because lasers are cool.