Dollar Shave Club Review

For the last few years, it seems that the Dollar Shave Club has been advertised all over the place. After being advertised somewhat extensively for years, the company was bought by Unilever in 2016 for an estimated $1billion. It’s safe to say since then, advertising has only increased.

But are their products as good as they state, or are they just trying to sell you a cheap razor at a more expensive price? Well, I tried the Dollar Shave Club myself and I’ve decided to share that experience with you so that you can learn from my investment.

The Dollar Shave Club Review – Trial

I signed up to the $6 trial (I’m in the UK, so it was actually £5) and the package came extremely quickly, within a couple of days. With the Dollar Shave Club, with the trial you get the razor handle and 4 cartridge blades.

It was also accompanied by a bunch of packaging that was trying to upsell the product, even though I’d already signed up for the most expensive razor. I doubt very much that many people are actually reading the stuff that comes with it, but I guess some people might. For me, it’s just a bit of a waste of paper – I just want a cheap razor, not a novel to go with it.

Anyway, in the trial set they also include a sizeable Dr Carver’s Shave Butter, which makes the trial pretty worth it for the cost. The Shave Butter alone would cost $4-5 dollars, and even though it’s a bit overpriced, it’s still decent quality in my opinion.

I signed up for the Executive Razor handle, which I felt (and still feel) is high quality. You also get 4 of their six blades razors, which have an aloe vera strip on them too. I also felt that these looked pretty decent, and after unboxing I was pretty happy with myself for purchasing. In retrospect, when I compare this handle to the Harry’s razor or the luxurious Cornerstone handle, it isn’t quite as good in terms of quality. But, it’s sturdy enough for a good shave.

The Shave Itself

Spoiler – I wrote this when I first started using the DSC. Update to now, and I’ve been continuously using their razors for over a year. So, they must have something going for them.

Usually I like to shave in the shower. Because I have a bald head, usually I would only use a razor for the scalp and a beard trimmer for my face. But for the purposes of testing this out, I decided to go completely shaven. I also used a different razor blade for the scalp as I did for the beard, as commonly the hair on your hair can be thicker and more coarse.

The razor itself is really good – I thought that it was based on the Dorco Pace 6, which one of my friends uses. I later found out that they’re exactly the same thing, and Dollar Shave Club just outsource their production to Dorco.

After my shower, I lathered up my scalp and found the razor to be pretty great. It works well against the grain, and I didn’t really feel any irritation either. Usually, I use the Headblade and I definitely felt that this was a step up in comparison. Not in terms of usability, because I love the Headblade for it’s design. But the razor blades themselves are much better with the Dollar Shave Club in my opinion. So if you want something that’s of a decent quality, then it might be worth looking at this set.

It also worked well on the face, and I didn’t experience any irritation that way either. I have to say I was particularly impressed with the DSC. So much so, that I’ve continued to use their products – or ones like them (I’ll elaborate in a minute) – ever since. I generally go through one razor blade a week, shaving my head every other day. When you add up this cost of a blade a week, then with the DSC you’re probably looking at $8 a month, which is their standard.

Bear in mind too that I used this on both my face and my head – if you’re a baldy like me, then you’re definitely going to want to opt for this over Harry’s. The Harry’s razor is a little flimsy, and it doesn’t really work well for your head (in fact in their manuals, they say that the razor isn’t suitable for shaving your head). The DSC handle is sturdy enough

I also liked the Dr Carver’s shave butter, but I can’t say that it was dramatically better than some of the cheaper shaving creams that I’ve used. I’ll stick with my cheap Nivea Foam for the time being instead of paying through the nose for this butter, thanks.

The Bad Part – Cost

The main negative that I could see with the Dollar Shave Club is the expensive cost. Sure, the trial pack was nice and provided great value. But after this period, you’re expected to cough of 8 ($10) a month for 4 razor blades. That doesn’t take in to account the Shave Butter, which doesn’t last longer than a month either.

Fortunately, I found a loophole..

I’ve since been ordered the Dorco Pace 6 Razor Blades from Amazon and using them. Dorco are the company that makes the DSC razor blades, and they provide the exact same product at a fraction of the price. When I bought them, they were less than half the cost of the ones from the Dollar Shave Club.

Sure, you have to buy them in bulk to get the best value but for me, this is a far better option. There’s not going to be a point where I don’t need to shave, so buying razors in bulk isn’t really an issue for me. And at a cheaper price, it is definitely worth going for the Dorco Pace 6 blades. You don’t need to worry about a new handle either – they work perfectly fine with the Executive handle from the DSC!

Conclusion

Overall, I can’t say that I recommend the Dollar Shave Club simply because of the expense. I mean, you could get the trial offer to give it a go and if you like it, opt for the razor blades from Dorco. This is probably the best option in my opinion, as you definitely get some value in the trial pack. But as a recurring subscription, I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends as it’s just too expensive. However, I do love the razor blades themselves, so I’d recommend you try and find them in bulk online. Recently however, I’ve noticed they’re getting a little more expensive nowadays, so keep your eyes peeled for good sales.