Dollar Shave Club and Harry's changed the game. Before they showed up, men were paying absurd prices for Gillette cartridges at the drugstore and nobody questioned it. These two brands made shaving affordable, accessible, and — for the first time in a long time — something men actually thought about. That matters.
But here is the thing nobody in their marketing departments wants you to know: there is a third option that costs less per year, delivers a dramatically better shave, and is actually better for your skin. It is not another subscription box. It is a safety razor and artisan shaving soap — and once you do the math, the decision is obvious.
What Dollar Shave Club and Harry's Actually Cost
Both brands built their reputation on value. Let us look at what a year of shaving actually costs with each one.
Dollar Shave Club
- Starter set: $5 (handle + 4-blade cartridges)
- Cartridge refills: $10/month for 4 cartridges (their 4-blade option)
- Shave butter or cream: roughly $8 every two months
- Annual cost: approximately $168
Harry's
- Starter set: $8 (handle + 2 cartridges + shave gel)
- Cartridge refills: 8-pack for $20, replaced roughly every 6 weeks
- Shave gel: $6 every couple of months
- Annual cost: approximately $150-170
Both are cheaper than buying Gillette Fusion cartridges at retail, which can run north of $200 a year. That was the whole pitch, and it worked. But cheaper than overpriced is not the same as cheap.
What They Get Right
Credit where it is due. Dollar Shave Club and Harry's accomplished something important:
- They broke the drugstore monopoly. Gillette had been raising prices unchecked for decades. Competition forced the entire industry to reconsider pricing.
- They made grooming approachable. Their branding and marketing got a generation of men to care about what they put on their face.
- Convenience is real. Cartridges show up at your door. You do not have to think about it. For men who had never considered their shave routine, that low barrier to entry matters.
If your baseline is a rusty cartridge you have been using for three months and a can of Barbasol, Dollar Shave Club and Harry's are a genuine upgrade. But they are not the destination. They are the on-ramp.
Where Subscription Razors Fall Short
The fundamental problem is not the brand — it is the technology. Multi-blade cartridge razors, no matter who makes them, share the same issues:
- Multiple blades cause irritation. Each blade lifts and cuts the hair slightly below the skin surface. Five blades means five passes on each stroke, which is the primary cause of razor burn, ingrown hairs, and post-shave redness.
- Canned creams and gels dry out your skin. Most contain propellants, sulfates, and synthetic foaming agents. They create the illusion of lubrication without actually protecting or nourishing your skin.
- You are locked into proprietary cartridges. That handle they sold you for five dollars? It only works with their cartridges. That is the subscription model — the handle is the hook, the refills are the profit.
The Artisan Alternative: Do the Math
A safety razor uses a single, double-edged blade. No subscription. No proprietary lock-in. Here is what a year looks like:
- Safety razor (one-time purchase): $30-50 for a quality starter razor
- Double-edge blades: a 100-pack costs $10-15 and lasts most men an entire year
- Tallow-based shaving soap: a single puck from our shaving soap collection lasts 3-4 months with daily use, so roughly $50-60 per year
- Year one cost: approximately $95-125
- Year two and beyond: approximately $60-75 (no new razor needed)
Read that again. After the first year, you are spending roughly half of what a Dollar Shave Club or Harry's subscription costs. The razor pays for itself within months, and a 100-pack of blades costs less than a single month of cartridge refills.
The Quality Difference Is Not Subtle
Cost savings alone make the case, but the shave quality is where the gap becomes impossible to ignore.
The Lather
A tallow-based shaving soap like PasteurVision Shaving Soap produces a dense, slick lather that actually protects your skin during the shave. Tallow is remarkably close to human sebum in its fatty acid profile, which means it absorbs into the skin rather than sitting on top of it. Compare that to the aerosolized foam from a can — there is no contest. If you are curious about the differences, our shaving cream vs soap guide breaks it down in detail.
The Shave Itself
A single blade, guided at the correct angle with proper lather, cuts hair cleanly at the skin surface. No tugging. No lifting. No multi-pass irritation. Men who switch from cartridges to a safety razor consistently report less razor burn, fewer ingrown hairs, and smoother results. If you have never used one, our safety razor guide covers everything you need to get started.
Post-Shave Skin Health
This is the part that surprises most converts. When your lather is made from tallow, shea butter, and natural ingredients instead of synthetic detergents, your skin is actually in better condition after the shave than before it. You are not stripping oils — you are replenishing them. The post-shave feel of a tallow soap is something no canned cream can replicate.
The Bottom Line
Dollar Shave Club and Harry's deserve credit for challenging an industry that needed it. They proved that men care about what they use on their face and that they will not pay a premium just because Gillette tells them to. That was a necessary first step.
But the next step is yours. A safety razor and artisan tallow soap cost less per year, deliver a better shave, and treat your skin like it actually matters. You do not need a subscription. You do not need five blades. You need one good blade, a proper lather, and about two minutes of your morning.
The math is clear. The shave quality is not even close. The only question is whether you are ready to upgrade.