New Year Wet Shaving Resolutions

Wet Shaving. It doesn't have to be a boring chore. 2024 is a new year, a new you - time to make new year resolutions. Rather than the usual, get fit, eat healthily....this year why not think about your wet shaving routine and how you can make a positive change to how you wet shave? 

At Agent Shave we have come up with some New Year shaving resolutions that might just change your life - for good!

A plastic free shave resolution!

There has never been a better time to consider the amount of plastic you use when you shave. 

It is estimated that nearly five millions tons of plastic* is used in packaging in the UK each year. If you are shaving with a standard multi blade or cartridge razor - every time you dispose of your blade, it goes into landfill. Think about it. Cartridge blades cannot be recycled.

There is an alternative! Make your new year resolution this year to ditch the plastic cartridge razor and invest in a safety razor. A safety razor is a plastic free option to a cartridge razor. Hang on, you say? Isn't that what old folks used to use to shave? Well you might be pleasantly surprised! The design of many safety razors hasn't changed much in 50 years, with brands such as Merkur and Rockwell razors bringing them into a new shaving era.

Take the Leaf Shave razor as a perfect example. It looks similar to a cartridge razor, it has a pivoting head, like a cartridge razor but hey - no plastic! The Leaf Shave razor is innovative and accepts 1, 2 or 3 double edge razor blades to allow you to achieve the perfect wet shave. 

Go vegan shaving resolution

Wait, what? What has going vegan got to do with wet shaving we hear you ask? 

When you go vegan, you are making a life choice to abstain from the use of all animal products in your diet and lifestyle. Finding the right shaving gear to suit a vegan lifestyle can be daunting. Luckily at Agent Shave we are here to help! 

Firstly lets think about shaving soap. Traditionally tallow is used in shaving soap formulas as it is cheap, readily available and provides an excellent base. Tallow is an animal fat, derived from sheep, beef or other animals. So if you are thinking about going vegan it will be important within your choice to think about how your shaving soap is made.

Thankfully there is now a good choice of artisans that produce a vegan shaving soap base. Starting with UK artisans:

• Wickham Soap Co. The handmade shaving soap formula has a blend of vegetable oils and cocoa butter for a sumptuous glossy lather. With 9 wonderful scents to choose from there will be one for you!
• Phoenix and Beau Artisan handmade in Hitchin, Kerry and Sarah launched the vegan shaving soap range in Summer 2021. Available in 3 scents, they are an opulent blend of skin loving oils and butters.

As more of us are choosing a vegan lifestyle, more shaving soap artisans are on a mission to produce the very best formula! We all search for the holy grail of shaving soap, with an awesome lather, protection and post shave feel - many think this cannot be achieved without tallow however there are some worldwide artisans that have well and truly produced and outstanding vegan shaving soap base:

• Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements handmade in Arizona, USA Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements produce a hot saponified vegan shaving soap. In the quest to make an even better vegan formula the CK-6 formula was launched - made up of exotic butters, oils and waxes. 
• The Goodfellas Smile Italian artisan shaving soap. The AJ-1 super formula has been launched in many scents which is 100% vegetable formula with no added glycerine. Based around 4 pure oils this vegan formula provides outstanding protection and hydration for your wet shave.
• Ariana & Evans have now produced the VR1 formula shaving soap which is a fully vegan base, available in 5 fantastic scents!

So now you have discovered there are plenty of vegan shaving soap choices available for your wet shave, it is time to think about your shaving brush. The shaving brush has historically been made using animal hair such as badger or boar, which if you are going vegan is a big no no!

Thankfully there are now many shaving artisans producing a synthetic shaving brush that in many circumstances outperforms it's animal counterparts. The desire to be ahead of the game has meant that retailers are experimenting with different synthetic filaments. RazoRock and Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements have an excellent selection of synthetic shaving brushes. We love the new Phantom Aerolite synthetic shaving brush from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements.

Will your new year shaving resolution become a positive lifestyle change? So agents - let us know what you decide!

*  https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8515/