CARE AND MAINTENANCE

Here is everything you need to know about the care and maintenance of your shaving tools such as safety razors, shaving brushes, razors and shavers. With proper care and maintenance, your shaving products will provide you with many years of wonderful shaving!

Care and maintenance - Safety razor

Care and maintenance are especially important when it comes to your safety razor because it has close contact with your skin.

Why it’s important to clean and care for your safety razor

Thorough cleaning and care of your safety razor is important both for your own health and for your safety razor to last longer.

When your safety razor comes into contact with the skin during wet shaving, bacteria and viruses that are located in the outermost layer of the skin can stick to it. When you then shave, there is a risk that these will get into small wounds that easily form. This, in turn, can lead to skin problems but also more serious problems. Therefore, careful care and maintenance of your safety razor is important.

Should a cut occur during wet shaving, it is important to address and fix it before continuing shaving. The easiest is to use an alum stick or alum stone. It reduces the risk of skin problems and the spread of bacteria and viruses.

Soap residues and other things that stick to the safety razor risk eating away at the material over time. Even though metal is durable, your safety razor will hopefully last for many years and therefore a lot of shaving. Another reason why careful care and maintenance of your safety razor is important.

If the safety razor is also allowed to air dry properly in a rack, it can also last longer.

How to clean your safety razor

If you have soap and limescale residue on the razor, you can clean it with a toothbrush. Use a completely clean separate toothbrush and not your regular toothbrush that you use to brush your teeth with. If you do this, you risk cross-contamination between the teeth, gums and skin where small cuts can occur. The same goes for the fact that you can get bacteria from the skin into your mouth. Change the cleaning toothbrush at regular intervals.

Always use caution when cleaning your safety razor with a toothbrush. If you use a safety razor with a butterfly opening, i.e. where the head is opened by screwing on the handle, you should be extra careful. This is so as not to damage any part.

For parts of the planer that are not metal, it is usually enough to just rinse it off, although it may need to be brushed as well. When it comes to materials other than synthetic, such as wood, horn and other materials, be careful and preferably only use a damp cloth and dry gently so as not to risk damaging the handle.

Always make sure that the safety razor is thoroughly dry after using it. Feel free to hang it in a rack that makes it easier to keep it fresh. Then it also does not lie against surfaces that can risk spreading bacteria and viruses to it. If you drop it on the floor, for example, you should always rinse it off.

How often should I clean my safety razor?

When it comes to the care and maintenance of your safety razor and how often you should clean your safety razor is very much up to you.

Care and maintenance is very important if you yourself are sick or someone in your home is sick, it is very important to keep the safety razor cleaned. It is a good idea to store it in a sealed container to reduce the risk of spreading bacteria and viruses. If you are sick or someone in your home is sick, it is important that you change the double razor blade frequently. This means that the risk of bacteria and viruses spreading to a lesser extent.

A cleaned and fresh safety razor will also last longer than one that is never or very rarely cleaned. If you clean it once a week or once a month if you don’t use it daily, it’s probably a good guideline. But it’s up to you how much and how often you want to clean it. Remember to also rinse it off thoroughly after each shave.

I want to know more

See our great guide to safety razors

Care and maintenance - Shaving brushes

Rinse the shaving brush thoroughly in clean water after each use to avoid dried soap residue.

How to clean your shaving brush

Feel free to rinse it slightly downwards in a directional direction so as not to get an unnecessary amount of water into the knot of the brush, which can damage it. Shake and gently squeeze the water out of the brush with light pressure, then dry it against a clean towel. As with safety razor cleaning, it is important to use a separate clean towel to avoid cross-contamination. The best thing is to just let the shaving brush hang.

Just like with the safety razor, there is a risk of spreading bacteria and viruses with the shaving brush. This is when the bristles from the shaving brush hit the skin and pores. Then viruses and bacteria can get stuck in these and if you are unlucky, these can end up in open wounds and cause, among other things, skin irritation. Therefore, it is very important to care and maintain the shaving brush.

How to best store your shaving brush

We recommend storing your shaving brush hanging upside down in a rack. This means that no water runs down the hair knot and the brush will have a longer life. Perhaps the most important thing you can do when it comes to the care and maintenance of your shaving brush. By hanging upside down, it also looks nicer in your bathroom and you always know where to put it when you need to shave. The water also has a good chance of flowing out from the brush and there is less risk of the brush being worn and destroyed in the long run.

So why should the shaving brush hang upside down? Why is it important for care and maintenance? If the shaving brush is straight up instead, there is a risk that moisture and moisture will get down into the sensitive brush knot that holds the brush head together. Too much moisture and moisture in the knot risks ruining it and then ruining the shaving brush. In some cases, it is possible to replace the brush head, but not in all. Therefore, you should ideally let your shaving brush hang upside down.

I want to know more

We also have a nice guide to shaving brushes.

Care and maintenance - Razor and sharpener

In order for the razor to maintain its sharp edge, it is very important that it receives proper maintenance, otherwise it will have to be resharpened. A razor can be a costly investment at first, but since it will last for many years, perhaps a lifetime, if not even more, it is important that it is cared for and maintained properly. Perhaps the razor can become an heirloom for generations.

Why you should groom your razor

The most important part of care and maintenance, and the part that you can do most easily yourself is harrowing.

Styling a razor has two purposes. First, to straighten out the microscopic waves that form in the edge in connection with shaving. These are very small, but if the razor is not trimmed, these can lead to the blade becoming worse and eventually risk being damaged and/or cracked. In addition, when grooming, dust particles and other things are removed from the blade that risk ending up in small cuts. Straightening of a razor is done with a sharpener and should always be done before shaving, never after shaving.

Sharpen the knife before each use by pulling it with light pressure, knife spine first, over the stretched brush.

First, use the fabric-covered side to remove dust particles and other things that are stuck to the blade.

Then use the leather side to straighten out the microscopic waves that are created when shaving.

Do not groom a wet razor or after shaving, which can damage both the razor and razor.

Again, grooming the razor is the most important care and maintenance you can do from a razor.

When you turn the knife, it is very important that you roll it over the back of the knife and not over the edge, otherwise you will ruin the delicate edge! The brush needs to be greased with yellow (leather side) and white (canvas side) paste from time to time to maintain its suppleness.

Care and maintenance after using the razor

Rinse the knife after use and dry the side of the blade lightly with a clean towel. It’s actually best not to rinse it under water and just wipe off any soap residue and other things that have stuck. You should not use harsh detergents or other chemicals that can affect and corrode the delicate metal in the razor. If necessary, a few drops of alcohol-based solution especially for metal can be used.

Especially in case of illness, either if you are sick yourself or someone in the family is sick, it is important to clean the razor. If you are sick and use a shavette, a razor with a replaceable razor, you should change the razor blade preferably after each shave to reduce the risk of bacteria and viruses spreading.

Just like with the safety razor and shaving brush, it is very important that you use a special towel and not an already used dirty towel.

It is very important that the razor is stored in a clean and dry place so that bacteria and other things do not get to stick to the blade and risk getting into the skin and blood.

Sharpening the razor

We recommend that you take your razor to a skilled professional for sharpening, otherwise there is a risk that the blade of the knife will be damaged and it will become unusable.

I want to know more

Feel free to read more in our grooming guide

Grooming guide

In our guide to razors, we have more information about razors and how to take care of them.

The razor guide

Care and maintenance - Shaving bowls and other accessories

We recommend that you only hand wash our products with mild detergent, usually only warm water from the tap is enough. Feel free to do this in connection with shaving.