We first heard about Dollar Shave Club through their hilarious and very clever marketing web commercial which went viral. I enjoyed looking through DSC website and learning about the products that they offer. The business concept is spot on and allows users of Gillette and other similar products to reduce costs massively.

Getting started is very easy. On your first order you will be sent a handle and a set of three heads.. There are three different tiers to choose from with cheapest starting at $1/month, the second at $6/month and the final at $9/month.

The $1/month tier will get you the most basic razor heads which have two stainless steel blades and a lubricating strip. Each month you receive five cartridges delivered straight to your door. Unfortunately shipping and handling is not included in the $1, so you will have to add this small cost on top.

For $6/month you will receive four cartridges of blades a month but this time they have four stainless steel blades and the same lubricating strip. Shipping and handling is also included in this tier so you won’t have to add any extra cost.

Finally on the $9/month tier you will again receive four cartridges a month but with six stainless steel blades and the addition of a trimmer edge. Again shipping and handling is included in this tier.

Once you’ve signed up you’ll soon receive your first package through the door. Inside you’ll find a handle and razor heads of the tier you chose. If you decided to add any of the optional extras such as the shave butter or post shave, these will also be included with some simple instructions. The package also features more of the humor that we love from this company, but we’ll leave you to see this for yourself.

In my package I received the $6/month razor, four cartridges, shave cream and post shave moisturiser. We decided to put the 4 bladed razor in a head-to-head challenge against my trusty Gillette Fusion ProGlide. To make it fair I decided to shave half of my face using each razor. I lathered some of Dr. Carver’s Easy Shave Butter onto my face and began to shave.

I must say that unfortunately the shave butter just didn’t do it for me. This is not due to it being a bad product but out of personal preference I use shaving foam. The Dollar Shave Club 4X razor gave a great first shave. Although it didn’t feel quite as close as the Fusion, the razor glided over the skin and I felt absolutely no tugging. Even after the shave there was no irritation which I am used to seeing when using a new razor for the first time.

When comparing the prices between the two, the DSC product comes out miles above the Gillette Fusion ProGlide and for that matter most other brands as well. If you were to sign up to the $6/month tier like we received then it works out at $1.50 per blade cartridge ($6 / 4 cartridges). We went to Amazon.com to see how much Gillette are charging for a four pack of blade cartridges, and found the price per cartridge to be  $4.24 ($16.99 / 4 cartridges). Even if the shave wasn’t quite as good, this is a small sacrifice to make for the money saved.

Verdict

Dollar Shave Club is great for two simple reasons, the first being the money you are saving. Although some may argue that buying in bulk would bring the costs down to around the same, not everybody wants to buy in bulk and have razors lying around everywhere. The second reason is the automation and simplicity of the whole process. You simply sign up once, and every month your razor cartridges will turn up at your door without you doing anything.

With a name like Dollar Shave Club we weren’t expecting the greatest shave in the world. This being said, I was very impressed and the products as a whole exceeded my expectations. DSC is available in the US, Canada and Australia currently. Click the link below to find out more!