When I was eight months pregnant, I officially stopped shaving my legs. It was too hard to bend over and my feet were too swollen to even prop up on the little bench I’d placed in the shower to help me. Screw it, I thought. I’ll just wait until after I have the baby. Three months later, I still hadn’t gotten around to it (in my defense, it was the dead of winter by this point—but also, when you’re wearing sweatpants covered in spit-up, who cares?). Finally, four months after the baby was born, enough was enough.
The only problem: I was in the shower when I decided I had to shave my legs right that second, and there was no razor in sight. It had been so long, I didn’t even have any disposable razors in my bathroom drawer. I called out to my husband, who rummaged around to see if he had anything I could use. “Oh,” he called over the shower water. “I do have this razor.”
The razor in question was black and ornately designed, like it had been a hookah pipe in a previous life. It had been part of my husband’s on-flight toiletry kit when he had taken a business trip to South Africa on Emirates airline last year, but he had never gotten around to using it. I eyed it suspiciously. It was made of plastic and clearly disposable, but it had a heft that my usual Bic didn’t. I lathered up and marveled at its precision and ability to swivel as it whacked down every last hair in its path. With a fresh razor, I typically get at least one nick—not so with this incredible invention.
Once I’d moisturized my ridiculously smooth legs and gotten dressed, I raced to my computer to find out more about the razor of my dreams. It’s made by Truefitt & Hill, a British brick-and-mortar barbershop that also sells toiletries online. And while I wouldn’t be able to afford a first-class ticket on Emirates anytime soon to stock up on more razors, I could get a five-pack from the Truefitt & Hill website. I bought three sets, and I’ll never use a drugstore razor again.
At $8 each, they’re definitely more expensive than a typical disposable razor. But I can get about two weeks of use out of each one, and with its sleek triple-blade head, I still have not had a single cut. Since I’m back in the leg-shaving game, a great razor is definitely something I’m willing to splurge on. Now if you’ll excuse me, my silky-smooth gams and I have some summer dresses to try on.
