How to Clean Your Safety Razor for Best Maintenance – Easy to Follow Guide
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If you are reading this, it’s safe to assume that soap scum is starting to buildup on your traditional double edge razor. The once shiny and beautiful nickel and chrome finish that got you excited is no more. This can get you demoralized to the extent you no longer look forward to shaving. But before you write it off, here are some tips for proper care on how you can reclaim the razor’s beauty. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know and the best safety razor care to restore it to its prime condition.
Below is the list of products and tools we recommend for easy cleaning of your safety razor.
Let’s get to it – how to clean a safety razor:
What You Need to Clean a Safety Razor
There are high chances you have some or all of these products needed to clean your safety razor in your home already. They include:
- Toothpicks and Q-tips
- An old toothbrush
- A cup or a bowl
- A dry towel
- Regular dish detergent – do not mistake this for dishwasher detergent
- Isopropyl alcohol – generally the higher the alcohol percentage, the better
Now that you know what to use let’s get into the steps to follow.
Step 1
- The first step is to fill the cup or bowl with warm water (4 ounces are enough)
- Add two tablespoons of your dish detergent to the warm water
- Start cleaning the safety razor using the bristles of your toothbrush
- As you clean, dip the toothbrush frequently into your warm soapy mixture
- Ensure you clean every inch of the safety razor
- As you scrub, try and get rid of as much soap scum as possible
Note: we recommend using dish detergent instead of dishwasher detergent because the former does a great job cleaning metallic surfaces on safety razors. Given that it’s mild, you can use it on all metals including pans, pots, and silverware.
Step 2
It’s now time to wield a toothpick or Q-tip and wage war against the soap scum. These tools are essential as they get into the safety razor parts that the toothbrush bristle might have missed.
The difficulty of this step depends on the design of your safety razor. Some safety razors have harder to reach and clean crevices than others.
For instance, the butterfly open safety razor has loads of spots where soap scum can get stuck in the hinge resulting in reduced efficiency and longevity.
The toothpick will come in handy in accessing these crevices, especially after you’ve soaked the safety razor in dish detergent water.
Step 3
At this point, you should pour the used soapy water and clean the bowl or cup thoroughly. Next step, add isopropyl alcohol (4 ounces) to the bowl or cup. As we pointed out, if you can get concentrated isopropyl alcohol, it’ll work even better. Most stores stock 91% isopropyl as the standard percentage. However, if you do some thorough searching, you’ll come across 99% isopropyl alcohol as well.
Next, use your handy toothbrush to clean the safety razor. This process is similar to that of cleaning with soap and water. Constantly stir the toothbrush in the isopropyl and then try scrubbing it to remove the remaining soap scum after the first cleaning stage.
The isopropyl alcohol will work wonders on the safety razor to get rid of the soap scum. The result will be a nice shiny finish after the alcohol evaporates.
Aside from being a good cleaning agent, the alcohol is a great disinfectant too. After using your safety razor for some time, it accumulates hairs, dead skin cells, soap film, and blood (especially if you are learning how to get the perfect shave).
It’s great to disinfect the safety razor occasionally. Alternatively, you can make it a part of your safety razor cleaning routine. The process of disinfecting the safety razor is in the first two steps we’ve outlined. Think of disinfecting like cleaning but with the additional goal of killing bacteria and germs.
Additional Tips
With the above tips, you are set to carry out proper safety razor cleaning. But aside from this, you can perform some maintenance processes weekly or daily to help keep the safety razor and your safety razor blades healthy. Another good idea is to have a razor stand, this will help get rid of moisture.
It’s good practice to have a mason jar full of isopropyl alcohol in your bathroom to help make the disinfecting process easier. Before you start every shave, you can dip the head of the safety razor into the mason jar.
Aside from disinfecting the safety razor, dipping the safety razor in isopropyl alcohol can prevent soap scum from building up after a shaving session. This is also a great way of keeping the blade sharp at all times.
With regular maintenance and cleaning, you can get two extra shaves from your safety razor without compromising the quality of the shaving experience.
Conclusion
Cleaning a safety razor is a walk in the park. While the process is slightly different from disposable razors, straight razor cleaning, and maintaining single-blade straight razors, the tools and products needed for maintaining your safety razor are things you probably have in the house.
Soap scum hinders the performance of a safety razor and also hides its beauty, but the cleaning procedure above will ensure you get the best shaving results as you did when it was relatively new.
Speaking of getting quality results, it’s important to ensure your shaving brush is in good condition and clean as well. In light of this, make a point of reading how to clean a shaving brush and learn the difference between a straight razor and a safety razor.
I hope that my how-to-clean a safety razor article has helped you – enjoy your shaving!
Ruiru Kibet is passionate about beard care and male grooming. He believes it’s an art form and is happy to share his insight with men across the globe. He’s into wet shaving and evidence-based grooming, a passion that helps him analyze men’s grooming brands, products, and wet shaving practices presenting you with the best recommendations and advice. Kevin's profile on Linkedin.