The Gillette Guard Might Be My New Favorite Disposable Razor
How’s it going? I decided to break out some old-school gear for this one. That’s my blue bowl I’m lathering in, but first let me show you the red one. These are unobtainium at this point. The Wet Shaving Store did these a while back, and they were only around for a little while.
The Lather: Dark Knight from HAGS
I’ve already got a lather going in the blue bowl, whipping up Dark Knight from HAGS. The label’s changed since it first came out. I’m not going to spend much time on the fragrance here because I already did a first-impression video and an outdoor review when it originally dropped, a little over three years ago now. It sold out, came back into stock, and got a new label along the way. Still the same base though: the HATHOR base from HAGS, and it’s still around in the splash and the balm.
Full disclosure, as I said in those earlier videos, I didn’t pay for the soap or the splash. But I liked the fragrance enough that I bought the balm myself. It’s inspired by Percival from Parfums de Marly, and pretty much everything I’ve tried from PDM is a banger.
For a lather booster, I grabbed one of the original ones from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements. Mentholated, and it’s still got a real kick to it. I could feel it lightening up my face before I’d even started lathering. Officially, this was called the Ice mentholated pre-shave and lather booster. I’ve still got the ATG version and the original unscented one too. A lot of mentholated stuff loses its kick over time. This hasn’t.
The brush is one I’ve had for years, still available though. The handle’s made by Frank Shaving, and the knot is the G5, in the exclusive Wet Shaving Store handle. I love that G5 knot.
Quick note before I forget: everything in this video - the soap, the razor, this brush, and the razor stands I’ll get to, you can grab with my 10% off code at The Wet Shaving Store. That’s TOBIN at checkout.
The Gillette Guard, Six Shaves In
If I had one favorite disposable razor, this is it. No question.
Here’s the thing that sold me. You know how a Mach 3, or anything with an aloe strip, gets goopy and stringy when you run it with an artisan soap? Happens to me every time. The Gillette Guard doesn’t have an aloe strip at all. It’s a single blade, and I think it’s one of the best ways to give someone their first taste of single-edge shaving without actually putting a safety razor in their hand. Great travel razor too.
On the efficiency scale, if five is average, I’d put the Guard around a three and a half to four. Not quite average, but not mild to the point of being useless either. Mild on aggression, though. Mild and reasonably efficient are two different things, and this one splits that in an interesting way.
I’ve had my personal handle since 2020. The plastic feels thin, but mine’s never cracked. Andy sent me a fresh one for this video, six shaves in on it now, seven counting now. I said in the unboxing video I’d report back on whether anything had changed, and it hasn’t. Packaging’s different over the years. Head and cartridge are exactly the same.
These are apparently big in India too; Matthew was talking about that in one of his videos. I get why. It’s just a fun way to shave.
Third pass, I rushed it, talked too much, and cut myself. Classic me. I do this on my daily shaves too, not just on camera. There’s something about recording that makes me go faster and pay less attention, and I always forget the mirror’s behind the camera, not in it.
Camera note: my phone mount finally gave out mid-shave, so Emily jumped in to hold the camera for the rest of this. Say hi, Emily.
The Splash
Last thing, the Dark Knight splash, in the witch hazel formula. Same story as the soap: inspired by Percival from Parfums de Marly. I described it in the outdoor review as fresh, citrusy, modern, and sensual, and I’ll stand by that. Emily gave it a sniff off camera and called it really good. You heard it from her, not just me.
Thanks again to Andy for the razors and the stands, to Frank for running that giveaway on the live, and to Emily for jumping in when my gear decided to fall apart on me. Appreciate you all watching.
