It’s estimated that the US alone produces 2 billion disposable plastic razors each year. The handles are usually made of plastic and even the metal blades cannot be placed into municipal recycling bins because they are sharp. (Recycling is oftentimes sorted by hand so don’t put anything sharp in your recycling!)

Luckily, there are some easy options to avoiding this disposable plastic waste. Here are a few.

Safety Razors

Safety razors are simply metal razors with refillable blades. These razors allow for a better shave and result in less skin irritation compared to plastic cartridge razors. There are endless options online.

If you’re looking for a similar replacement for your current razor, this is a good option. If you’re open to different ways of hair removal you might want to explore one of the next options.

Epilator

An epilator plucks the hair out of the pore which means you can go longer between hair removals. One of my best friends has used an epilator for years. Her Braun epilator lasted her ten years before she had to replace it! Granted this is technically made of plastic but it’s not meant to be disposable.

Plucking

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money and have a lot of patience, you can grab a pair of tweezers and pluck manually.

I started doing this over 20 years ago. I would mainly shave with a disposable razor but when I had time, I would pluck. And over time, my hair grew finer and more sparse. Now, I just pluck because I have so little hair left.

Sugaring Wax

Sugaring wax is similar to traditional waxing but less painful. Plus, since all the ingredients are natural, you don’t have to worry about mystery chemicals irritating your skin. Here’s what you need:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• cloth strips

Here’s a video with the instructions:

What do you think? Do you already use one of these methods? Let me know your best tips in the comments!

For related and random posts, check out:

• 15 Easy Plastic-Free Bathroom Swaps
• Plastic-Free Lip Balm