There’s no reason to settle for shaving devices that leave you with ingrown hairs or a bad case of razor burn: Invest in one of the best razors for men instead and banish post-shave irritated skin forever. (Of course, if you’re experiencing consistent irritation, you might need to switch up your general approach—either by overhauling your shaving regimen entirely or revisiting the canonized rules of razor hygiene.)
But if you’ve already done all that, the tool you’re using is likely to blame. So we took it upon ourselves to test out the best razors for men and relay our findings to you. Because, as it turns out, there’s a whole lot of variety to explore. Below you’ll find a comprehensive list of our favorites, all of which—when paired with a proper skincare routine and an appropriately sharp blade—delivered a baby-smooth shave each and every time, razor bumps be damned.
So whether you’ve got sensitive skin and opt for the comforts of an old-school safety razor, or prefer the carefully weighted high-tech a multi-blade razor offers, there’s a pick here that’s right for you.
The Best Men’s Razor
Our longstanding favorite in this field, Harry’s Winston razor has that “bounce” you look for in the best razor for a close shave: It’s weighted perfectly to give you the right amount of pressure, glide, and precision that you need. It’s also one of our favorite designs too, with the sleek aluminum body and matching silver grip. Last but not least, is the efficiency of Harry’s razor-replenishment service— these 5-blade Swedish-steel heads come to your door for less than $2 per piece.
The Best Single-Blade Razor
The Shark Tank -backed Supply uses a nifty sliding installer to load single bare-metal blades straight into its sleek metal frame. Many new safety-blade shavers don’t love handling a bare blade—Supply’s razor takes care of that. Consider it driving automatic compared to the manual-transmission double-blade shave from more traditional razors. You still get a close, smooth shave from a simple single-blade design, but without the fuss.
The Best Gillette Razor
We all want peace and harmony between blade and skin. Gillette’s Skinguard razor and blades are the solution, since they are designed to lubricate the skin and precisely modulate the blade’s pressure. The dual-blade razor doesn’t shave quite as closely as, say, a 5-blade cartridge, but that should be music to the ears of anyone with sensitive skin.
The Most Innovative Razor
The new razor from Leaf combines much of what we love about cartridge razors—multiple blades, a pivoting head—and combines those virtues with sharp, inexpensive safety blades. The Leaf lets you decide how many blades to stack. A single blade is a lot like a traditional safety razor that happens to pivot, but stack three and you’ve got a serious close shave razor—not for the faint of heart. This is one of the more exciting new shaving products in a long time.
The Best Cartridge Razor
Schick’s Hydro5 series deploys a soothing gel as you shave, which comes in three varieties: a cooling menthol, hydrating coconut oil, or a formulation for sensitive skin with herbal extracts. They all use five blades to give you a smooth, steady, shock-absorbant shave, includes a single blade mode for spot-checks and detailing, and refills will always be available at your closest drugstore.
The Best Razor For Sensitive Skin
If you’re prone to shaving bumps, ingrown hairs, and irritation, then you should consider the switch to a safety razor. Bevel’s safety razor is weighted perfectly to give you a smooth, single-blade shave that won’t ravage your skin. There’s a learning curve, but if you master it, this razor will be the most comfortable way to get cleaned up. It’s a cost effective way to shave, too: Safety blades are much cheaper to replace than cartridge heads.
The Best Heated Razor
Gillette’s product innovation team recently launched this heated razor, in a successful effort to emulate the classic hot-towel shave. It does more than just feel good: the heat helps open the pores for a smooth, irritation-free shave. It’s powered by a rechargeable warming bar and has a flex-disc head that rotates with the contours of your face.
The Best Disposable Razor
Do you shave infrequently enough to mess with high-tech setups or subscription services? Or, do you shave so frequently that you often run out of replacement blades? In either case, it’s wise to have some disposable razors at the ready. BIC’s pivot-head, aloe-strip blades are especially sharp on first use, and an 8-pack will only set you back $12.
The Best Razor for Guys With Beards
Maybe you prefer some scruff, or a full beard, but you still need to clean up the perimeter. And maybe the standard-fare cartridge blades just aren’t cutting it given the way they obscure your mustache and beard border. That’s where these Trim vertical blades come in handy: They work a lot more like a straight-razor shave from the barber to help you shave clean lines where you need them.
The Best Electric Razor
We love a multitasking grooming product, and Philips Norelco’s OneBlade trimmer-shaver can handle just about every hair-taming task you assign. Be it facial hair or body hair, it can trim, shave, or detail as you need, wet or dry, and has interchangeable blades for every use; it even comes with a skin guard for those more precious, sensitive spots. It’s rechargeable and gives up to an hour of use with each full battery.
Plus 3 More Razors We Love
How to Prevent Razor Burn
Simply follow these steps to prevent shaving irritation once and for all.
