Looking for completely honest Dollar Shave Club reviews or wondering if it’s worth it? I’ve now been using Dollar Shave Club razors for a couple of years and below you’ll see my updated (and completely honest) thoughts! I think it’s a really great way to save on razors — especially if you don’t like to mess with in-store couponing.
Shaving Club Reviews That Made Me Try It
Years ago, I wrote a funny post about how I had been using a disposable razor head without a handle to shave that week because I had left my razor in Dallas on a speaking trip and was too cheap to go buy a new razor when I could make do with just using a razor head until a new razor could come in from Amazon (purchased with a free gift card from Swagbucks).
So many of you commented on that post and gave hilarious suggestions and funny money-saving confessions. (You can read some of those funny comments here.) Plus, some of you left some great tips and tricks for saving on razors!
One of the suggestions that people gave over and over again was for me to sign up for Dollar Shave Club. I think almost every one of us has heard of this program. It’s a monthly subscription box service that sends you razor blades every month so you never run out of razors.
Why I Was Skeptical of Dollar Shave Club Razors
I’ve been skeptical of the whole idea. I’m not really sure why? Maybe it’s because their ads are a bit quirky? Or maybe it’s because I’m spoiled from being able to get razors for FREE for so many years — either with coupons and rebates or through Amazon with gift cards I earned from Swagbucks. I didn’t see the point in paying for a program like this!
You see, for the first few years of our marriage, I always had a surplus of razors I had gotten free by pairing coupons with the drugstore rebate programs. And when the drugstore deals became a lot less abundant, I realized we were spoiled from using great disposable razors! The thought of going back to cheap ones wasn’t really appealing.
The deals at drugstores aren’t as prevalent now, but you can still occasionally find a good deal on razors by pairing a coupon with a sale and/or drugstore rebate. However, just as the deals on razors started waning, I discovered Swagbucks and, ever since then, have used the free gift cards I’ve earned there to cover the costs of razors. I usually just buy high-quality razors that are still priced well. (If I get lucky, I’ll find an e-coupon I can clip to save more!)
So I’ve never looked into Dollar Shave Club other than to think, “Wow! I guess people will pay for anything as a subscription box service! But really… who would PAY for a monthly subscription to get razors in the mail??!”
Dollar Shave Club Reviews from Readers
As you can probably imagine by my cynical attitude, I was super surprised that reader after reader after reader left comments with amazing Dollar Shave Club reviews! Here are just a few of those comments:
Summer said: “Have you considered Dollar Shave Club? I was so skeptical at first, but my husband and I both LOVE it. (We get the middle of the road razors and the cartridges are $6 a month for 4.) They will auto mail them out, but you can change it either from monthly to bi-monthly at any time! AND they e-mail you a few days before your shipment to remind you to make changes. (Speaking from experience!) My mom even got hooked on the program, too.”
Another reader commented and said, “I don’t know how you haven’t discovered the wonder and joy of Dollar Shave Club. I am an every day shaver. I can’t even handle it. These razors are fantastic (even the dollar blades) and you literally can’t beat the price.”
And Lindsay agreed: “We love Dollar Shave Club!! My husband and I use the same razor blades and each have our own handle and pack of blades. We share the refills and only order once every other month, so $36 a year for both of us. Frugal and I love how I never ‘run out’ of refills.”
Really?!?! Apparently I’m one of the few people who thought getting razors in the mail was just a weird idea. 😉
Why I Decided to Try Dollar Shave Club Products
In the name of wanting to investigate this out to see if it was really a good deal and also wanting to follow my own mantra of “don’t knock it until you’ve tried it”, I signed up for Dollar Shave Club. Since it was only $6 per month at the time (now it’s only $4.50!!), I figured that if I didn’t like it, I could cancel after a month or two and not really be out much out of pocket for my experiment!
Plus, since so many of you were looking for Dollar Shave Club reviews, I had promised you all an honest review — and I figured that it was worth spending a little money out of pocket to try this for 3 months and report back to you all with my honest thoughts.
How Does Dollar Shave Club Work?
To get started with Dollar Shave Club, you can sign up for their $4.50 Starter Set that includes the Club Series 6-Blade razor handle, four 6-blade razor cartridges, a trial-sized shave butter, a trial-sized prep scrub, and a trial-sized post shave dew.
When you take advantage of this deal, it signs you up for the Dollar Shave Club membership that will renew after the first month at the full Club Series razor price of $10/month.
After the first month, be sure to go into your membership settings and choose the razor blades you’d like to receive each month. You can opt to switch to a cheaper razor if you want to pay less per month.
There are no hidden fees. You can cancel your subscription at any time. Or you can change plans at any time. When you change plans, you’ll receive a new razor handle for free.
Pause your subscription or change your shipment frequency at any time. You can even get blades every other month if you want!
When I first signed up, this $4.50 Starter Set offer wasn’t available, so I chose the $6 box. If you’re interested, you can go here to watch my unboxing video where I talked more about my first box.
What Comes in a Regular Monthly Box
My initial box included a razor handle, 4 razor blade cartridges, and some extra samples/goodies. The following months, you just get a package with 4 razor blade cartridges every month + the bathroom notes (which are sometimes, sometimes a little crass). They sometimes will include a little sample, too.
Is Dollar Shave Club Worth It?
I have definitely surprised myself with liking Dollar Shave Club — and I’ve found myself agreeing with all the positive Dollar Shave Club reviews! The razors have held up well for me and they give a clean shave. Plus, I think they work just as well as razors that cost more than $4.50 for a razor + 4 cartridges.
One thing I’ve found is that the blades don’t hold up as long as name-brand blades do. As you know, I shave every single day. Because I’m weird like that! 😉 And I typically would only need to replace a cartridge every 3 1/2 weeks or so.
I find myself wanting to replace my cartridge at the 2 1/2 week mark with the Dollar Shave Club razors. But here’s the thing! Since I’m the only one using Dollar Shave Club in my family, I never go through all four cartridges each month! I switched to every other month shipments and it makes it half the price I was paying!
I will say, though, that I switched to the more expensive 6-blade cartridges and found they lasted much longer than the 4-blade cartridges. So if you shave a lot like I do and want your cartridges to last longer, you might opt for continuing with the more expensive blades!
I’ve now been using Dollar Shave Club for a couple of years and still love it!
Some Final Tips
One thing I did want to note is that Kris shared this link with me and it says most of the razors from Dollar Shave Club are from Dorco and encourages people to order directly from Dorco — which I think is a great suggestion! It’s a little cheaper than Dollar Shave Club.
However, when ordering from Dorco, you have to remember to go and order blades. I think one of the major selling points of Dollar Shave Club is that you never have to remember to order razors. They just show up at your door at a lower price than you’d usually pay at the store.
Be sure to check out my post on 7 Secrets to Save Up to $100 Per Year on Razors! (And if you’re interested in other subscription services, you can also get a free Harry’s Shaving Bundle right now!)
Dollar Shave Club Razors Reviews FAQ
Yes! They are great! I do feel like the blades don’t hold up quite as long as name-brand blades do. But it’s such a good price and I can get away with ordering every other month since one blade lasts me about 2.5 weeks.
No, it was actually acquired by Unilever in 2016.
Unfortunately, only Dollar Shave Club blades are compatible with their handles.
I find that the 4-blade cartridges last me about 2.5 weeks. The 6-blade cartridges last a little bit longer and are super nice!
Have you tried Dollar Shave Club before? If so, I’d love to hear your honest Dollar Shave Club reviews and if you think it’s worth it!
I’ve been with DSC now for 4 years or so for my wife and I’s blades, shaving gel, post shave dew, Shampoo and a very nice body wash.. It was great, until the last 6 months. They are out of many products, including 3 of the 4 I order regularly. No Shampoo, not Body Wash and the shave gel I used. I switched late last year to a different one they stock, but it’s no where near as good.
I’ve sent a few e-mails to them asking what the problem is and how long until they restock these products. I received responses each time that were totally “auto robot responses”. No answer to my question, no suggestions as to other products that might also be good…just babble and marketing in a canned e-mail.
So, as we begin the 7th month, where I’m now buying my shaving cream, shampoo and body wash from the store, I’m not sure I’ll continue with them. There blades are cheaper, but they are also cheaper in the sense they don’t last very long as well. Just started looking for other subscription service in Canada and if I find one that appears to be half decent, I’m probably done with DSC. No products, no explanations, no cares.
Blade does not stay on the handle. Pops off everything I try to shave with it. How can DSC fix this problem?
Hi Jennifer! I would contact DSC customer service. about your issues. You can go HERE to submit a request. Hope that helps! -Meg, MSM Team
We are trying to cancel are membership to the Dollar Shave Club and you make it almost impossible. There is not a phone number, there is no way to change the email address we used when we signed up (we don’t have it anymore) and there is no way to email you. Please cancel our membership. Steve Roesner
I am so sorry you are having trouble canceling your membership. You can click here to go to their contact information. I hope that helps! -Jordan, MSM Team
How do I get started
You can click on this link and it will take you to the sign up page! I hope that helps. -Jordan, MSM Team
I just received my mail order of blades, shave cream and body soap and they did not tape the tops of the shave cream or the body soap. The body soap leaked over the entire order and damaged the box. Buy it at the store not mail order.
Did you contact them about it? Hopefully they can get it resolved for you!
Ordered and signed up for club, my razor broke within months, I guess I did not realize razor handles are the disposable kind, reached out to the company, only to be told the guarantee their products fir 30 days, so now I am stuck with all these blades, : DON’T BUY!!!!!!
Oh, wow! That’s awful! Their products are usually amazing and their customer service even better!! I’m so surprised by that, and so sorry that was your experience. -Meg, MSM Team
I cancelled my subscription today because I needed handles (mine are all broken) I tried 3 different times to order and I couldn’t get the help I needed. My time is valuable to me and I am so tired of not getting a response! I am just going to go to Walmart and buy what I need!
We use DSC and love it! I’ve read about Swagbucks on your website for years now and I struggle so hard with loving it and seeing how it is worth my time. I’ve tried it twice and ended up deleting my account both times. Maybe I’m missing something?? Or maybe it’s just not the money saving strategy for my stage of life/personality. I think I remember reading something you wrote about a strategy having to make $20 an hour or more to make it worth it for you to pursue? Does Swagbucks do this for you? I know you also work hard to use your time with intent and meaning. My acquaintance uses it and makes money on it but she also has it blasting on her laptop all day long and works on it throughout each day but she is totally a SAHM and doesn’t have a lot of options for earning extra income. I put my income-earning time and energy into my part-time job in healthcare (10-30 hours a month..really varies)
I think it really just depends on your season of life and what your time is worth. If you have a lot more time than money, it’s *totally* worth it. And if you invest a bit of time in it each day, you can easily earn $25-$50 in gift cards per month — which is huge for people who are barely making ends meet on a bare bones budget. It’s definitely the BEST survey site out there as far as your return on time investment. I work from home, so I’m on the computer a lot. I have their toolbar installed and get notifications for really specific high-paying surveys that I’m qualified for that will take less than 10 minutes. I focus my efforts on swag codes, short surveys, searching a couple times per day, and doing a few no obligation offers. I also use it to print coupons and activate it when I shop online. All of these things that average less than 15 minutes per day– and I probably earn on average about $15-$25 per month. And that’s with barely investing very much time into it. (And I don’t have any referrals, so it’s all my own activity!). Hope that gives you some insight! 🙂 -Meg, MSM Team
We’ve had a membership for about 3 years and I just recently cancelled when they raised their prices. I had been frustrated for quite a while because the shipments kept taking longer and longer to come and being later and later. When they raised their prices I switched to buying razors from Amazon Subscribe & Save
I haven’t experienced the delayed shipping times. That’s interesting! I’m so sorry to hear that! But yes — Amazon S&S is great, too!! -Meg, MSM Team
I have used DSC for 15 months. I started with a side-by-side (left vs right) shave comparison with my Gillette razor. Both blades got dull at the same time and the skin felt the same at the start and end of day.
BUT, the handles for DSC suck. I have had three handles break in 15 months. My Gillette never broke. NEVER. NEVER. I mean after several years! I thought was handle was a fluke. At two, I quit the club. Then I tried again and it broke. It is the mechanism that holds the blade in that breaks.
I have extra blades and I am irritated with the inferior design
Thanks for honestly sharing about your experience! -Meg, MSM Team
If you shave everyday (I did too), you should look into having laser hair removal. It may not be the most frugal option but having smooth legs 24/7 is definitely worth the price! It has been 12 years since I had it done. Can’t even remember what it was like to have to shave!
I was wondering about their comment that is good for coarse hair women and there’s “no more stubble.” Is that true?
Might be cheaper, and it may be a great shave, but I am not willing to find out… (Gillette Fusion costs me $0.13 per month now
I have used the Gillette Fusion for several years. I shave every day. The blades last a LONG time. I wrote the date on the case the last time I changed blades. It was 09/25/2017. I am still using that blade, but the protective strip is starting to come loose, so I will need to change in a week or two. I bought one for my brother in Switzerland. He tells me the blades last him over a year. $17 for four blades might seem like a lot of money, but if I get 32+ months out of them, That’s $0.13 per month.
You may have noticed that Gillette has realized they made a product that is too good. That is why over a year ago they began telling people in their advertisements to change their blades as soon as the blue line on the lubricating strip disappears. Clearly they were losing money because their blades lasted too long.
Maybe some of these “club” blades would last well too, but since I get a great shave with no nicks and it only costs me thirteen cents per month. Why would I bother changing?
So glad you found something that works for you! -Meg, MSM Team
I canceled after the initial shipment. I tried the 6 blade system because I was using the Gillette 5 blade.
I don’t have a thick beard, I rinse the blade after every swipe, but each time I use it I nick or cut myself 4 or 5 times. Every time!
I’ve been using Gillette pro-glide, of one variety or another, for years and I can honestly say that I can’t remember the last time I’ve cut or nicked myself. Maybe once a year, if that. It just never happens. And since I don’t every day, a single blade lasts more than a month.
Their blades may be a lot less expensive, but for me, the results are nowhere near the same.
Bummer!! -Meg, MSM Team
I just started the DSC thing and so far, love it. My first shipment was the Executive and cartridges, shave butter, and member’s favorite trial kit. The shave butter is wonderful, the razor and cartridges give me a nice, close shave, and the hand lotion and hair cream that came in the trial kit are great. Haven’t tried the butt wipes yet. The variety of products at DSC is wonderful. I would love to try Harry’s just once as I have heard they are also wonderful.
I’m so glad you love it -Meg, MSM Team
i was looking into this. i hit get email alerts and one popped up in my inbox. try your first month free and they sent u the promo code. yes it was all free, u just use the promo code at checkout, if u choose the 6 or 9 dollar razor its free shipping. i decided to go with the executive razor and my free month was literally 0 dollars at checkout most places make u pay shipping this one didnt either. i just placed my order so ill let u know in a few days when i get it. the thing i like about it is i dont gotta go out to the store every month to get them, they will come to me. which is important cause i dont drive at the moment and we live in the middle of nowhere. its just a few stores close by and the real important stores are many miles away. the closest mall is 45 minutes away. the closest applebees is 24 miles away. and all the other important stores are again at least 45-60 mins away. thankfully dunkin donuts is right around the corner from me. that being said this is a neat concept they have. the family dollar in my area while the deals are good, i find the prices for the 6 blades is way too high. PLUS they dont have the extra blades like dollar shave club does. so this seems worth it to me. i been hearing about it to and once i got the promo code for my free month…well i was in.
Thank you for this review. Razors, replacing razors, and lack of sharpness, are an annoyance to us, so this might be a way to automate it and take the hassle out. I’m going to check it out!
I decided to try the executive for the first month for $1!. Can’t hurt to try at that price! I’m a die-hard Venus 5-blade user so there was no way I would try less than the executive.
Hoping it works well for me but I do have sensitive skin with bad eczema so if it doesn’t work well I’ll just stick with what I normally use unless someone on here has good advice for this!
You’ll have to let us know what you think after you try it!
I got the executive razor. I had been using a Venus 5-blade so I wanted the Dollar shave club 6-blade one. I am super impressed with the heavy handle. And the blades hold up so much better than my Venus razor. I won’t pay to get blades each month but I might do every other or every third month! Thanks for doing this review and telling us about the $1 to try it. I’m sold!
We really like Dollar Shave Club here. I prefer the Executive over the 4x for a good shave. I tried the Humble Twin just to see how it worked and am back to the Executive. You used to be able to ask for an extra handle for free. The times we’ve switched around to see what we’ve liked best we’ve gotten a new handle for free so we have some extras for travel. One really important thing about DSC for us is their minimal packaging, at least compared to drug store razors. The amount of plastic per razor from the drug store is awful. DSC still has some unnecessary packaging, including the Bathroom Minutes, but at least most of that is paper and recyclable. I stopped getting the freebie disposable razors because I couldn’t justify all that I was throwing away.
That’s a great point about the minimal packaging! Thanks so much for mentioning that!
That IS a great point! It’s SOOOOOOOO frustrating (and sometimes painful!) to try to get those packages open from the drugstore! (#firstworldproblems I know 😉 )
Crystal- thank you for posting this review. I have checked into the DSC multiple times and just never did anything. I think I’m going to give it a try! 🙂
So I disagree with the person who said Dorco is more expensive. When you first posted about razors (back in May?) I read all the comments and decided to try Dorco USA directly. I was a Venus razor user, the more blades the better! And I shave every day and their cheap plastic handles had a habit of breaking way too often.
The awesome thing about Dorco USA is that shipping is free after $10, and if you leave items in your cart (as a logged in subscriber so they have your email) they’ll email you coupons to “check out” up to 20% off often! They also run sales repeatedly. I just purchased an extra awesome handle (for the gym, I still haven’t broken mine 7 months in) 3 regular 6 blade cartridges (comparable to the executive in DSC), and 24 of the divided 6-blade cartridges for $27. Which the divided 6 blade cartridges are AMAZING for women who shave daily. They last longer than the “executive” type 6 blades and they are much gentler. This order will last me well over 6 months and before I was paying that every 4 months at least for Venus products. $9 x even 4 months for Dollar Shave Club is $36. So perhaps for people who need less blades DSC is cheaper, but for me, Dorco USA direct is MUCH cheaper.
Thanks so much for sharing this GREAT review and helpful information! It’s much appreciated!
So could you sign up for the first month for $1 and cancel after that and not have to pay for the next month?
I believe so!
Yea – you did your review! I was waiting for this 🙂 My husband just joined less than a month ago and so far so good. He isn’t a fan of the face butter (or whatever it is) that has to sit for 15 minutes before shaving; but as far as the razors go he likes it. Guess I need to think about joining the bandwagon too.
lol.. it’s 15 seconds not 15 minutes. I wouldn’t be a fan if I had to wait 15 minutes either!
there are five of us now that shave in our house. Husband, teenage son, myself and two teenage girls. how does it work out to get multiple razors. Is that $6 for each of us?
You can order multiple handles and then just share the blades — you could try the 4-cartridges per month subscription ($6/month) and if that’s not enough, you could bump it to two packages of 4-cartridges per month ($12/month).
I gifted my husband the DSC for Fayher’s Day a few years ago. All I have to say is for 2 years we have not purchased razors anywhere else. I use them too. It is so inexpensive and we love the quality of the razors. It is an excellent product. I would recommend it to anyone.
Another happy Harry’s customer, but we don’t need to subscribe. We just purchase as needed.
Ok, old grandma here to tell you young uns a thing…one thing you can look forward to is as you age, and your hair leaves your head (somewhat), it will also leave your legs for the most part (some of it relocating to your chin and mustache line)…but for me, I generally only need to shave my legs about once a month now and maybe weekly underarms…so do they have a program for those of us who do not need it near so much as when we were young? I still would love to try out a really good quality razor…
yes, only get it once a few months.. you can pause your shipment also.. I don’t like DSC cause of the crassness I did not ask for
My husband uses dollar shave club. Just looked at the Dorco site and they are more expensive. Unless I’m missing a promo code that would make them less expensive. He does the $6/mo, 4 blade razor.
Yup. 60c more for 4 pack, no matter how many you order (the executive)
I too am wondering if there is some code?
My husband is in the Navy and HAS to shave every day. Last Christmas I gifted him the Dollar Shave Club to see if he liked it and he was skeptical at first but after using them he decided he really likes them. He replaces the head weekly (b/c rough stubble on his face tends to wear out the blades quicker) but it’s still cheaper than when he was getting brand name razors that often. I started using them as well and don’t need blades that often so every once in a while I’ll add an extra pack of cartridges. We’re big fans!
This is great feedback! Thanks so much for sharing!
We use Harry’s! Awesome customer service and even better razors!!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Harry’s is the way to go!! Comes out to the same price and you can now buy all the items at Wal-Mart
My husband re-uses razors for a long time. I am in menopause and don’t need to shave my legs as often. We probably don’t spend even $36 a year on razors. 🙂 (We are all in different seasons of life). 🙂
Thanks for the feedback! One other comment I would make is that you can redeem Swagbucks for Paypal cash, so you can pair that with DSC to still be getting your free razors. The $25 Paypal isn’t offered at the once per month 12% discount like the Amazon and other $25 gift cards are, so you’ll have to earn a few more SBs, but that should be worth it for the DSC savings!
We use Dollar Shave club and I love it! We probably get shipments just 3x per year and includes blades for myself and my husband. I’m happy because he was using super expensive Gillette Fusion blades. Plus, you can change how often shipments come easily.
I love how easy it is to change the shipments!