Do you love those Gillette three-bladed razors yet wince at the thought of supporting a cruel company like Gillette, which is owned by Procter and Gamble (hiss! hiss!)? (Actually, even if you do own a Gillette Mach3 razor I won’t hold it against you — I don’t think razors are tested on animals. I hope not anyway.)

Well, you need have no fear — Hoke2 has come out with a few models of CCIC-approved-100%-animal-testing-free razors, one of which is three-bladed.

I picked up Hoke2’s “Wally” razor at the store the other day. The Wally razor suctions to the wall, has three blades (and you can buy replacement cartridges for it), comes in translucent green or clear, has a curved shape, has a “nonslip wetgrip handle that is molded out of solid rubber,” and is included in the Smithsonian’s Permanent Design Collection and is the recipient of Germany’s “Design Plus Award.” (Really. I am not kidding. It’s an award-winning design.)

So, not only is the Wally razor kinder to animals than any other three-bladed razor, but it’s also much, much prettier!

The Wally razor is suctioned to my shower wall right now, and I’ve used it a few times, and I just love it. I highly recommend it. It looks beautiful in my shower (very mod!), and it’s just as nice as any other three-bladed razor — only psychologically much easier for me to buy. I usually switch off between waxing and shaving my legs, and I’ve already started shaving more often than waxing now that I’ve got this razor. It’s just so easy to use, and it doesn’t give me razor burn — I’m very happy about it.

Hoke2 looks like a great company — cruelty-free, with a great design sense. I do plan to try their other razors in the future — probably not the Spike razor, which only has 2 blades but also looks cute, but definitely the Squeeze’n Shave Travel razor, which is very clever — it has a tube of shaving gel as the handle of the razor, so it’s very convenient for travel:

Apparently the Squeeze’n Shave Travel razor won the “Most Innovative Tube of the Year” award by the American Tube Council. (I’m very surprised there is an American Tube Council — who knew?) Hoke2 also carries some shaving creams, which I shall probably also try out some time in the future.

I did a quick price comparison, and the Wally razor appears to be similarly priced to the Mach3. The Gillette Mach3 is $8.99 for one razor plus two cartridges whereas the Hoke2 is $6.00 but comes with no spare cartridges, but the Gillette cartridges appear to be $24 for a pack of 12, whereas the Hoke2 cartridges are $8.00 for a pack of 5, so they sort of even out — the Hoke2 actually ends up being less expensive if you never replace the handle and just keep buying new replacement cartridges). However, if you usually buy three-bladed non-brandname razors, I assume the Wally razor cartridges might be more of an expense to you.

Hoke2’s Wally Razor is available for $6.00 from Ebubbles through Amazon. (It’s replacement cartridges are available for $8.00 for a pack of five.)

ETA: 04/30/08 I just saw the Hoke2 razor at Whole Foods.  So now you don’t have to buy it online!

Tags : hoke2, razor, wally
Categories : 5/5 stars, cosmetic/personal products, cruelty free, cruelty free companies, cruelty free product reviews, hair removal, hoke2