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
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Raffaella
March 6th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Hi Emily, those razors look very nice, I didn’t know anything about them…thanks!
I really enjoy your blog and your reviews, even your visitors are very nice…I was reading some interesting comments!!
As you said,I hope they are not tested on animals in any way, but I’m afraid that someone, somehow and somewhere did it for real!
For example…I would never thought that toys are tested on animals…but they are! No comment about human being…
By the way, thank you for adding me, I did the same!!!
Kindest regards,
Raffaella
Emily
March 6th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Rafaella!
It’s so nice to hear from you! I am so glad you’re enjoying my blog — and I do have lots of wonderful commenters, they are lovely and they always tell me interesting things.
I’m shocked to hear there are toys that are tested on animals — I mean, whatever for? That is crazy.
Thanks for adding me to your blogroll!
Regards,
Emily
Raffaella
March 7th, 2008 at 2:37 am
I was shocked, too!
I really had no idea about many things!
I have a book about animal rights, it explains all the cruelty “we” do to all kinds of animals!!
Talking about toys, just to give you an example….dogs have been shot by toy guns with cue balls!!!!
Regards,
Raffaella
Natasha
April 21st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Toys tested on animals!!!! I had no idea! I swear this world is insane! If toys are tested on innocent creatures then razors might be! I sure hope they aren’t! I live in this ridiculous city in Canada that doesn’t sell many cruelty free products so the only thing I can find here to remove hair is parissa wax strips. I wish Squeeze and Shave was sold here or Hoke2 Wally razor ( nice name lol)!
Helen
July 9th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I purchased a Wally razor with high hopes, but I am sorry to say I don’t like it as much as my Gillette Venus. It doesn’t give as close a shave, and I have to be more careful not to press too hard, as the head is not flexible (though you can position it at 2 different angles). I really wish I could like it, because it’s animal- and earth-friendly and sooo cute, and the replacement blades are much cheaper than for Venus, but alas. I really hope Hoke2 comes out with a razor with the style of Wally and the shave of Venus.
amy
July 29th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Hi Emily,
I just bought a Wally and love it! For the last week I have been diligently changing my products to cruelty free. I also take the step to email the bad companies I have been using to explain my change.
Emily
August 2nd, 2008 at 1:16 am
Hi Amy!
I’m so pleased! And good for you for emailing those bad companies to explain your change — they really need to hear that!
Regards,
Emily
Tarah Ausburn
July 8th, 2010 at 8:15 am
After reading your review of the razor, i went to try to order it online. I can find the razor with no problem, but i am having serious difficulty finding the razor blade replacement cartridges. I’m not going to invest in the razor if i can’t get extra blades. I have done a google search and keep getting redirected to the Sleepyhead website, which doesn’t have the blades in their stock any longer. Any suggestions?
Emily
July 11th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Hi Tarah!
Gosh, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having trouble finding Hoke replacement razors. I found a few places that sell them online, though I didn’t check their shipping charges to see if they were outrageous or not:
http://www.naturalmarket.com/shop/detail.cfm?sku=L2698?utm_source=frg&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=product&zmam=1000941&zmas=29&zmac=115&zmap=L2698
http://www.prettylikeme.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=RY-156566&click=25753
However, my local Whole Foods and health food stores have stopped carrying Hoke products entirely, which makes me worry that the company might be on its way out. I’d hate to have you buy a razor and then have the company fold! My local Whole Foods and health food stores have started carrying the Preserve razor instead — you might want to try that one instead. It is 100%-animal-testing-free.
http://www.preserveproducts.com/
Unfortunately I’m still going through all of my Hoke replacement cartridges before I buy one of those, so I can’t tell you if Preserve razors are any good or not! However, you can buy a four pack of their replacement cartridges with free shipping from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Recycline-Preserve-Razor-Triple-Cartridges/dp/B000O3UC60/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1278877497&sr=8-1
I hope that helps!
Regards,
Emily
Petra
July 31st, 2010 at 5:28 am
Hey!
I was very happy to see this kind of razor exists, but unfortunately I cant buy it in anywhere in EU. Do you have any information on that? Thank you!
Petra
Emily
August 5th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Hi Petra!
I’m so glad you’re looking into cruelty-free razors! Unfortunately I have no idea if Hoke2 products are sold anywhere in the EU — I hope someone else will read your comment and write in here if they’ve seen it anywhere in the EU or if they know of a website that ships to the EU with less-than-astronomical shipping. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
Regards,
Emily
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