Dollar Shave Club Ultimate Shave Trial Kit Review: Brings a Smooth Shave and Gender Euphoria without Destroying Your Wallet!

I just shaved my face tonight. That’s not normally a big deal for someone in their 40s, but I’m transmasculine, so growing facial hair is still a new and exciting experience. Unfortunately, wispy facial hair is only marginally acceptable on teenage boys, so I needed to learn to shave. Enter Dollar Shave Club Ultimate Shave Trial Kit!

It’s intimidating to figure out shaving! There are many options and a lot of debate about the best razors, how many blades, and how to treat your skin…my head was spinning. Also, I had this irrational fear the hair would get scared off and not come back. So when I saw the Dollar Shave Club Ultimate Shave Trial Kit, I figured that would be a good starting point.

The Dollar Shave Club Ultimate Shave Trial Kit comes with a pre-shave facial scrub, shave butter, and post-shave dew, as well as two six-blade refills and a razor handle. Each of the little cream/shave butter/post-shave dew tubes is 1oz, so enough to give them a few tries and decide if they’re a good fit or not.

Dollar Shave Club says they recommend replacing the razor blades once a week or so, but that assumes daily shaving, which I’m not up to yet, so I figure this starter kit should last me a little while!

Before: note my straggly lip hair!

Dollar Shave Club does offer subscription kits, but the Ultimate Shave Trial Kit can be purchased for $18 as a standalone kit or for $3 as an intro for joining. I opted for the straight $18 since I don’t think I’ll need an ongoing subscription for a while, but if you’re considering it, this is a good starter deal!

I got ready for my first face shave with the Prep Facial Scrub. It smelled and felt nice on my face, and I learned the hard way that the water from my sink is extremely cold. Once I stopped shivering, I will say my face felt clean and ready to be trimmed.

It’s been probably 20 years since I shaved my legs, so it’s been a while since I owned a razor, but the handle feels super pleasant. It’s quite weighty in your hand, and the razor cartridge snaps in easily. It also has a handy eject button on the back for when it’s time to swap out the cartridge.

After and Before: look how clean my lip is now!

Best of all, the razor moves really smoothly around your face. In addition to my irrational fear of offending my nascent hairs by cutting them off, I had the legitimate fear of slicing up my face. But the razor moves smoothly and without cutting me, even though I’m still a little unsure of which direction I should shave. (It’s hard when there’s not a lot of hair to guide you!)

The Shave Butter also came in handy here since it’s designed to go on semi-clear. It made it easier to ensure I was getting the hair on the first pass, and it made the whole experience quite smooth. I did follow up with the Post-Shave Dew, and this is officially the most specific attention the skin on my face has gotten, possibly ever! But it does feel nice and smooth and clean!

Despite my fears and the fact that I was definitely a newbie at this, the sampler kit from Dollar Shave Club served me well! I’m clean-shaven again, plus I have the bonus gender euphoria of shaving! Not bad for $18!

The Dollar Shave Club Ultimate Shave Trial Kit sells for $18 as a standalone kit or for $3 if you join; it is available directly from the manufacturer.

Source: Personal purchase

What I Liked: Easy to set up the razor; Comfortable, smooth moving cartridge head; Comes with three sample products to use pre, during, and after shaving; The extra shaving cartridge means you’ll have several shaves to test the experience fully

What Needs Improvement: Nothing