Bacterial Infection Due to Shaving...and how often do you sanitize your razors?

[Lord Greystoke]

I simply rinse in hot water and hang up to dry between shaves. When I change blades, I clean the razor with hot water, a little soap perhaps, and a toothbrush.

Some of you guys are far too anal, IMO.

Don't share your razor with anyone, though. Not even your SO.

 

[HexChrome]

@HexChrome the reason some of us use 91% alcohol on our shave gear is for water displacement purposes. Another reason is because we're disinfecting steel shaving equipment; anything less than 90% is useless for the really nasty stuff. I personally only use the 99% mix that we use in the lab to disinfect equipment.

ClubmanRob, very interesting stuff. Yeah I never fully understood all the chemistry/biological microb thing. I did however read up much on the 70% vs 91% disinfectant qualities.

I did find a couple of articles including this one ( https://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/Disinfection_Sterilization/6_0disinfection.html )
from the CDC that also said alcohol (alone or mixed with water alone) does NOT kill "spores" on surgical instruments as it can't penetrate the protein-rich cell walls of the nasty germ:

"Alcohols are not recommended for sterilizing medical and surgical materials principally because they lack sporicidal action and they cannot penetrate protein-rich materials. Fatal postoperative wound infections with Clostridium have occurred when alcohols were used to sterilize surgical instruments contaminated with bacterial spores 497. "

This is probably why I decided to use Barbicide a while back, because it kills pretty much everything, unlike alcohol. I keep the alcohol use primarily for cocktail hour!


I do like what you said about the water drying/displacement effect of the 91%. 99% obviously would be better. Where does one find 99% alcohol? I've never seen it at the pharmacy. Maybe the denatured stuff sold by the gallon at Home Depot??? Also, I don't know how "good" it is, but Barbicide also claims anti-rust qualities within their solution. Maybe this is why barbers and such can keep their tools of the trade submerged for days without any apparent ill effect, although it's not recommended to do so on the label.

 

[BobbyB]

After my daily shave, I rinse the razor and blade, and then drop in a container of Barbicide for a period of time. About once every two weeks or so--with permission from SWMBO, I put my scuttle in the dishwasher. For any new razor (purchased new) or antique razor, I soak them in rubbing alcohol for period of time, then into the Barbicide.

 

[Neil4Real]

I currently just rinse the blade with a splash of alcohol, after rinsing it clean of hair with hot water.

I have been thinking about getting barbicide, but does that the same kind of water displacement as alcohol? The reason I use alcohol is more to prevent rusting/dulling of the blade (I used to do it with carts as well), not so much for the purpose of sanitizing it. Or would I just dunk it in barbicide and then splash alcohol on it still (to my understanding you shouldn't leave razors in barbicide for a long time as it can eat it away?).

Thanks!

 

[Reinier Ramirez]

I've heard of some fungal infections due to shaving in the shower... To the question, apart from cleaning after the shave, I have not sanitized any of my razors.

 

[Jsharrison87]

I know this saying has been beaten senseless already, but I would wager to guess the infection was not a direct result of shaving. Secondary, sure. But not a primary outcome. The vast majority of skin infections come from self inoculating, meaning you touch the break in skin and infect yourself with your normal flora. And that is more than likely what this individual did. Or someone else (wife, child, dog) touched the open wound.
Now, Does this mean you can't touch bacteria from another location and infect yourself with the newly obtained bacteria, no. But most skin infections happen with your own flora. Staphylococcus aureus, main culprit of Staph infections is normal flora for some individuals, and it's those individuals that are more likely to come down with the infection. So much so, that hospitals run screening tests to see if patients come into the hospital as colonizers. Mainly for the more antibiotic resistant strains, but still.
Now, is your bathroom, house or whatever location covered with bacteria? Absolutely. And so is your person. Bacteria roughly have a new generation every 20ish minutes so even after you scrub your bathroom down, before you have time to admire your work, most of the bacteria have already returned.
Unfortunately, even if a room has never seen someone using the bathroom in it, there is more than likely fecal flora in it, being that it is picked up by clothes, bags, shoes, purses and transmitted to the "clean" rooms. Yes, your pets carry it too.
i used to teach a college microbiology lab and one of the exercises we used to run was a "ubiquity" lab that proved microbes are everywhere at all times. Rest assure, if students tried to culture surfaces like doorknobs and sink knobs, they didn't grow much at all. Metal surfaces are very slick and lack areas for bacteria to adhere to. Also do not provide nutrients to sustain microbial life. This would also hold true for the slick surface of a razor. A simple rinse will remove most if not all bacteria and other potential pathogens from the surface.
Do you have to worry about this, truly? Not really, the reason we have flora is because we ingest it or come into contact with it daily. We live in symbiosis with bacteria and have to to remain healthy. People who lose the balance of flora have to be placed on probiotics to regain balance. They don't worry that they're ingesting bacteria then.
If you want to sanitize your razors, do it. If you don't, don't. Just relax and enjoy your shaves knowing that at the very least you probably won't get a direct infection from shaving. If you cut or nick yourself, don't touch it or let anyone else touch it unless they sanitize the area thoroughly before and after, assuming this is a healthcare professional tending to the wound.

For the record, I do not sanitize my razor and I'm a clinical microbiologist.

Enjoy your shaving routine everyone.

 

[6Cuda6]

^^^^ what he said...i heard the same thing from another microb bact guy i was sitting beside in the plane one day.

 

[Cyjazz]

I do not believe that the infection came from the razor itself, but rather at the site where he nicked himself. Bacteria usually does not enter through the skin unless there is a crack, cut, or any source of bleeding. When it comes to keeping yourself clean and infection free, I believe that it is a good habit to swish your DE blade in alcohol after you are done shaving and also to apply an alcohol based aftershave, like Brut or Aqua Velva. Personally, I swish my DE blade in alcohol (50% vol. because I use the cheapo 99 cent ones) because once the alcohol evaporates, my blade is clean, dry, and a bit shiny, but the emphasis here is that it is clean. Also applying an alcohol aftershave will help you with the bacteria problem. To be honest though, I never heard of anyone getting an infection from shaving, regardless of which type of razor used and I personally usually do the above methods because of bacteria, I just like my blade dry and shiny.

This. The ER staff do NOT know if the infection came from the razor itself unless they have cultured the razor and found the invading bacterium on the razor. I can promise you, that did not happen. In addition to my current job, I'm an RN and have worked in ERs and medical/surgical floors. Is it possible he cut himself and bacteria from a thousand other potential sources in his bathroom/house invaded? Of course; the likely invading culprit could have been from anywhere. There's no way to know the source unless they've gone into his home and found the issue or cultured the razor. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but that would be incredibly unlikely. Long story, short: they're guessing.

 

[kluber]

I'm sorry for your friend, but am a bit confused by the post.. he got an infection from his own razor? or from a second hand razor that he didn't clean?

 

[Go West Young Man]

I'm sorry for your friend, but am a bit confused by the post.. he got an infection from his own razor? or from a second hand razor that he didn't clean?

The question is five years old now, not sure you're going to get an answer to that

 

[Rusty Blade]

This is one of those YMMV things. I clean my razor with alcohol once -- when I buy it and bring it home. After that it's soap and water and maybe a soft toothbrush. My father and grandfathers never bothered to clean their razors with alcohol. That's good enough for me. When you think of all the times in our lives when we cut, nicked or scraped ourselves with various objects and we lived to tell the tale. Most cuts heal up on their own, some need antibiotics and some nicks or cuts will kill us. We live in a bacteria filled world and our bodies are coated in normal flora bacteria that are there to protect us from foreign invaders. One of the most bacteria filled objects we handle every day is our smartphones. A cesspool of bacteria. And one of of the most effective means of infection control is basic hand washing.

Clean razors, clean blades will be sufficient. Interesting thread...

 

[kelbro]

The fact that you can't really safely sterilize a brush is the reason I will never purchase a used brush.

Why would one assume that a new brush (made from animal hair) would be sterile?


As for the general idea of the OP, I used the same two razors for over 35 yrs while traveling/working in E. Europe, Latin America, and all over Asia and never sterilized or alcohol'ed either one of them. Never got any kind of infection. Not saying that it couldn't happen but it's not something that I would worry about.

 

[kelbro]

Good question. Who here believes that?

Maybe I misunderstood. You said you would not purchase a used brush due to the fact that you can't safely sterilize one. How would that be different from a 'new' brush?

 

[Swazilander]

This is very silly. We use a brush that's hair came off an animal. One that looks like an over grown rodent and the other one is well a pig. Neither one smells very clean and sterile while alive. These have been used for well over two and half centuries. The act of shaving is equal to scraping steel across ones face to remove hair also done well over 2000 years.

We do things that are far more dangerous, like pumping gas in our vehicles.

This discussion should have been left in the grave like what it was a a five year cold dead corpse.

I'm going to rinse my razor and brush in the toilet and live dangerous.

 

[kluber]

The question is five years old now, not sure you're going to get an answer to that

Haha... I normally don't pay attention to dates of threads! I need to...

 

[G-Dogg]

Getting sepsis or another infection from a dirty razor is in theory quite possible, but was more prevalent years ago when straight razors were used more and hygiene standards were lower. The Russian composer Alexander Scriabin died of sepsis traced back to a SR cut on his upper lip.

i never sanitise my razors, although they get a good clean when I change the blade. However, I always use an alum block, one reason being that it has anti-bacterial agents that should help prevent an infection from setting in.

 

[mars]

http://www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com/shop.html

Not saying I believe it, but many brush makers claim to sterilize the animal hair fwiw.

 

[HexChrome]

While I don't know how to make a shaving brush, I do know taxidermy. I can tell you that many of the chemicals used to preserve animal fur and the hide probably kill many forms of bacteria BETTER than standard soap and water we use on our hands. Chemicals like chromates, ammonia, oxalic acid, borax, hydrogen peroxide, sometimes formaldehyde etc..... are all used. Although animal hair doesn't really neeed any preservation, I'm sure it is indeed treated before it's handled and formed into a shaving brush.

Generally, a surface that's left dry of moisture for a prolonged period of time, usually allows bacteria and such to die off rather quickly. I think a shaving brush mixed with warm water and shaving SOAP (hey there's an idea!) would more than likely kill or wash away the bacteria on the bristles of the brush. Heck, falling into the dirt and scraping our knees introduces more bacteria into the wound than a shaving brush lathered up with soap!

Besides, immediately after shaving, don't we men splash on some type of Alum or alcohol or both onto our faces? That disinfects our skin nicely. Otherwise old school barber shops of yesteryear would have stopped using the same brush on their customers back in the late 1700's, due to widespread infection.

 

[1Vader]

Never occured to me that I would need to sanitize it other than washing the soap scum out and drying it.