The GilletteLabs Body razor review that actually matters starts with one uncomfortable statistic: according to Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, 70% of men are using the same razor to shave both their face and body. That is a lot of people running a jawline blade across their chest, underarms and, well, everywhere else, tools built for one job doing another, badly.
Body grooming has moved well out of the fringe. Caitlin Orszulak, product researcher at Procter & Gamble, puts numbers to what most blokes already sense: “Our research shows that 50% of men’s first shaves happen on the body, not the face, and 60% of men under 35 remove hair from their bodies regularly.” The problem, as Orszulak says plainly, is that “they’re doing it with tools that aren’t designed for the job.”
After more than a decade covering men’s grooming, two products have earned a permanent spot in my kit. A manual razor for close, skin-level shaving and an electric trimmer for maintenance. The GilletteLabs Body + Intimate Razor and the Philips Norelco OneBlade. Here is why they work, and why the category deserves more respect than a repurposed face razor can give it.
Why the GilletteLabs Body Razor Review Starts With the Blade Design
Body shaving is a different discipline from face shaving, and Orszulak explains the gap well. Many men shave their bodies in the shower (“working in poor lighting with wet, slippery hands”) and body hair is longer, curlier, often growing in multiple directions and lying flat against the skin. Larger surface areas, varying skin thicknesses, harder-to-reach spots: conditions that demand a tool built for the purpose.
The GilletteLabs Body + Intimate Razor ($30) is that tool. Rather than repurpose one of its existing face cartridges, Gillette started from scratch. The two-blade cartridge is built around wider blade spacing: according to Dutchshopper, the two blades are widely spaced specifically to allow longer body hair to rinse through cleanly between strokes, rather than clogging the cartridge after a few passes. The distance between the guard bar and the first blade is nearly twice that on Gillette’s face razors, letting longer hairs enter the cartridge more easily and cutting down the number of strokes needed to cover ground.
The cartridge also carries an Anti-Irritation Bar and an Anti-Ingrown Bar that absorbs pressure and maintains consistent blade spacing. Orszulak points out that “one of the ways ingrown hairs form is when hair is cut below the skin’s surface.” Keeping the blades further apart cuts hair at skin level rather than beneath it, which matters especially in areas prone to irritation.
The handle, listed as shorter than Gillette’s face razor handles on Walmart, is textured rubber and noticeably wider than a standard face razor grip. In the shower, with wet hands and limited visibility, that width and texture make a genuine difference. The flexing head follows contours without needing constant repositioning, and the magnetic wall holder keeps it within reach without taking up shelf space.
Underarms are quick. Shoulders and the back of the neck (awkward at the best of times) are navigable. The close shave it delivers in few passes is the real differentiator. For any area that calls for a skin-level finish, this is the tool to reach for.
The OneBlade Handles Everything Else
The Philips Norelco OneBlade ($50) has been the go-to trimmer for a long time, and for good reason. It does not shave quite as close as a manual razor, and that is exactly the point. Close enough to look tidy, far enough from the skin to avoid the irritation and nicks that come with blade-on-skin contact in sensitive areas.
The 360 pivoting head follows curves. The blade is narrow enough to navigate just about anywhere. Waterproof, washable, quick to use without shaving cream or prep. Underarms, chest, the back of the neck, sideburns, a two-minute run-through before heading out covers most situations. Replacement blades are not cheap, but used once or twice a week they last a few months.
Between the two, you have skin-level close shaves and maintenance trims covered without a drawer full of single-use gadgets. The GilletteLabs Body + Intimate Razor and the OneBlade together answer what the 70% using a face razor on their body actually need: tools built for the terrain they are working on.
