I Shaved One Leg With a Razor Made for Male Athletes and the Other With a Women’s Model for Three Months. Here’s What I Discovered.

Years ago, when I was 20-something, I heard comedian Jon Stewart on stage in San Francisco quip, “Do you ever shave one of your legs to make it feel like you’re in bed with someone else?” All these years later, Stewart’s line came back to me to inspire a unique way to test the Bolt Performance Razor, which claims to be the first razor made and marketed for men’s legs.

Many male cyclists, triathletes, and swimmers shave their legs for reasons related to performance that include aerodynamics, ease of taping, and better healing of road rash. I understand that men typically use their face razor or buy (or borrow) a woman’s razor, which are all intended for shaving legs.

Most women who shave their legs do it out of habit and societal norms for appearance. I’ve been shaving mine since I stole my mom’s razor when I was about 12 or 13. I’ve solely used inexpensive, disposable razors designed for women. I’d never considered using one intended for men’s legs…probably because they didn’t exist until now.

Inspired by Jon Stewart and looking for a clear comparison, for roughly three months, I shaved one of my legs with the $40 Bolt Razor, and the other leg with a simple $15 Gillette Venus targeted towards women. (There are many versions of the Venus; mine is the Extra Smooth Sensitive Disposable.) The Venus may be inexpensive, but it has replaceable cartridges with four blades, and skin lubricating panels built in, making it a step up from a single-blade Daisy Razor.

Did my experiment make me feel like I was in bed with a third party, aside from my husband? Not exactly. But it did give me some interesting results.

What Makes the Bolt Performance Razor Male Leg-Hair Specific?

First, I needed to find out what makes the Bolt Razor tailored for men. A company rep told me that it’s ergonomically designed to be held by larger hands for specific use on the legs (versus the face), and for non-slip use in the shower thanks to its heavy, zinc-alloy handle. The razor, designed in Finland, also has Swedish specialty steel blades tuned sharper for the coarse leg and body hair of a man. The Bolt’s 5-blade cartridge is bordered by strips made of aloe vera and vitamin E to help moisturize as you shave, which is not unique; my Gillette razor has similar strips.

The Bolt Performance Razor vs. Gillette Venus Experiment

During my 12-week experiment, my right leg became my Bolt Razor leg; my left, my Gillette Venus razor leg.

I soon found I looked forward to shaving my right leg with the Bolt Razor. I was also using the Bolt Shave Butter that contains aloe vera and menthol, said to exfoliate and prep the follicles for a shave. The process of shaving my right leg became more of a soothing ritual than a quick duty, and the extra time and care resulted in a smooth shave. I enjoyed the nice, weighty razor. It wasn’t too large for my female hands (Note: I wear women’s medium to large gloves). I began to like my right leg better.

My left leg suffered a bit, more because of my lack of attention. Shaving my left leg just wasn’t as fun. I regularly missed a panel of stubble somewhere. The closeness of the shave was similar between legs, maybe a little smoother on the right/Bolt Razor side, but not wildly different. I just enjoyed shaving the right leg much more, and so I didn’t tend to leave patches of unshaved hair, even around my knobby ankle bones. My left leg, it should be noted, also didn’t get the treatment of the Bolt Shave Butter, which contributed to its lack of attention.

Even when I switched to fresh blades on both razors, I didn’t perceive a significant difference in the closeness of the shave. I also didn’t note a difference in the two razors related to gender. Instead, I found that the Bolt razor delivered a significantly different shave experience due to its quality.

Simple razors work just fine. But, I discovered, a quality, weighted razor—with a handle that feels good and solid in the hand and blades dedicated to leg hair, male or female— makes for a better shave (especially when used with a nice shave butter). Cheap razors are also disposable, and I like the idea of using one razor for longer and keeping plastics out of landfills and the ocean.

A quick internet search tells me there are “fancy” razors made for women, which, no doubt, give luxurious shaves and are worth exploring. But, no surprise here: many are small and pink. I hate feeling pandered to. I’m an athlete, for God’s sake, not a fairy princess.

I’m going to keep using the Bolt Razor, male marketing be damned, for its superior shave experience. But I’ll stop taking Jon Stewart’s advice and start shaving both legs the same.