Product Review: Recycline Preserve Razors

To give them their correct (and unweildly) title - Preserve Razor Recyclable by Recycline - are recycled razors. While with their bright colours and plastic handles they look like disposable razors, they are in fact anti-disposable razors and while light and similar to say a Bic razor, the blade pops off and you can add a replacement. In fact you can buy just the blades separately here as well which fit some other manufacturers’ handles.

The come in a pack of four which may seem over the top, but I know how grubby handles can get over time so I’ve just stored the rest away from when I need them. Well, two of them - the other has gone to my girlfriend (see later).

So what’s different about these razors? Well the handles are made from 100% recycled plastic - mainly from yoghurt (or yogurt if you like) pots and once you’ve finished with it you can recycle it again. The manufacturer says anywhere who takes type 5 plastics will recycle it or they will do it themselves, www.recycline.com provides address labels or you can request envelopes to send them back in and they’ll make them into picnic tables. Lovely. Same with their toothbrushes and tongue cleaners (my tongue is fine thank you very much). No mention of the actual blades though.

But the important thing with a razor is whether it works or not. And here’s the thing, I have a beard. It’s only a short one though so I considered shaving it off to test it. I have only had the beard for 18 months and have shaved it off twice so do have considerable experience in shaving, but there’s the itchiness involved with growing it back and I didn’t fancy it. So I cheated instead.

The test for men
Well not cheated exactly, but shared the wealth and asked someone else to do it. Rob duly obliged. Happy to have something for free and willing to give almost anything a go, he shaved to his heart’s content. And you know what? He loved it. Shaving is a solitary pursuit but I was there before and after his first shave. He has two razors he uses normally - a flashy one with a metal handle and expensive blades, and a rigid disposable one which he uses more often. While the Preserve razor looked more like the disposable one but bigger, it was much lighter than the ‘proper’ razor so I was interested to see which he preferred. And I was surprised with the results.

He loved the Preserve one. In fact, he said it was the nicest shave he had ever had! And “I only cut myself once, and that was my fault”. Not sure what he was doing but it’s good to hear. Despite being made of one piece of (recycled) plastic, the Preserve razor offers a lot of flexibility and comfort. Even disposables have the soothing strip on these days, but this seemed a bit better and cut with ease.

After five minutes of Rob talking about it, I thought maybe he’d had too much and was tempted to take it away from him. But razors need to be used over and over so I left it with him to get a longer-term opinion. And he still likes it a few weeks later. One happy customer.

The test for women
Legs this time. While I could have tested this myself, I’m not a cross-dresser or a cyclist, so left this to the girlfriend. Sadly she wouldn’t let me take pictures to put up but I assure you she did use it. I know this because she cut her knee open and I had to get up off the sofa to see what all the noise was about. However it turns out it was user error, rather than the razor’s fault, and the rest of her legs were silky smooth.

She’s used it a few times since and likes the fact it’s light and shaves as well as her well-known brand multi bladed razor and as it’s better for the environment she’ll be using the other wones too.

Thanks again goes to Nigel’s Eco Store for supplying them, you can buy the razor and spare blades here and just the blades here if you’re in the EU. For the rest of the world, try Drugstore.com.

Product Review: Soapnuts (Or The Amazing Natural Cleaning Nuts!)

Thanks to Anne over at Summer Naturals, I was sent some magically soapnuts to test out for use with my laundry. The instructions tell you to put between four and eight half shells in a cotton bag (or old sock or tights), tie securely and put in your wash with no need for any fabric conditioner or laundry detergent.

Hang on a minute - “half shells”? Yep soapnuts are actually real nuts. Soapnuts grow wild on trees in India and Nepal and the shells contain saponin, a natural soap, and are suitable for people with sensitive skin. But do they work?

The short answer is yes. While it felt a bit strange not putting any fabric softener or powder into the machine’s trays, if you’re familiar with putting one of those nets in with the tablets inside, this is just the same. Anne gave me a nice cotton bag with the shells in and I tied it securely and threw it in there. And the result was lovely clean washing, even on muddy trousers which will happen even more now winter’s arriving with haste.

Initially when I took the washing out to dry, it was hard to tell whether the soapnuts had done their job. There’s no ‘laundry fresh’ smell (you can add a couple of drops of essential oil to the drawer if you want) but that doesn’t mean the clothes aren’t clean. And they were clean and the little bag of nuts was secure. Seems almost magical, especially when you can use them around four times before needing more nut shells.

One question in my mind is that they’re imported from abroad and I know nothing about the conditions they’re harvested in. But as I know little about all the ingredients in Ecover for example, until they start making washing powder at my local farm, this is something that cannot really be a factor in whether to use a particular washing method.

Soapnuts contain nothing chemical at all so obviously don’t have the same whitening power of major brands but for something so natural, they’re remarkable. And cheap, an average of 3p a wash compared to 25p with washing powder and softener. And you just throw them on the compost heap when you’re done with them so there’s no waste. You can buy them here.

Oh, and before you ask, they’re not my hands in the photos….

24 Season 6 Review - The Best Yet?

While this is a green blog we like our entertainment (Heroes being our favourite - see our guide here), and 24 has consistently been entertaining. But the past few seasons haven’t been great and have even been formulaic at times, something that it certainly couldn’t be accused of when the show launched in 2001?

The real time format works better on DVD than it does weekly (I watched the original run on TV). In fact they could do away with the time as you can tell when an episode is coming to an end as there’s normally a big explosion or a death. And this season is no different, but somehow it’s better than all the previous seasons, except the first.

The fact that Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) is in a Chinese prison at the start helps, we get to see something a bit different and the thread continues throughout the series. Jack’s father, brother and his family are introduced to mix things up a bit. Traditional things like a mole inside CTU are turned on their head, major characters die (is no-one safe? Except Jack of course) and there’s a new love interest as well as an old one. Even the idea of a traditional terrorist is turned on its head.

It’s a fun ride and a fun watch - I do advise you to watch as many as you can at once. While it’s not quite “I can’t wait until the next episode” like season 1 was or Heroes is, it’s much better watching it like this. The only negatives are that it play on having to have something big happen every hour (well 45 minutes without the adverts) and the President Palmer is unconvincing in my eyes. That said it’s the best season for years.

You can buy it here.

Heroes Episode Guide - Chapter 23: How To Stop An Exploding Man

So it’s finally arrived. The final episode of Heroes. And it was a cracker. And a culmination of what all came before it does leave some questions, but I like finding out and didn’t feel annoyed at all.

Hiro saves Ando and for a moment it seems only Sylar dies. But then he doesn’t and will Pete of Nathan survive? What we saw in Five Years Gone doesn’t come to pass, Nathan steps up to the plate and helps Peter. Or so it seems, maybe it still does, we’ll have to wait and see. Why Peter can’t control his power I’m not sure, Sylar has he same one and he can but maybe it takes him longer.

Claire shows she is a true hero as does Hiro. Peter going into the past to see the man he looked after was an unexpected highlight, what does that generation have to do with everything and what powers do they have? Maybe the rumoured spin-off series, Heroes: Origins, will tell us.

If you can’t wait until September 24 for the next series (in America at least), you can find rumours and news at this excellent site.

Heroes Episode Guide - Chapter 22: Landslide

So I was wrong about Hiro’s dad - old Sulu from Star Trek seems to be a good guy and able to teach swordsmanship in an afternoon. I wonder what his power is? I feel bad for Ando though, there’s only one way it could end, unless it turns out a normal person saves the day.

This episode stepped up a pace after last week. Mr Bennet’s willingness to kill Johnson and maybe even Molly was a shock, but not as much as Mr Linderman buying the farm. Or has he? He seems to have been pretty powerful and if he can heal others like Nathan’s wife, then maybe he can heal himself, a bit like Claire.

It was nice to see both Peter and Sylar comfortable with their powers - Peter takes on Matt’s power easily and Sylar can not only control his hearing better than the woman he killed for it, but Ted’s too. Poor Ted, although he was annoying.

Claire was pushed into the background as events focused on the election and the forthcoming explosion. DL also seems to be dead and with so much happening with everyone, little touches like Candice actually looking like someone other than we think could get lost. But it’s insights like this, Claire mentioning wearing a costume and that Nathan’s father was also powerful that gives the series such depth.

I’m already looking beyond the next episode to see where the series can go from here. But in the meantime there’s one more episode to enjoy.

Heroes Episode Guide - Chapter 21: The Hard Part

Okay, okay it was a quieter episode this one, but what it did do was allow a bit of character development and we can take a breath before the last two episodes of the first season of this remarkable show.

Sylar and Hiro show more of their personalities in this episode. Sylar reveals he’s not a heartless killer and kills only is there’s something in it for him - exploding is not something that interests him. He tries to go back to a normal life. However by the end his quest not to become special has reversed and he wants to seek out Ted.

After seeing the future, Hiro wants to make sure it doesn’t happen, but that includes not becoming the future Hiro - meaning he can’t kill Sylar - even when he’s frozen time.

And more people reveal their intentions. Mrs Petrelli joins Mr Linderman, The Company (the grey haired guy is called Thompson) and Hiro’s dad (Mr Nakamura) in wanting the explosion to happen.

Peter and Claire don’t do much until the end, but the threesome of Mr Bennet, Parker and Ted seem to have a goal to stop the Walker system - but they don’t realise it’s a little girl. Actually, it’s nice to see Mohinder help Molly - he’s actually done some good!

And the end does manage to keep us wanting more. It may have been quiet but I enjoyed it as usal. Only two more to go - wooooo.

Heroes Episode Guide - Chapter 20: Five Years Gone

I enjoyed the last episode of Heroes so much I thought this couldn’t be as good. Turns out this was the best episode yet. It was phenomenal. So much has changed in the five year and when we think one thing has happened, we learn it was another. We thought that it wasn’t Peter who blew up New York, but Sylar. But then in fact it was Sylar and that’s not Nathan, it’s Sylar. Matt is a bad guy, then a good guy protecting his child, then a bad guy again. People like Candice and DL had parts to play - making Sylar the man he is, and Mohinder seems to be on the bad guys side - a war has broken out between the heroes.

It was just a great episode. Peter is everything you want him to be, in control of his powers and maybe the strongest hero there is, I couldn’t help smiling as when he saves future Hiro by stopping time and again when he decides not to as he hasn’t had a good fight for ages.

Future Hiro dying may actually be a good thing, with Hiro taking on the mantle and determined to save Ando. Their friendship is one of the strongest and real things in the show and makes you want Hiro to save Ando at all costs.

Sides switched so often, it was hard to tell what was going on, but what we do know is the future needs to be stopped - Sylar kills Claire, has killed Nathan and countless others and is the president. Even if Peter managed to defeat him (a fight we will surely see) then the world is still in a bad way. Come on Hiro, save the world!

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