Thread: How to use Barbercide...

what is the point of using this stuff for a personal razor though? wouldn't that be a waste of time and money? Don't hate me for asking lol. It just seemed kind of pointless to me. But I would like to know what the point of it is.

For your own personal razor it would make no sense at all, but I purchase a lot of vintage shaving gear from the internet, I want to disinfect it before I shave with it

Seems like there a lot of questions about Barbcide/Maricide. It’s is used to sanitize combs, razor and anything else you may use for personal grooming. You can buy it a Sally’s Beauty supply. There is even an off brand you can use. As long as it says it’s registered with the EPA, you are fine. It should be a light blue color mixed with water. One or two cap full is usually enough. If you mixed it too strong, it will degrade your combs and razors pretty quickly. In a shop situation, it should be changed daily, but for personal use, weekly is good. So if you see your barbers jar with hair floating in it, it’s pretty much ruined as they just put combs back inside the jar without washing the comb after use. I wouldn’t recommend using barbicide plus, and it eats through plastic/rubber pretty quickly.

For the question for disinfecting your own personal stuff, you should! Bacteria will still grow on your razor and you could infect your own skin. Most people get razor rash just from not using clean tools. You can even clean your badger brush, just don’t leave it in longer than 10 minutes and rinse afterwards.

Just to back up my knowledge, I’m a licensed Barber and Cosmetologist in Florida.

That's a good point for using it on your own stuff, One to two cap fulls seems kind of light depending on how much you are mixing...

For me I wasn't sure how much to use, someone here told me 2 oz of concentrate for 32 oz of water, I have a 24 oz Barbicide jar and I fill it 3/4 of the way and mix 1 shot-glass of the concentrate (Should be 1.5 oz) The color looks correct after that......


I'm going to try giving the blades of my Straights occasional soaks (no scales, just blades) to be sure....

You guys have me worried now......I think you have a valid point. I have read many cautions and seen ghastly results of horrendous accidents, ill fated attempts, silly endevours, and Ill-advised adventures here. I cannot remember anyone reporting issues after using an unsanitary razor. Please correct me if I am wrong. I think about our ancestors. Did anyone die from unsanitary razor? I feel if it is smooth and steel it could be wiped with a reasonably clean shirttail and be ok. The only ones I worry about are the "rustiques". Lots of pits to hold stuff! Seriously, sanitizing the blade is a great idea! One thing that has not been brought up is the scales. It is my opinion that scales are a big concern in sanitation. All must be scrubbed, inside and out. A light simple green and water scrub with a toothbrush is safe for most. It is amazing how filthy some old ones can be!

Originally Posted by druscetta

Seems like there a lot of questions about Barbcide/Maricide. It’s is used to sanitize combs, razor and anything else you may use for personal grooming. You can buy it a Sally’s Beauty supply. There is even an off brand you can use. As long as it says it’s registered with the EPA, you are fine. It should be a light blue color mixed with water. One or two cap full is usually enough. If you mixed it too strong, it will degrade your combs and razors pretty quickly. In a shop situation, it should be changed daily, but for personal use, weekly is good. So if you see your barbers jar with hair floating in it, it’s pretty much ruined as they just put combs back inside the jar without washing the comb after use. I wouldn’t recommend using barbicide plus, and it eats through plastic/rubber pretty quickly.

For the question for disinfecting your own personal stuff, you should! Bacteria will still grow on your razor and you could infect your own skin. Most people get razor rash just from not using clean tools. You can even clean your badger brush, just don’t leave it in longer than 10 minutes and rinse afterwards.

Just to back up my knowledge, I’m a licensed Barber and Cosmetologist in Florida.

Good stuff. Don't want any of this: Folliculitis especially considering the over use of antibiotics that created Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . I use rubbing alcohol. It's a disinfectant and anitseptic. If it's good enough for surgeons, it's good enough for me. A bleach dilution is just as, if not more effective. Bleach is used for disinfecting in hospitals so that makes me feel safe. Also, it was talked about in another thread similar to this that after a certain time period everything bad is dead anyways as long as it's not obviously covered in bio-matter of course. Quaternary ammonium's are low-level disinfectants. Typically, quats do not exhibit efficacy against difficult to kill non-enveloped viruses such as norovirus, rotavirus, or polio virus. Newer synergous, low-alcohol formulations are highly effective broad-spectrum disinfectants with quick contact times (3–5 minutes) against bacteria, enveloped viruses, pathogenic fungi, and mycobacteria. However, the addition of alcohol or solvents to quat-based disinfectant formulas results in the products' drying much more quickly on the applied surface, which could lead to ineffective or incomplete disinfection.

I'm going to try and forget I read all this... or I may never shave again.


I just wipe the razors with alcohol (wipe, not immerse for minutes) if I do anything at all. In my head, after sanding them for a while, polishing with Mother's for a while, and washing them with hot water and soap, they should be clean enough.



Marcos

A few photos, hope they are readable:

A barbercide dip is great for a new vintage razor you've picked up on Ebay, but I would wash it very thoroughly afterwords. For regular disinfection, I would use alcohol, however, since it will kill most household bacteria and is far less toxic.

Originally Posted by druscetta

Seems like there a lot of questions about Barbcide/Maricide. It’s is used to sanitize combs, razor and anything else you may use for personal grooming. You can buy it a Sally’s Beauty supply. There is even an off brand you can use. As long as it says it’s registered with the EPA, you are fine. It should be a light blue color mixed with water. One or two cap full is usually enough. If you mixed it too strong, it will degrade your combs and razors pretty quickly. In a shop situation, it should be changed daily, but for personal use, weekly is good. So if you see your barbers jar with hair floating in it, it’s pretty much ruined as they just put combs back inside the jar without washing the comb after use. I wouldn’t recommend using barbicide plus, and it eats through plastic/rubber pretty quickly.

For the question for disinfecting your own personal stuff, you should! Bacteria will still grow on your razor and you could infect your own skin. Most people get razor rash just from not using clean tools. You can even clean your badger brush, just don’t leave it in longer than 10 minutes and rinse afterwards.

Just to back up my knowledge, I’m a licensed Barber and Cosmetologist in Florida.

Agree completely with this write up. I worked in a health card facility for years before I retired and we used products similar to Barbicide . One really does need to be careful. On metal I alway use barbicide or 90% alcohol.
One issue that wasn't covered was the use of Hard Soaps. They're a fine home for bacteria. I always just slice off a piece and press it into the bottom of my bowl. The main round stays clean and dry.