Nobody likes paying for new razor blades and at £13 for a pack of four, you can see why. Are replacement razor blades too expensive considering new razors appear to be on offer more often than not?

Gillette’s Fusion ProGlide Power blades are £3.25 each – if we used one of them per month that adds up to £39 a year. I begrudge paying that much for a few grams of plastic and steel and I’m sure I’m not alone.

So what can we do to get a good and cheap shave? The answer is to wait till razors are on offer and buy any blades that fit, regardless of whether they’re branded specifically for the razor handle you own.

Both powered and manual razors offer a close shave

Our latest men’s razors test shows that differences in the comfort and closeness of shaves provided by powered and manual versions of leading razors is small. And because manual blades fit on powered versions of the razors, one immediate cost-saving measure to take is to buy manual blades.

All of the Gillette Fusion family of razors fit manual and powered Fusions and Fusion ProGlides. The same is true of the Wilkinson Sword Quattro Titanium manual and powered razors.

Both manufacturers have pointed out differences between their manual and powered blades, but we found in our tests that the shaving differences are hardly noticeable so buying the cheapest blades to fit our razors is the first cost-cutting measure to take.

New razors on offer, but not the blades

It seems that the razors themselves are on offer more often than not, but the story with replacement blades isn’t quite so rosy.

Our research found that in the last year alone, the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power razor was either half price or on a two-for-one offer at Asda for 91 days, Tesco for 114 days and for 156 days at Sainsburys.

That’s great news if you’re in the market for a new razor. But since manufacturers know we’ll come back and buy their blades once we find a shave we like, it’s unsurprising that decent offers for replacement blades are very thin on the ground.

We checked the prices of three, four and six-packs of Gillette Fusion ProGlide power blades at the same supermarkets over the last 12 months and could only find half price offers at Asda and only for three weeks. So, unlike new razors, it seems that you’ll have to put up with buying full-price replacement blades.

Have you got any tips for cutting the cost of a close and comfortable shave?