Shaving On A Plane

Shaving on an an airplane? The idea has never crossed my mind. Normally, I don't shave before flying. I once heard that by not shaving, you can protect yourself from getting sick. It's probably one of those old wives tales, but I live by it. The idea behind the "no shave before flying" belief is that any germs floating around the airplane with stick to your stubble and can be saved away upon landing. So, shaving on an airplane never crossed my mind.

LA TIMES

That was until I received an email from Birchbox advertising the joys of shaving in transit. Say what? The post can be seen here and makes a strong enough argument that has made me rethink my "travel shaving habits." The author Martin Mulkeen recalls,

"A few weeks ago I found myself entering hour 21 of a 22-hour flight to Singapore for a friend’s wedding. I would soon arrive in the early morning, but for my internal clock it would be just approaching bedtime. With an hour left to fly I knew I had to do something to kickstart my morning. So I locked the door to my private airplane apartment, pulled out a disposable razor and a my travel-friendly sample size of Vitamine and Sea’s shaving cream ... and scraped away the vagaries of what had been, legitimately, the longest night of my life. Granted, just a neck clean up, but the simple act of running the razor over my face helped me re-orient my thoughts towards the morning (and my imminent groomsmen duties)."

 On long flights, a shave may give me a pick-up I need prior to landing. Mulkeen argues that shaving won't cure jet lag, but it may help:

"The most important rule of getting over jet lag is setting your watch to local time the second you board the plane, right? Well, the more I travel the more I realize how tied simple acts of muscle memory and routine are for recalibrating one’s internal clock. Flossing, brushing, mouthwash, followed by 30 minutes with my book, and I’m out like a light. Conversely, exfoliating, moisturizing, and a big bowl of granola and suddenly it’s 8am no matter what the clock says. Of course, a glass of wine or a cup of coffee can help with this on either end too."

The big question many of you may be having is shaving on an airplane possible. More importantly, can you bring a razor on an airplane? According to the TSA blog disposable razor blades are allowed in your carry-on. However, old fashion blade type razors are not allowed.

With the razor allowed, the next important thing is shaving cream. Any 3oz container or less of shaving cream is allowed, but I would recommend a cream vs. traditional shaving cream due to time and easy of clean-up. Remember, other people need to use the bathroom as well.

Maybe on my next long flight, I will pop into the "airline apartment" and give myself a quick clean-up. I know the shave won't reduce jet-lag, but I bet it could give me a little pep in my step to start/end my vacation.

Have you ever shaved on an airplane?
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