In January 2019, Gillette released a 108-second ad called "The Best Men Can Be" that lectured American men about toxic masculinity, mansplaining, and sexual harassment. Within seven months, parent company Procter & Gamble booked an $8 billion non-cash writedown on the Gillette brand. By 2026, P&G still holds a perfect 100/100 score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index — the same scorecard that Robby Starbuck has used to publicly shame Ford, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Tractor Supply, and dozens of other Fortune 500 brands into retreat.
P&G hasn't retreated. Neither has Edgewell Personal Care, the parent of Schick, Harry's, and Wilkinson Sword, which still runs its "InspireJOY" DEI engagement program and celebrates Juneteenth as a corporate brand event. Dollar Shave Club, meanwhile, sits inside Unilever — a company that scores in the high 80s on woke benchmarks and has spent the last decade hardwiring ESG and DEI into every operating unit it owns.
The good news: a generation of independent razor makers has stepped into the gap. Here are seven shaving brands worth your $20 to $200 in 2026 — none of them lecturing you about who you are when you shave.
The Woke Razor Aisle in 2026: Who Owns What
Before the alternatives, know who you're funding when you grab a 5-pack at Target:
- Procter & Gamble (Woke Score 56/100, HRC CEI 100/100) — Gillette, Venus, Joy, Braun. Still a Pride Month sponsor. Still a CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion signatory.
- Edgewell Personal Care — Schick, Harry's, Wilkinson Sword, Edge, Skintimate, Bulldog. Operates the InspireJOY internal DEI program and runs supplier-diversity spending targets.
- Unilever — Dollar Shave Club, Dove Men+Care. Parent of dozens of woke flagship brands; one of the most aggressive ESG operators in consumer goods.
If you've been buying any of those brands, your wallet has been on the wrong side of the score sheet. Here's where to send it instead.
7 Patriot-Friendly Razor Brands to Buy in 2026
1. Henson Shaving — The Aerospace-Machined Patriot Pick
Henson is the breakout story of the last five years. The Ontario-based family operation machines its AL13 and Ti22 safety razors on the same CNC equipment that builds parts for the International Space Station and the James Webb Space Telescope. Tolerances are aerospace-grade — meaning a $75 Henson shaves smoother than a $400 boutique razor and lasts a lifetime. No Pride campaigns. No HRC scorecard. Just a family business obsessed with making one thing exceptionally well. Available direct at hensonshaving.com.
2. Rockwell Razors — The Adjustable American Classic
Rockwell pioneered the modern adjustable safety razor in 2014 with the 6S (stainless steel) and the more affordable R1. Six different blade-angle plates let you dial in aggressiveness from beginner to barbershop. Headquartered in Toronto with American distribution, Rockwell stays politically silent and pours its budget into product, not pronouns. A 6S will outlast three generations of cartridge razors at one-tenth the lifetime cost.
3. Supply — Made in California, Single-Edge Specialist
Supply (formerly Supply Co.) machines its SE Single Edge razor at a family-owned facility in Southern California. The single-edge "injector" format — popularized in the mid-20th century — gives a closer shave than a cartridge with almost no ingrown hairs. Supply is independently owned, scores zero on the HRC index because it has never submitted, and uses its marketing dollars on craftsmanship videos instead of social-cause campaigns.
4. OneBlade — American-Made Premium
OneBlade's flagship Genesis razor is forged from PVD-coated stainless steel and built in the United States. It uses a single Feather Pro blade on a pivot — closer to a straight-razor experience than anything Gillette has ever sold. It is not cheap ($300 entry), but the company is a small independent operation with no DEI bureaucracy, no Pride sponsorships, and a customer base that includes a heavy concentration of veterans and law enforcement.
5. Leaf Shave — The Pivoting Independent
Leaf's three-blade pivoting safety razor bridges the gap between a Gillette Fusion experience and a traditional double-edge. It's owned and operated by a small Minnesota team, ships from the US, and has never appeared on a corporate equality scorecard. The blades are inexpensive (about 10 cents each) and recyclable. A solid pick for someone leaving cartridges for the first time.
6. Merkur — The German Heritage Standard
Merkur has been forging safety razors in Solingen, Germany since 1906 and remains the world standard for traditional double-edge shaving. Owned by the privately held DOVO Group (also a heritage straight-razor maker), Merkur has zero exposure to the American DEI complex. The 34C Heavy Duty is the most-recommended starter safety razor in the world — about $50, virtually indestructible, and politically inert.
7. Edwin Jagger — British Heritage, Family-Owned
Edwin Jagger is a fourth-generation family business in Sheffield, England, hand-finishing razors and shaving brushes since 1988. The DE89 safety razor is a beginner favorite — perfectly weighted, chrome-plated brass, and priced around $40. The company is small enough that DEI consultants have never darkened its door, and the brand is sold direct as well as through the few remaining independent shave shops in America.
How Much You'll Actually Save Switching
The dirty secret of the Gillette business model is the cartridge tax. A pack of eight Fusion ProGlide cartridges retails for around $35 — roughly $4.40 per cartridge. Most men get four to six shaves out of one before it starts pulling. That's about $0.80 per shave just for the razor head.
A Henson AL13 with a tube of 100 Feather double-edge blades runs about $90 total. Those 100 blades, used at one per week, last nearly two years — at a per-shave cost of under $0.05. Over a 20-year shaving life, a patriot setup saves the average American man more than $1,800 compared to staying on Gillette cartridges — and every dollar goes to a small, independent maker instead of a Cincinnati boardroom signing off on the next "We Believe" sequel.
The Bottom Line
Gillette spent decades telling you it was "The Best a Man Can Get." In 2019 it pivoted to telling you what a man should be. Procter & Gamble has not apologized, has not lowered its CEI score, and has not stopped funding the same activist infrastructure that produced the ad in the first place.
You don't have to keep buying it. Henson, Rockwell, Supply, OneBlade, Leaf, Merkur, and Edwin Jagger are all shipping to your door today — most for less per year than a single eight-pack of Fusion cartridges. Switch once, and the only lecture you'll get in the morning is the one you give yourself in the mirror.
For more brand scores and patriot alternatives, browse the full Buy Woke Free brand directory and our latest corporate accountability reporting.