TSA Razor Rules: What Types of Blades Are Allowed on a Plane?

There are a lot of common items that people ask about when it comes to TSA rules.

I’ve seen a lot of questions related to things like food, alcohol, deodorant, and a lot of other commonly used products. Another common product often asked about is: razors.

In this article, I will tell you everything you need to know about the TSA rules for razors, so that you don’t end up in a prickly situation.

I’ll break down the different types of razors you might be concerned with (disposable, electric, etc.) and give you some good options for TSA-approved razors.

What are the TSA rules for bringing razors on planes?

TSA will allow you to bring disposable razors and electric razors in your carry-on but other types of razors like safety razors and straight edge razors are not allowed through airport security checkpoints.

However, you can bring virtually any type of razor in your checked baggage. You just need to make sure that the razor is properly packaged so that if an agent inspects your bag, they will not get injured while digging through your luggage contents.

Keep reading below to find out more details!

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Bringing razors in your carry-on or checked baggage

If you are bringing some of the TSA approved razors talked about below in your carry-on you don’t have to remove them but it would probably help if you separated them from other items in your bag for easy access.

If you are bringing razors in your checked baggage the main thing you need to focus on is properly covering your razors so that an agent will not get cut by them if they are digging through your luggage during an inspection.

A lot of razors come with protective covers and so those can help prevent injury by snapping those on. In other situations, you could wrap your razors in several layers of paper and then tape them up.

Disposable razors (TSA approved)

If you use disposable razors, you are in luck because you will be allowed to bring your disposable razors through TSA airport security and onto the plane as a carry-on. These include those razors made by: Bic, Dollar Shave Club, Gillette, Harry’s, Schick, and Solimo.

These brands offer two different types of disposable razors.

The first is the type of razor that you throw away entirely (there is no razor blade cartridge).

These can be very economical and you can find a dozen of these for under $20. (Personally, I don’t like using these cheaper razors but that’s just me, everyone’s face, legs, body, etc. is different.) 

The other type of disposable razor utilizes a cartridge so you only throw away the cartridge but you keep the handle and simply add a new cartridge.

These are my favorite types of razors and I’ve been loyal to the Gillette Fusion5 Proglide (for men’s shaving) for a very long time. Gillette also makes quality women’s razors.

All of these disposable razors are allowed by TSA.

The thinking, I believe, is that it’s difficult and/or time consuming to remove the blades from the razor and the blades are generally small so they don’t pose that much of a threat.

So if you’re bringing along disposable razors, you can pack them in a carry-on or checked luggage. 

Electric razors (TSA approved)

You might be a little bit more fancy and go with an electric razor when you shave.

If that is the case then you are also in luck because you are allowed to bring electric razors through TSA security and onto the plane.

Electric razors come in a few different forms, but generally these are those razors that can be used on wet or dry skin and come with those funny looking heads.

Because these are electronics and sometimes look odd, the TSA agents may want to take a closer look at your electric razors sometimes but it shouldn’t be an issue. 

So you can bring electric razors on as a carry-on item or in your checked luggage — it is all up to you.

By the way, hair clippers are also allowed as carry-ons or checked bag items.

Rechargeable beard trimmers are also allowed in both carry-on and checked bags.

Battery chargers are allowed in carry-on and checked bags. (If your trimmer charger has an electrical cord, be sure to wrap it tightly around the charger.)

Just remember that spare lithium batteries are prohibited in checked baggage.

Safety razors (NOT TSA approved)

Safety razors are those razors that are sort of in between straight edge razors and disposable.

Many people swear that these are better than disposable razors although that probably comes down to the type of skin and the coarseness of your hair. 

Anyway, these razors are great because they can use high quality razors and also it can be cheap to replace the razor blades, allowing you to take advantage of some serious long-term savings compared to disposable razors.

You can find some quality safety razors online for under $20 though high-quality safety razors can be much more expensive. 

However, these are not TSA approved.

It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with open comb, closed comb, etc., if you have a safety razor, you can only bring the handle and not the razor with you through as a carry-on.

Instead, the razors must be checked in your checked baggage.

Straight edge razors (NOT TSA approved)

You probably won’t be surprised to find out that straight edge razors are NOT allowed through TSA security.

Straight edge razors are those old-school grooming razors that you can find many barbers using. They are long and some people find them pretty terrifying when positioned close to their face or throat.  

These obviously pose more of a threat to flight attendants and passengers and so understandably you cannot bring straight edge razors onto a plane.

Instead, the razors must be stored in your checked baggage, though you can bring the handle on if they don’t contain a razor. 

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Box of razors

You cannot bring a box of razors in your carry-on.

However, you would be allowed to bring in a package of razors if all of the razors are in a cartridge.

For example, if you had the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Razors disposable cartridges mentioned above those could be brought in your carry-on by themselves.

What about shaving cream?

You might also be curious about the rules for bringing shaving cream through airport security.

Shaving cream will be treated like a liquid and therefore subject to the TSA 3-1-1 liquids rule.

This just means that any container of shaving cream must be no larger than 3.4 fluid ounces and must be placed in a clear zip lock bag no larger than a quart to bring it as a carry-on.

Make sure that you also keep the cap on the shaving cream can because if it is missing, TSA may confiscate your shaving cream.

If you have a large container of shaving cream, then you will need to put that in your checked luggage. Just be aware that there are limitations on shaving cream in your checked baggage.

Shaving cream is considered a hazardous material but you will still be allowed to bring containers up to 0.5 kg (18 ounces) or 500 ml (17 fluid ounces).

It should be very easy to find shaving cream cans much smaller than 17 fluid ounces.

Your total aggregate amount of these restricted items cannot be more than 2 kg (70 ounces) or 2 L (68 fluid ounces).

So just remember that if you also had something like hairspray you would have to add that to the aggregate total and remain under 68 fluid ounces.

What about other sharp objects?

You might be wondering about other sharp objects like knives.

You are allowed to pack certain types of knives and pocket knives in your checked baggage but these cannot be brought on as carry-ons.

The only types of knives that are allowed as carry-ons or plastic or round pleated butter knives.

It’s good to remember the rule of thumb that you are generally prohibited from traveling with any sharp objects in your carry-on baggage.

You can actually get hit with a pretty hefty fine if you are caught with certain band objects that fall in the category below:

Axes and hatchets; bows and/or arrows; ice axes and ice picks; knives with blades that open automatically (such as switchblades); knives with blades that open via gravity (such as butterfly knives); any double-edge knives or daggers; meat cleavers; sabers; swords; and machetes throwing stars

TSA Razor Rules FAQ

Final word

TSA is pretty lenient whenever it comes to shaving razors.

They allow you to bring disposable razors and also electric razors onboard so you should have plenty of options for staying on top of your shaving regime when traveling (no excuses for looking scraggly on the road)!