I am definitely a person who fumbles around in the cabinet at the last minute looking for a razor . . . when there’s none to be found! The Razor-Saver provides up to 130 shaves from a single blade (as opposed to the usual 5-10 uses). It’s ideal If you’re eco-conscious or used to European shaves and razors (built for a lifetime of sharpening).

In the spirit of creating something that helps us protect our environment by disposing less, there razors allow the user to insert a razor head and draw the old blade across the Razor Saver, transforming it into like-new condition. We promise that you’ll use 75% less razors each year! And, these days, when people just throw everything away, every little bit we save helps.

Price: $12 at Sustainablevillage.com

Related posts on shaving and hair removal:
No!No!: Trade stubble for smoothness
How many blades can you fit on a razor?
Feel the pluck: Panasonic wet dry epilator and shaver
Razorba, that’s RaZORba

If your Christmas “must-get” list has an electric shaver on it and you don’t mind paying some jingle for it, then the brand-new Panasonic ARC IV Nano may impress. With four blades, the company promises a broader cutting surface, allowing more whiskers to be cut on the first pass. (We didn’t get one to try out so we’re taking their word for it.)

Extra-sharp Nanotech (hence the name) razor blades on independently floating shaver heads are designed to provide a close shave, reaching hair growing in any direction. The” floating heads” closely follow facial contours, while the specially-calibrated blades are “honed at a 30-degree angle” to produce a clean, efficient cut. The Arc IV Nano’s super-close shave minimizes skin irritation. Additional features include wet/dry capabilities, for shaving at the sink, in the shower, or even on the go (for example, my husband finds that an important feature as he likes to shave in the truck when he gets to location). Other handy features are the LCD display which indicates battery charge level as well as when the razor needs to be cleaned. Also, a full-width pop-up trimmer slides up for grooming of sideburns or mustache. And for easy maintenance, the shaver rinses clean under the faucet.

The 13,000 strokes-per-minute linear motor is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and the site claims that you get approximately two weeks of cordless shaving on a single charge.

Available for $199 at Amazon.

ForicaFoods Co. in Japan makes packaged food for emergencies called “Rescue Foods” that use special packs able to reach a temperature of 208.4 F (98 C) to heat packaged meals when no power or water is available. The heat is generated through a reaction between water and powdered aluminum, and, unlike earlier versions of similar products, these heat packs get hot enough to serve as realistic substitutes for solid fuels.

Each Rescue Foods plastic food container holds rice, soup and a main dish. I’d imagine it could also be popular with campers and hikers (I’m not a camper, but if I were, I know I’d prefer using heat packs over a stove that needs fuel).

Via The Nikkei Weekly (subscription).

I’ve experienced Moxa (otherwise known as Moxibustion) treatments in conjunction with acupuncture by a professional, but until now, I didn’t know it was something you could do yourself. Moxa is made of mugwort herb that’s formed into a little stick; it’s placed along acupuncture points and then lit on fire like a cigar to warm those points and improve circulation.

Actually, while I find the burning smell of Moxa to be fairly pleasant (very woody smell, but not too obnoxious), it is a little disconcerting to see smoke rising from my wrists. And it gets hotter as it burns down closer to my skin, and if the acupuncturist has stepped out of the room when it’s amost done, I start to panic.

So, it’s funny to hear about a new kind of Moxa for a younger generation – it’s made for relaxation. It comes in different fragrances for those who don’t like the traditional burning mugwort smell. Of course, if you’re doing it yourself, you can’t place them on both wrists at the same time. Supposedly, these “beginner” Moxa sticks won’t burn too close to your skin.

Via Trends in Japan, and available for $59 in their store (pack of 4, total of 200 pieces).

Amid the elixirs and the skincare potions on the market, LED light therapy is beginning to catch on with critics and professionals alike. You’ll be very happy to welcome the well-priced Marvel-Mini to your “get me gorgeous” gadget collection. The Marvel-Mini emits a safe light wavelength for 15 minutes a day to help you care for your acne or hyper-pigmentation. Take it up a notch to 24 minutes of treatment and you’ll be teaching those wrinkles and fine lines a thing or two.

LED light therapy emits a frequency that significantly increases new tissue growth and stimulates the skin’s fibroblasts to produce collagen and elastin proteins — that means your skin gets firmer and more elastic (yes!). This really helps if you’ve suffered from scarring or acne-related problems.

There are three color-coded models:

Red: Targets fine lines and wrinkles
Green: Targets hyperpigmentation
Blue: Targets acne

Price: $225 at Bliss (currently on backorder at Amazon).

I suppose the idea behind pink stun guns is that pink is an innocuous color and therefore, not threatening. You take your would-be attacker by surprise. InventorSpot shows us three different stun gun models: one that looks like a pink electric razor, one that’s shaped like a tampon (uh, why?), and one that’s shaped like a seal and hangs on a keychain for dangling on your purse strap or cell phone.

One problem? You might not be able to ward off your attacker simply by aiming your tampon stun gun at him and yelling “Back off!” You’d have to be quick and make your get-away while he’s laughing his face off.

The pink seal stun gun, by the way, isn’t a real weapon – you wouldn’t want to have it as your only defense if approached in a dark alley. It’s from one of our favorite accessories stores, Strapya (for $15), and is meant to be used to mildly zap inappropriate businessmen who can’t keep their hands to themselves on the subway. The pink Taser C2 (shown at top) is a real stun gun, available at Amazonfor $350.

I don’t know if Blackberry Thumb is an official medical condition, but anyone who regularly does a lot of texting or emailing on a cell phone knows what it is. According to textually.org, in New Zealand, a woman was diagnosed with “texting tenosynovitis” – an inflammation of the tendons in the thumb from excessive text messaging.

Some hotels offer Blackberry Balm massages to businessmen suffering from this ailment, but short of checking yourself into a hotel or spa, there seems to be little help for those of us addicted to texting. A couple of years ago, I did see, at a Sharper Image store, a little electronic massage machine designed for hands and wrists (similar in appearance to some neck massagers), but I haven’t been able to find it again — anywhere. If you’ve seen this somewhere, please let me know.

IMAK, which makes SmartGlove wrist supports for carpal tunnel (designed by an orthopedic surgeon), also makes the glove with thumb support, the idea behind it being that it holds your wrist and thumb in a position that prevents further damage. Built into the glove are something called “ergoBeads” which cushion the underside of the wrist. While I don’t know what it does to reverse damage already done, it’s worth a try if it can prevent more serious problems.

Available for $23 at the Revolution Health Store. Also available at Amazon.

For myself, I’m renaming this condition “iPhone Thumb” – I still haven’t gotten the hang of using that on-screen keypad, and have to type every other word twice to get it right.

Related post:
Fit fingers GripGlider

This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I posed the question the other day about whether anyone has seen a good massage device for Blackberry Thumb, but this little finger massager caught my eye at Trends in Japan. From Matensha, this manual massager, called “Yubi Lax germa,” incorporates Germanium, a mineral that warms up the device while in use. I don’t know if they ship to the U.S., but this looks like one of those little beauty/health gadgets that you might find in an Asian market like Mitsua in Edgewater, New Jersey (just across the Hudson from NYC).

Related:
SmartGlove with thumb support for Blackberry Thumb or texting tenosynovitis
Fit fingers GripGlider
Help on the way for “Blackberry Thumb”
Relieve stress with Super Mario mushrooms

A few hand held devices are now available for do-it-yourself laser treatments, such as this Soft Laser Wand, which sells for $219 at Gaiam. The wand applies UV waves to damaged skin to stimulate your body’s own repair mechanisms, such as collagen growth, to treat wrinkles, spider veins, blemishes, sun damage, rosacea, and other skin problems. Six minute treatments twice a day are recommended.

The soft laser wand is a low level (and obviously, cheaper) alternative to medical laser treatments such as for deeper skin resurfacing, which involves longer recovery time. I don’t know how effective these home treatments are in comparison to serious medial laser treatments, but they’ve got to be a lot less scary, and much less likely to cause harm.

Also at Amazon..

More on beauty gadgets:
Get gorgeous gadget: Marvel-Mini LED light therapy for skin
No!No!: Trade stubble for smoothness
ThermaClear zaps acne

The cosmetic scientists at The Beauty Brains, have posted a response to my question about whether home laser treatments really work. Take a look at what these skeptical brains had to say (a thoughtful reply, even if they got the name of our website wrong).

Related posts on cosmetic laser treatments:
Soft laser wand for collagen production
Isolaz vacuum laser acne treatment
Beurer Softlaser for Face