Why a Safety Razor?

For 29 years – aside from a quick fling with an awful electrical shaver – I used a multi-bladed cartridge razor thinking that was the absolute best device for the job. Each few years I would purchase the new model with yet another blade only to seek out it achieved the job precisely the identical – that is – to leave me with a horrible red rash and irritable skin that would have to be shaved again the subsequent day and infrequently allowed to heal.

By likelihood at some point I came upon a safety razor. I was instantly taken by it is old fashioned design and high high quality appearance. Then I heard that these things have been really supposed to offer you a greater shave than cartridge razors equivalent to your Gillettes and Wilkinson Swords, and that the blades price considerably less. I instantly bought one to provide it a go however anticipated to be disappointed.

Getting used to using it was a bit of a studying curve. I might turn out to be accustomed to having no regard for the angle of the blade and urgent the razor to my face, after three passes with the safety razor my skin still felt slightly irritated and I had a number of tiny weeping cuts.

However, I still felt a lot less irritation compared to my old cartridge razor so decided to offer the safety razor a month’s trial, keeping the triple bladed razor useful till I would made my mind up or was in a rush. Nonetheless, I’ve still but to use it.

After doing my research, studying the correct blade angle and realising that the weight of the razor applies the pressure rather than my hand, the safety razor was providing wonderful shaves. I went from skipping a days shaving each time I might to let my skin heal to shaving day by day with no rash or irritation. I learnt how the hair on my face grows in all totally different directions and the simplest mixtures of strokes to make use of to cut them. I learnt about right preparation pre-shave which is something I am going to go into in a future post. Best of all, shaving turned from a torturous each day chore to be endured into a calming, meditative ritual.

So how can a design that was all but abandoned forty years ago supply a superior experience to the trendy design that changed it? Why was the design of the safety razor changed at all? To answer the first query we should take a look at how the cartridge razor works. In all the adverts we’re told that these products supply the closest shave possible, but how do they try this?

The design is such that the lowest blade within the cartridge either cuts the hair or pulls it. If it cuts the hair it would additionally pull the hair slightly out of the skin and the second blade will minimize it again before it totally retracts back into the skin. If it pulls the hair it’ll do the identical thing, pulling the follicle forward and letting the second (or third, or forth) blade lower the hair higher up earlier than the hair retreats. This provides a close shave, but can even go away the hair minimize beneath the extent of the skin. This is what was causing my daily discomfort. I wonder what number of males with ‘pseudofolliculitis barbae’ or ‘razor rash’ proceed to shave with these razors that worsen or cause their condition.

As for the query of why the safety razor design was abandoned, my view is that it was a intelligent advertising trick by a very giant razor producer, perhaps the inventor of the ‘loss leader’ advertising strategy, but I will leave it there.

With a safety razor, I found that I could get a shave that felt as shut, i.e I could not really feel that hair was present or make that scratchy sound you get when you run your fingers over your five O’Clock shadow, but not so close that it caused me irritation.

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