Razors

I bought razors at the grocery store today and I stopped to do a little math. To set the stage, I should say that for the past few months, I've been shaving with a double-edged safety razor, a badger hair brush and good glycerin-based shaving cream (no aerosol cans). This all started when I read an article back in April.

Blades for the razor are incredibly cheap. Or rather, they're priced appropriately and most modern blades are incredibly over-priced and the product of marketing. A ten pack of double edge blades was $3.00, or, $0.30 per blade. A four pack of blades for Gillette's newest marketing creation, the M3 Power, was $12.00, or, $3.00 per blade. Yes, that's right: for the cost of one M3 blade, you can get ten double edge blades. Wow.

You might click on those links to Amazon and think that the razor, the brush or the cream are expensive. But it's all relative, and the cheap blades offset the rest over time.

The biggest benefit of this is that I get a superior shave with less irritation. This is due largely to two factors: since the blades are so cheap, I'm more inclined to change them regularly and not drag a dull blade across my face. Second, the good cream applied with a brush that has soaked in hot water gives a great base for the blades.

Yes, despite what the commercials tell you, a razor technology first patented in 1904 (by none other than Gillette) gives a superior shave to the new stuff coming out today.

I'll sum up this post with one word: marketing.