BBC Radio Highlights Traditional Wet Shaving

[BlackBear]

An interesting segment on the popularity of traditional wet shaving, featuring some of our favourite youtube stars aired recently on BBC radio.

Skip ahead to about the 15 minute mark when the shaving discussion starts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r9cdj

 

[ateace]

Thanks for sharing this one! Mantic and GeoFatboy are international stars!

 

[BarbaGnosa]

Julian Worricker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Worricker
You & Yours, BBC Radio 4's consumer affairs programme
Tuesday 19 March 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r9cdj

"Using one of these razors is a little bit like getting into a very fast sport-scar and knowing the power that's in your hands. There's a certain pleasure that's definitely derived from that."

"There was this kind of hyper-masculine image, you know it was three blades, then four blades, then five blades, and I think guys just reached a breaking point where they thought: this is ridiculous."

"The double edged razor is like advanced shaving. You've got the Mach3 type five blade type razors, and then you've got double edge, which is a traditional single blade razor, which to be honest with you takes a little more time to practice with it and get better, but then after certain amount of time, will save you loads of money on razor blades."

"The popularity for double edge razors has gone up so much, we simply can't get hold of the razors as quickly as we like."

"So, the cost of shaving with a double edge razor, in terms of the blades you'll certainly be paying less than a modern cartridge razor.... There is something of an initial investment [on the handle.]... The economics, once you've bought the handle, there's no comparison: it's just so much less expensive with the double edge system."

"So it might save money, but it's also harder to use."

"But, the internet is making it easier. Search online for 'safety razor videos' and you'll get 6 million results: clips of men staring into a mirror, foam on their faces, talking about products and technique."

Paul Humphries (aka PaulHFilms on YouTube): "The best technique is trial and error." "For the cost of these blades and things like that, I thought well I should be getting a decent shave here, but I wasn't too happy with it. And, I thought I'd go online and find out a bit more about a razor my dad had given me when I was about 18. And a little light bulb went on in my head, and I thought "Right, I'll look into going back to see if I can get a better shave using the double edge razors.... It's something I'm glad I've done and enjoy very much."
Interviewer: "I suppose the only reservation that I would put to you: A lot of men in the morning are in a great deal of a hurry, and they haven't necessarily got the time to do everything that you would say is required to have a proper, good, close shave. How do you deal with that?"
Humphries: "I'm in that boat as well, because I start work at 5:30 am. So what I do is I shave in the evening before bed. I can understand in the morning maybe people think 'Oh, I can't be bothered with that, it's too much trouble.' But it's something you've got to want to do. Because I used to hate shaving, believe it or not. It was a chore and something I had to do I didn't want to do it. But since I've learned you can use many different shaving creams, shaving soaps... I don't know, I love it!"

Ahmed Zambarakji, UK men's grooming writer: "Guys have kind of gotten fed up with the options that have been available today. I think they've grown quite skeptical with all the innovations that have come out on the market in the last four or five years. And they're looking for quality, they're looking for what their dads and their granddads used. I think one of the appeals of double edge razors is the fact that they make a guy feel different, that he's doing something completely out of the ordinary. It's not like you can pop down to your local pharmacy and buy one. It requires a little more technique and knowledge and it implies a guy's involved with the ritual of shaving, rather than just getting the job done with a standard blade."

 

[Dools]

Thanks for posting.

 

[Danny.]

Yes I listened to this a few days ago. The Welsh man interviewed (Paul Humphries) is a YouTube film maker. He was scouted from YouTube by the BBC and asked if he would be willing to do the interview. He does a lot of product testing and reviewing in his videos, accompanied by light hearted chit chat. As a newb I learned a lot from watching him. His user name on YouTube is PaulHFilms. Well worth watching. Really nice bloke too.

 

[striker6]

Thanks for posting the link...

 

[Argonaut]

Thanks for sharing this one! Mantic and GeoFatboy are...
something best left to the fanboys !

FTFEveryone.