You know, I sometimes think that I actually get a closer BBS shave with a Trac II than with a DE, at least a BBS shave that seems to last longer. Perhaps that is because I think cartridges actually shave beneath the skin surface, and that is the reason some get ingrown hairs from cartridge shaving.
Gillette's claim
- Thread starter BadgerBadger!
- Start date
I've found this to be true for me in certain areas on my face; while in other areas the SensorExcel (sp) and M3 don't cut as close; the Proglide gave me the best cartridge shave, I did get a lot of ingrown hairs. It was cutting some stubble beneath the surface of the skin. I used a Proglide for a while shortly after it was released; but I was getting only three shaves per cartridge and they were to expensive for me at $3.35 or so per.
Wet shaving is an absolute pleasure for me and I would think for many who post on B&B; and if you enjoy and get great shaves from a cartridge razor, I wish you good shaving and congratulations for finding a razor that works for you. Enjoy your shaves.
When the first 5-blades cartridges came out I remember joking to my wife that before long they would come out with a razor-of-death that had 78 blades and was the size of a notepad. Not 6 months later SNL did a sketch of just that. The guy did a single pass and started gushing blood like a Roman fountain.
I for sure get closer with DE as it can get into places a cart cannot, and I take more time pulling skin tight and assuring myself of the best shave possible, I shaved with carts for years and got a decent shave, but DE is like going from automatic transmission to manual, I have control, and yeah, I drive a 5 speed car as well!
I can appreciate and understand that some guys can get just as good if not better of a shave from a cartridge. I cannot, I was all beginning to think that there was no hope for my shaving experiences. I have one spot I always cut with a cartridge and the razor burn/ingrown hairs were terrible. Once I tried DE shaving the irritation stopped and my face became much smoother. so for me it is a better shave as well as I just love doing it.. The prep, the relaxation, the AD, love it all haha.
If you ask most males (or females) if they enjoy using carts for shaving, most would say no, it is a chore. If you ask "traditional" shavers, the majority would say it is enjoyable to the point of becoming an addiction. I would say over 95% of the shaving public don't know traditional (DE, SE, Straight) shaving products exist.
Very good answer. This should be posted in every cartridge bashing thread.
As much as I respect the research Gillette and P&G do, their marketing department does some slimy things with the results, let alone some slippery areas on the clinical and science side. Note how "single blade technology" is demonstrably inferior to whatever shaving systems they're selling. They take some crappy canned goo and a DE and compare that against a system that includes proper prep. Not only that, but most of the results (i.e. the different tests they used) can probably be attributed to the post-shave moisturizer. I'd like to see if any part of their claim holds up with a control, e.g. compare using a moisturizer vs not using one, or compare one razor against the other with everything else being equal. If they could show something legitimate about the blade, they would. It means they can't. Instead, they put their blade on the team with proper prep, and the other blade in the doghouse. OTOH, I do applaud them for promoting a regimen with full prep, after shaves, and some other things, but they're just following the market trends here.
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- Thread starter
- #30
I'm interested if Gillette's research department has submitted any articles for peer-review, especially anything dealing with the closeness of a shave.
It all has to do with marketing. If you say it enough, enough people will believe it and buy it.
Carts don't give me a better shave. Faster - yes, a little. Better - no.
If anything, carts are worse for me in the sense that when stubble does reappear, it seems to be rougher. I believe they leave a spear-like tip on each hair, whereas beard reduction with a DE chamfers the tip on several sides. Hysteresis makes this difficult to duplicate using multi-blade carts.
I will definitely concede YMMV on this one.
If anything, carts are worse for me in the sense that when stubble does reappear, it seems to be rougher. I believe they leave a spear-like tip on each hair, whereas beard reduction with a DE chamfers the tip on several sides. Hysteresis makes this difficult to duplicate using multi-blade carts.
I will definitely concede YMMV on this one.
^ THIS.
Those of us who started shaving in the mid to late 70's had no knowledge of the DE. A lot of us had grandfathers who were DE men, but our fathers were dedicated to the electric. The only DE's I ever saw were my father's that was never used -- or only used to clean up is upper lip, and my grandfathers' which I never saw used since I didn't live there.
I didn't discover DE until I went overseas. Had I not been in a DE country I might still be using the can and Fusion.
It's all about the sale. I was a MACH III user for a long time and got a good shave from it. When I switched to the Fusion I wrote to Gillette about the better Fusion shave being less than better. They ignored me and I still took their bait and bought into their system. Who's the fool. There's a lot of money to be made in the cart business. Americans love the lowest common denominator. As long as it's fast and big we'll buy anything.
You should watch P&G's R&D website, especially their newsletter.
The most recent thing I know of is Insights into shaving and its impact on skin. It may not seem relevant at first, but I think they're focused exactly where they should be--on improving their measurement capabilities, gaining an understanding of how the measurements relate to real stuff, and coming up with some theories or basis for moving forward... Same kind of stuff that's been going on for years. There's some links in that thread to associated stuff they published. I believe the claim in this thread is based on the continued progress in that research. You can sort of follow how the claims get watered down from the published science to the conference presentation to the their Shaving Care Regimen and finally to their advertising. The one thing I haven't seen are the actual studies the way they're supposed to be presented, including their methodology. They sort of published a secondary summary paper. Then again, what they presented is probably more useful to that audience--dermatologists.
I tried to cover some of PG&'s research in my Mad Scientist series. #3 in particular tries to show how P&G is making some real progress, building on what's been done in the past. Don't know how good a job I did--that last one on friction studies even mystifies me, but I put it out there anyway. It's pretty hard to understand things and relate them to shaving, not just for us, but for the researchers, too.
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OldSaw
The wife's investment
I got great results with a Trac II back in my cart days and they could still nick like any DE that I have now. Now days when I use a cart I use the Schick Hydro 3 and am completely amazed at the results and talk about foolproof, it is practically a nick free razor.
For me it comes down to one thing... the simple pleasure of 'me time' and 'me time' is a DE/SE with a good soap and brush. I enjoy shaving and look forward to it. It's the aesthetics of it that I love, plain and simple.... to shave as my Dad did and recall those times watching him at the sink. The bonus is that I get a good shave.
I hope people remember the fact that the word gay means happy and not what our society has labeled it to mean.
Also Dorco has a 6 blade cartridge razor if people where wondering when someone was going to go past 5 blades.
P&G is also playing both sides of the fence, sine they do carry DE razors and blades in the AoS shops. They just push the carts since there is more profit in it.
Why did they say it? Because DE and straight razor shaving is gaining in popularity, and they don't like it. Out comes the propaganda. Their messsage is essentially this:"Don't even bother with a single edge for shaving. That doesn't work at all. No. Don't even think about it. All your friends are wrong."
For me the carts gave me a decent shave, except for my neck line that looked like I got attacked by mosquitoes. I tried all sorts of carts, canned goo, balms, and stuff designed for sensitive skin etc. Some products worked well for a couple weeks and then it was back to the red mine field on my neck. And all that was only shaving 2 or 3 times a week.
Now with a DE I shave daily and have none of the irritation, and I actually enjoy my shaves. Personally I will never switch back to carts. Just my 2 cents.
Now with a DE I shave daily and have none of the irritation, and I actually enjoy my shaves. Personally I will never switch back to carts. Just my 2 cents.
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