Has everything about shaving gotten worse the last 50 years?

[polaar]

Beautiful nickel-plated brass razors turned into cheap bright plastic toy-like objects, real shaving cream was replaced on most retail shelves by goo and gel that leaves faces scraped and smarting, affordable and elegant blades turned into costly, comical burn-inducing cartridges, MEM products were watered-down by Dana, Aqua Velva got put into plastic bottles, Old Spice got reformulated.

On the up side, the internet gives the info and ability to find & buy the good products that are still out there. And something must be better, since I never end up with little squares of toilet paper all over my face and neck like Dad sometimes did!

 

[GreekGuy]

Beautiful nickel-plated brass razors turned into cheap bright plastic toy-like objects, real shaving cream was replaced on most retail shelves by goo and gel that leaves faces scraped and smarting, affordable and elegant blades turned into costly, comical burn-inducing cartridges, MEM products were watered-down by Dana, Aqua Velva got put into plastic bottles, Old Spice got reformulated.

On the up side, the internet gives the info and ability to find & buy the good products that are still out there. And something must be better, since I never end up with little squares of toilet paper all over my face and neck like Dad sometimes did!

The internet has made the availability of products far greater than they ever were. Sure, you could buy vintage williams and Gillette spoilers at the drug store 40 years ago, but that was probably one of your only options. Now we have soaps and creams and razors available from all over the world. I'd say things are better now than they ever were

 

[Vlad]

The internet has made the availability of products far greater than they ever were. Sure, you could buy vintage williams and Gillette spoilers at the drug store 40 years ago, but that was probably one of your only options. Now we have soaps and creams and razors available from all over the world. I'd say things are better now than they ever were

This.

 

[Bubu]

Yeah things definitely has gotten better since then, with the advance of the internet we can buy things and review them and let others know exactly how they perform. That we now know that even back then people did not know how to shave all that good just like nowadays. Though we have forums like these so that we can do better with the tools that we have.

 

[Mad Man]

Hmmm.... how to answer.

I guess the real question is WHY the change has occured. And not just in shaving but in many, many areas.

For most of the developed world the biggest changes have been in the cost of business. Technology, once very expensive has significantly dropped yet labour, once cheap and readily accessible, has become the single biggest controllable expense for most organizations.

When you consider those 2 factors it's natural for almost every industry to move away from the more labour intensive forged/cast etc manufacturing methods and move to high-speed low-cost production (after the initial investment); plastics facilitated this.

Coupled with marketing aimed at "saving time/money" or just "being new/cool" (and has anyone REALLY saved anything or gotten "cooler"???) we have seen a Perfect Storm of Manaufacturing and Marketing that has given us the current end-user experience; not just in shaving but in a LOT of areas.

For us and this "Thing of Ours" however the internet has become the single biggest enabler - allowing us to communicate and transact in a way no generation has before.

As to shaving gotten "worse" though; a single example of the "romanticism" and myopia of shaving, as evidenced on these forums, must be made when we compare some of the current razors with their vintage counterparts. As much as I still consider my ball-tech and slim as functional and, in their own way "beautiful", the standard of craftsmanship and finish of my EJ Barley is a significant improvement on those items. I'm not saying it's a better shaver, that's a YMMV clause, but I for one think some of the hardware and "software" available to us today is as good as anything in the past.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[mmack66]

40 years ago, Williams soap and Gillette Spoilers were all that men needed, though in reality, there were also other excellent shaving supplies available at the local drugstore.

There may be more stuff available these days, but they aren't all necessarily better than what was available in the past.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Gold Dollars for $4.06 delivered. I just ordered 10 of them. The $4 razor... THAT is a good development, even if they do need a bit of work before they can shave.

Lapping film. Whoa.... nothing can touch it. A new thing!

Internet. Now we can be sure that we are using the best stuff, and we can GET the best stuff even if we live in Bugtussle, Tennessee or Walla Walla or Timbuktoo.

OTOH, all the great American straight razor makers of the golden age of shaving are gone. The barbershop shave, as we know it, is pretty much gone. The great Gillette DE razors are only still with us because they messed up and made razors that just won't die.

Some good stuff happened. Some bad stuff happened. Life goes on.

 

[beginish]

Not totally. I think we are in the midst of a scuttle renaissance.

 

[Saltchuck]

Speaking as one who has been shaving for literally the last 50 years:

Razors? There are some nice DE razors available today, but I don't think anyone has really improved on the Gillette News of the 1930s.

Soaps? Vintage Old Spice soap, and even vintage Williams, were very good products. Today, however, there is a much wider selection of good soaps to choose from.

Creams? I didn't use any vintage non-aerosol creams back in the day, but there is a wonderful variety of great creams available today.

Blades? Vintage blades (such as the Gillette Blue Blade) were markedly inferior to what we have available today.

On balance, I'd say we are much better off today with respect to the availability of shaving products, especially since we can reach back in time for vintage razors such as the Gillette New.

 

[Maxime D.]

A couple years ago, the only product available at my local drugstore was Gillette canned goo (or the Noname less expensive version). Now they have nivea cream, the art of shaving cream, the proraso line, Omega brushes, Zirh cream etc etc They don't have DE but It may come soon ^^

 

[Renato1]

I think that you are forgetting the invention of something fabulous just over 40 years ago, namely cartridge razors. These in turn have led to the modern marvel of three, four and five bladed cartridges. I especially loved Gillette Fusion.

To me, the multiblade swivel-head cartridges are like driving an automatic - little fuss, little problem in the entire process, usually not much point doing other than one pass with the grain. DEs are like driving manuals - more control, more care needed. And DEs with with big heavy adjustable razors are a bit like driving four wheel drives.

Where I live, most supermarkets and pharmacies have always and still do stock at least one or two tubes of shave cream, and one Palmolive shave stick.
Regards,
Renato

 

[syngent]

Blades? Vintage blades (such as the Gillette Blue Blade) were markedly inferior to what we have available today.

I would agree, even the less liked blades we use today, are probably better then the best offered 50 years ago both in terms of function and in terms of amount of shaves per blade,
Also sterilization of equipment is much better now then ever as we have much better disinfection supplies then 50 years ago, leading to less problems

 

[Maxime D.]

I can't wait to see their next generation of cartridge razor. We could use some red laser to guide us or maybe a fragrance spray in the handle or maybe blade heater for cold winters.

I think that you are forgetting the invention of something fabulous just over 40 years ago, namely cartridge razors. These in turn have led to the modern marvel of three, four and five bladed cartridges. I especially loved Gillette Fusion.

To me, the multiblade swivel-head cartridges are like driving an automatic - little fuss, little problem in the entire process, usually not much point doing other than one pass with the grain. DEs are like driving manuals - more control, more care needed. And DEs with with big heavy adjustable razors are a bit like driving four wheel drives.

Where I live, most supermarkets and pharmacies have always and still do stock at least one or two tubes of shave cream, and one Palmolive shave stick.
Regards,
Renato

 

[Renato1]

I can't wait to see their next generation of cartridge razor. We could use some red laser to guide us or maybe a fragrance spray in the handle or maybe blade heater for cold winters.

Possibly a little computer sensor that causes part of the cartridge to glow red when too much pressure is applied? That would be handy.

I forgot to mention the edging blade on the new four and five blade wonders - they do a great job on side burns and especially under the nose. Need I say it, for the area under the nose, I think the edging blade is superior to DE blades, which can only reach that area by going across or against the grain.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[syngent]

I can't wait to see their next generation of cartridge razor. We could use some red laser to guide us or maybe a fragrance spray in the handle or maybe blade heater for cold winters.

you know at some point they will do what most all companies do when things are pushed to far, and all of a sudden go back to old ways of doing things and claim they are reinventing the wheel, cant wait to see a mordern gillette de, made of plastic, one blade, and takes a battery lol

 

[The Kiwi]

Beautiful nickel-plated brass razors turned into cheap bright plastic toy-like objects, real shaving cream was replaced on most retail shelves by goo and gel that leaves faces scraped and smarting, affordable and elegant blades turned into costly, comical burn-inducing cartridges, MEM products were watered-down by Dana, Aqua Velva got put into plastic bottles, Old Spice got reformulated.

On the up side, the internet gives the info and ability to find & buy the good products that are still out there. And something must be better, since I never end up with little squares of toilet paper all over my face and neck like Dad sometimes did!

I wasn't aware that shaving was anything special at the time. I didn't yet have a "heavy" beard, however, I'd been needing to shave for eight years already. When I was 14 and 15, I often had a couple of tiny nicks I needed to put those bits of TP on, because I was a little clumsy, and easily distracted. When I was 22, I had a fulltime job, and was a part-time student at the local University. I was probably electric shaving 50 years ago (so long ago, I cannot be certain).

At that point, I was shaving from time to time with a Schick Injector, using a canned foam most times, but on occasion getting out a Burma Shave mug, with Burma Shave soap in it, and using an Old Spice brush to whip some lather. I cannot recall any nicks with the Injector then, but I just barely remember much of anything to make shaving in 1962 particularly memorable. Four years later, I'd been using Gillette razors for awhile, with occasional nicks when I rushed using my Slim Adjustable, and occasional bits of TP on the nicks.

You mention Dana, I don't recall what they made / sold ("Mem"?) I still have an Aqua Velva bottle with a textured glass exterior. It's probably 15 years old -- I refilled it from a plastic container. I miss Old Spice's soap, that's certain. There are a lot of other thing from 1962 that I remember better than shaving.

 

[oldspiceboy]

I know one thing that has changed for the better. Having access to really good information on shaving. Thinking back I dont remember my dad really showing me how to shave. Now there is a vast repository of information for lads aspiring to get a good shave to get a good shave.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Has everything about shaving gotten worse the last 50 years? No.

 

[SuperChris]

50 years ago, no B&B , 'nuff said

 

[Maxime D.]

The problem isn't that the carts aren't comfortable but personally I can't shave twice in a row or I'll become the human torch. On the other hand, I can shave 4-5 time in a row with a DE.