How much are safety razors 'really' making a comeback?

[JasonJT]

Good evening all.

Just wondered in general how much are safety (DE) razors really making a comeback? I did some extensive research online and one fundamental reason for the comeback of the safety razor (as well as a much better shave) is to retaliate against the ridiculous price of cartridge razor refills. In fact at my local chemist; they keep the said refills locked away in glass cabinets as if they are the crown jewels! And my local supermarket the safety razor is starting to appear in the men's shaving section!

Jason.

 

[JimmyCB]

Good evening all.

Just wondered in general how much are safety (DE) razors really making a comeback? I did some extensive research online and one fundamental reason for the comeback of the safety razor (as well as a much better shave) is to retaliate against the ridiculous price of cartridge razor refills. In fact at my local chemist; they keep the said refills locked away in glass cabinets as if they are the crown jewels! And my local supermarket the safety razor is starting to appear in the men's shaving section!

Jason.

Good to hear this news from the UK. In the US, I live in a major metro area and supermarkets and pharmacies might carry a Van Der Hagen DE razor and generic DE blades, but that's about it. However, because of the variety of traditional wet shaving gear available on Amazon, eBay and Etsy, etc. and the large number of reviews for same, I sense that traditional wet shaving (DE, SE, injector and straight - a/k/a cutthroat - razors) is making a comeback. When traditional gear starts appearing in pharmacies and supermarkets in greater variety, we will know that the comeback is increasing big time.

 

[Beefdrippings]

In my neck of the woods carts are locked up because they will be gone in seconds from someone doing a runner. Five finger discount as it were. Some places carry the Gillette and Wilkinson Sword stuff and one pharmacy chain stocks a couple of Proraso offerings but it’s pretty slim pickin’s. I’m ok with it being just as popular as it is right now. Popular enough to have artisan soap makers and razor makers but, no in your face marketing everywhere you look. I do remember as a kid Williams soap being in Safeway and the like but I don’t see it anywhere anymore.

 

[ColtRevolver]

I doubt if we will ever see DE razors make a comeback to where they were before the disposable and cartridge razors came along.

 

[Rhody]

I doubt if we will ever see DE razors make a comeback to where they were before the disposable and cartridge razors came along.

I agree. It’s seen as old fashioned and probably too much work for mist people.
Seeing the carts locked up gives me the chuckles for sure.

 

[JimmyCB]

I doubt if we will ever see DE razors make a comeback to where they were before the disposable and cartridge razors came along.

Agreed. It's comparable to coffee. Manual drip, Chemex and French Press brewers are still popular today, but they never will be as popular as they were before Keurig machines came along. Many people prefer convenience to quality. IMHO, Keurig coffee is the instant coffee of the 21st Century and that's not a compliment.

 

[cpcohen1945]

Gillette DE's and blades started to appear about a year ago, here in Vancouver, in the supermarkets. Proraso shaving soap, and brushes, are easy to find.

DE shaving -- no cuts, no irritation -- is a learned skill. That's a barrier to wide adoption.

. Charles

 

[rbscebu]

Our local knife shop stocks a few different straight razors, mainly from Dovo, and the supermarket stocks King C Gillette razors (about USD 25) and GWS blades (about USD 10 for a tuck of 10). The pharmacy stocks one shaving brush (boar), non-tallow Tabac sticks and no DE blades of razors.

 

[Multum in parvo]

If you are lucky a typical drugstore here will carry:
1-2 DE‘s (Wilkinson, Gillette or some rebranded Chinese)
max. 2 blades (Bic Chrome Platinum, German Wilkinson Sword)
and a handful of Creams and soaps (Palmolive, Nivea, Balena, Wilkinson tub and stick)

With a bit of looking around you might also find Tabac and Speick, everything else is either fancy highstreet or online.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I am quite happy with it the way it is, a niche hobby that marks you out as a man of taste and distinction. If the latest crop of brain dead reality stars, pathetic overpaid woke sportsmen, sanctimonious z-list celebrities, or 'social media influencers' start telling me how great traditional shaving is and begin advertising the products then I will grow a beard or switch to carts. The hipsters and YouTube are bad enough as it is. Blimey - I have turned into Victor Meldrew - fine with me

 

[ivan_101]

Short answer: not much.
The simple fact that nobody of those I know in my city currently uses DE is enough for me. Yes, my cousin uses DE from time to time, but he lives in a city 110km away. Most of the older generation have abndoned DE a long time ago. My father used a DE until 13-14 years ago and switched to the cheapest disposables. Even back then I doubt any of his colleagues used a DE.
DE is considered old-fashioned and even primitive in my country, a poor man's choice. The younger guys don't even think about using a DE. Too much hassle. They generally consider shaving a terrible hassle.
Another sign is we don't even have generic DE blades in the drugstore chains.

 

[Whilliam]

Ya never know. Who, twenty years ago, could have foreseen the revival of vinyl records to the point where they are now outselling CDs?

 

[Brutus]

How do you define a ‘real comeback’?

Safety razors seem to be more in demand than just 15 years ago, but much less so than in the 1960s.
Regional differences do exist, however.

And taking only a cursory look at shaving forums reveals fairly quickly that one of the most effective incentives for the move away from cartridges is their pricing.



B.

 

[talibeard]

Depends on how you look at it. Total revival? Not any time soon but back in '90 when I started the only thing available were blades (3 brands), soap (also 3 brands) and maybe a brush here and there. My razor was scored in eastern Europe just after the fall of the iron curtain.
Back in '05 there were maybe three online vendors in the Netherlands (now 12? 24? 36?) and when a new brand of soap became available that was an excuse to give a party back then.
Gillette Tech still in blister was less than 5 bucks only 10-15 years ago.

When even Gilette brings a DE (the fact that they don't make it themselves is a shame btw with their heritage) that is available in every drugstore in town means it is definitely growing a lot.

 

[Mark Brandon Read]

I really don’t know, but there’s been an explosion of soap makers and razor manufacturers in the last few years. In the past people had a razor, soap and a brush! It was a chore not a hobby. Now there’s a lot of people chasing the dollar of guys like us on sites like this! But most will use what’s quickest and easiest with the flashiest advertising.

 

[sakaltras]

I'm not sure if there is comeback. Maybe to a small extend because if single DE razors now appearing in supermarkets.

The major point is that enthusiasts like us can find each other on the internet and there are no physical barriers to reach a webshop. Noone of us would travel from Europe to USA or from other countries to a different country to buy a razors. But internet makes this possible.

 

[JimmyCB]

To the extent that DE, SE, injector, straight razor, etc. shaving has made a comeback, we have the Internet to thank. Without the Internet, there would be no B & B, eBay, You Tube and all the many online retailers of shaving gear. I agree that it is a niche hobby, like roasting green coffee beans, which is my other niche hobby. I can't see most people dumping their Keurig machines and starting to home roast coffee beans.

 

[talibeard]

we have the Internet to thank

100% this. In '90 I had no clue where to get my stuff and the only reason that I have 6k blades, +50 razors and ditto brushes and soap for the rest of my life is only because of the world wide web.

 

[CJB3]

I don’t think it is increasing in popularity. We are a niche market, IMO. Yes, we can support a small market of specialty retailers and artisans, but many of us skew older and are in our prime earning years, so have deeper pockets.

I just did a query of search terms on Google, which shows that the interest in traditional shaving doesn’t appear to be trending up in the long term:

 

[Medivh]

I don't think DE, SE or SR are ever going to be as popular as they used to be back in the day and even if they spike some interest for a while, it still wouldn't be as it used to be. One of the main reason for that is there are no commercials to hook people to at least give them a try.

The cartridge and electric shavers/trimmers industry is investing on commercials, promotions and other campaigns to lure people and take their money and we all know that commercials work flawlessly to make people buy a certain product. Aside from shaving forums and groups, you don't see people talking about shaving that much, so it's a no surprise that people don't know or care about.

At least the internet helps those who seek something better and we grow more and more each day, but I doubt that we're going to be enough to turn the table around any time soon.