The “Gillette Slide” Never Existed?

[Bud2024]

Is it possible that we’ve misinterpreted the vintage Gillette ads and pamphlets? The technique that we’ve come to call the “Gillette Slide” seems to have its roots in a very literal interpretation of these ads and pamphlets by modern traditional wet shavers. The problem is that if you watch old Gillette commercials or even old movies and shows that were contemporaries of these ads and pamphlets, the men are not shaving with this technique at all.

If you look up the commercials on YouTube, then you’ll notice that the men in these commercials are using diagonal strokes; but, they are also holding the razor diagonally. They always start at the sideburn, holding the razor horizontally, then they shave downwards until they reach the jawline at which point they hold the razor diagonally, then make a diagonal pass all the way to the chin. They follow this up by again holding the razor diagonally and then making another diagonal pass just above where they previously shaved on the jawline and so on. I’ve also seen this same technique used in old movies and shows such as The Twilight Zone episode entitled, “The Four of Us Are Dying.”

What are your opinions on the matter? Is the “Gillette Slide” a myth or did it actually exist?

 

[fast shaver]

I use the slide on my neck area & it works very good for me.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

Well, the Slide is older than television. Yes, TV dates back to 1923 but it didn't become something most people were interested in until after WWII. Kind of like how mobile telephones date back to 1946. So, the Slide idea had fallen by the wayside by the time there were shaving television commercials.

Most shavers didn't use the technique even when the razor instructions showed it. Most buyers were after replacement razors and simply used whatever method they had been using. So this covers old movies.

My father and grandfathers didn't use the Slide even though they were shaving when it was being touted. So, I didn't know about it until I became aware of B&B here. Here, where all sorts of shaving things past were being rediscovered and discussed.

Stan

 

[Quaznoid]

I don’t know where it came from but I use it daily and it works well. It’s not as if I needed a commercial to tell me how to do it

 

[Ron R]

King Gillette said it was gimmick to sell slant razors by other manufactures and Gillette could of easily built a nice slant razor back in his grandeur time when he had control of his company before he was ousted as chairman of the board.
(Old archived photo of Gillette slide.)

Have some great shaves!

 

[Bud2024]

Hi,

Well, the Slide is older than television. Yes, TV dates back to 1923 but it didn't become something most people were interested in until after WWII. Kind of like how mobile telephones date back to 1946. So, the Slide idea had fallen by the wayside by the time there were shaving television commercials.

Most shavers didn't use the technique even when the razor instructions showed it. Most buyers were after replacement razors and simply used whatever method they had been using. So this covers old movies.

My father and grandfathers didn't use the Slide even though they were shaving when it was being touted. So, I didn't know about it until I became aware of B&B here. Here, where all sorts of shaving things past were being rediscovered and discussed.

Stan

There is a vintage Gillette video on proper use of their products on YouTube that is from the 1940s. The man in the video is shown using diagonal strokes, but not the “Gillette Slide.” Going off memory here, but I believe the “Gillette Slide” as shown above by Ron R was still around by at least the Slim Adjustable era. Men of this era are also using diagonal strokes during the commercials, but not the “Gillette Slide.” Since I have yet to find any YouTube video, movies, or shows from the old days that shows the “Gillette Slide” in action the way that we’ve interpreted it, then it leads me to believe that it may not have been what Gillette had in mind in their print ads. I could be wrong, of course, and I’m not saying it’s a bad technique. I just happen to think it’s a modern invention based on the evidence.

 

[BigJ]

Hi,

Well, the Slide is older than television. Yes, TV dates back to 1923 but it didn't become something most people were interested in until after WWII. Kind of like how mobile telephones date back to 1946. So, the Slide idea had fallen by the wayside by the time there were shaving television commercials.

Most shavers didn't use the technique even when the razor instructions showed it. Most buyers were after replacement razors and simply used whatever method they had been using. So this covers old movies.

My father and grandfathers didn't use the Slide even though they were shaving when it was being touted. So, I didn't know about it until I became aware of B&B here. Here, where all sorts of shaving things past were being rediscovered and discussed.

Stan

Seems most reasonable.

I don’t recall the techniques my dad and uncles used. Mostly, they were in the quick, 1 pass and done mind set.

 

[Guido75]

Gillette promoted different strokes. Next to the Gillette Slide there is also the Gillette Slant whereby the razor is in oblique position but the stroke itself is straight vertical. And there is a Curve showed as well. The Gillette Slide has been in printed ad as early as 1910 which predates the filmatic ad's seen on YouTube.

I think we will never really know. All I know it that the Slide and Slant work really well. The Curve too by the way.

 

[Bud2024]

Gillette promoted different strokes. Next to the Gillette Slide there is also the Gillette Slant whereby the razor is in oblique position but the stroke itself is straight vertical. And there is a Curve showed as well. The Gillette Slide has been in printed ad as early as 1910 which predates the filmatic ad's seen on YouTube.

I think we will never really know. All I know it that the Slide and Slant work really well. The Curve too by the way.

I think that’s the best answer yet: we’ll probably never know. I did do some more research after my post and the “Gillette Slide” was still advertised into the adjustable era. I’ve only ever seen the “Gillette Slide” demonstrated in an illustrated version of a man’s face, but never in an actual photograph or video so far. The Palmolive ad that I’ve attached is another example of a diagonal hold with a diagonal pass that seems to be the predominant method of the old school era. With that being said, I’m sure that some men from back then saw the print ads, interpreted it in the same way that we did, and did indeed use the “Gillette Slide” as we use it today. Maybe someone on this forum knows of a vintage video that shows the “Gillette Slide.” It just seems odd to me that Gillette would make instructional videos and commercials that reiterate all of their print instructions, yet perform the diagonal stroke that they recommended in the print instructions with a diagonal hold. That doesn’t prove that the “Gillette Slide” never existed, but it gives me doubts. Maybe someone on this forum knows of a vintage photo or video demonstrating the “Gillette Slide.” I’m still very curious to see if it was actually a thing. It doesn’t seem like anyone here had heard of it until they joined the forum which lends some credence to the possibility that it wasn’t used.

 

[Guido75]

The Palmolive ad that I’ve attached is another example of a diagonal hold with a diagonal pass that seems to be the predominant method of the old school era.

The diagonal hold and direction mimics the barbershop straight shave closest, so I am not surprised it would or could be the predominant method. However, I can imagine when you first hold a DE the most logical and easy method would be straight down given the T-shape of the razor.

As for the Slide earlier ads were drawn rather than photographed. I personally interpreted the pictures literal leading me to use the stroke as a slide. That’s also how we have incorporated the Slide in the Four Pass Shave method.

 

[Eben Stone]

I give more weight to the pamphlets than the ads or movies.

I'm curious, if I do a Gillette slide using a slant razor, will the slant cancel out the slide on one side of my face, and cut myself on the other?

 

[NorthernSoul]

I'm curious, if I do a Gillette slide using a slant razor, will the slant cancel out the slide on one side of my face, and cut myself on the other?

Usually it just results in an extra degree of slanty slicing action on the whiskers, not cutting yourself.

Most men's beard grain is not straight up and down, so a diagonal type of cutting stroke can work well.

 

[Bud2024]

The diagonal hold and direction mimics the barbershop straight shave closest, so I am not surprised it would or could be the predominant method. However, I can imagine when you first hold a DE the most logical and easy method would be straight down given the T-shape of the razor.

As for the Slide earlier ads were drawn rather than photographed. I personally interpreted the pictures literal leading me to use the stroke as a slide. That’s also how we have incorporated the Slide in the Four Pass Shave method.

It’s not just the earlier ads, it’s in at least some of the later print ads, too. It’s included in the ads/pamphlets at least until the 60s and the diagonal hold with a diagonal pass has been in every video I’ve seen from the 40s to at least the 70s. It just seems implausible that the “Gillette Slide” was never demonstrated in reality, especially when they are shaving diagonally anyway and that it was promoted in print ads during the time the commercials were made.

 

[Old Hippie]

Is the “Gillette Slide” a myth?

1. I don't have any Gillette razors, so I can't do the Gillette Slide.

2. Also, I have a stable of slant razors, so I don't need to do the Gillettte Slide.

Sure a good topic for winding a few watches, I'll say that.

O.H.

 

[Old Hippie]

I'm curious, if I do a Gillette slide using a slant razor, will the slant cancel out the slide on one side of my face, and cut myself on the other?

Only if you're using a helical slant. If you're using a tilted slant, the tilt goes the same way on each side of your head. I suppose that means you could carve yourself on both sides, if you were of a mind to do so.

O.H.

 

[Bud2024]

Sure a good topic for winding a few watches, I'll say that.

O.H.

Haha! For sure! I happen to watch a lot of classic films and shows. And after seeing that old Twilight Zone episode again the other day and seeing the same shaving technique demonstrated repeatedly in old films and shows, it just got me curious as to whether the “Gillette Slide” was actually a thing in the old days.

I did some research and have yet to find a real-life demonstration (either in the form of a photograph or video) of any diagonal stroke with a horizontal hold. It just seems inconceivable to me that Gillette would demonstrate the instructions in a commercial essentially verbatim from their print ads, but then when the get to the part about shaving diagonally, never demonstrate the “Gillette Slide” version of that, even though the contemporaneous print ads do.

It also seems unlikely that Gillette would recommend an advanced shaving technique in standard instructions to every single person buying a razor. I would imagine many guys ending up with cuts and switching brands. If you use both methods (one on each side of your face) during a shave, it just seems so much more natural and intuitive to hold the razor diagonally while making that diagonal stroke. I happen to place more stock in real-life demonstrations than an illustration. It just makes more sense all around for me.

I think I the future posts of this thread will be the answer. If someone ever posts a commercial or an actual photo of a man using the “Gillette Slide,” then we’ll know it was a thing. But, if that doesn’t happen, then there’s a very good chance it’s a modern invention. And props to the person who came up with it! Mantic59, maybe? Because it seems to be effective for a lot of people.

 

[KW Driver]

Don’t know, don’t care, but I employ all the techniques even with a straight.

If it works, it works, if it doesn’t, don’t use it

 

[noodles hovar]

If you have a Gillette, do the Gillette slide.

If you have an electric.....

 

[VBH37118]

Maybe because the Gillette slide sounds better than the diagonal slide.

 

[Gecko45]

Its real, but the one thing I never really see much talk on is how the gillette pamphlets talked about looseing the head up in order to make the razor more aggressive.