Though what I'll be discussing does relate to shaving in general, the over arching story here is more to do with our culture than anything else. I'm placing this here because this isn't a conversation about shaving, it's a conversation about what shaving is. Has become.
I've seen so many articles discussing beards and how they're impacting the sales of razors. I've seen them often enough to be wary of the messenger at this point. My concerns around reporting about wet shaving and men's grooming in general aren't a secret, and I'm not about to break new ground here.
It seems if the article isn't about how badly Gillette and Shick are doing compared to previous years, it's an article about how the beard is going out of style. As if they're trying to will it out of existence. Does anyone actually believe that beards, or moustaches, are going to go out of style any time soon? After thousands of years of beards they're going to suddenly be uncool because they say so?
Firstly, it's not a style.
You can style your beard or moustache, but having one isn't a style in and of itself. A beard is natural, it's just what we as men know to be a fundamental part of what we are. Deep in every mans gut he knows that a beard isn't just hair. It's a symbol.
Of course it's in Gillette's best interest to foster an atmosphere that is anti beard. But why are we letting a company that is perpetually intent on pushing nothing but the worst possible products on us for the last thirty or forty years, dictate whether or not we grow a beard?
King Gillette sported a moustache, I imagine he's not pictured anywhere with a beard. That would probably be bad business. Kind of like the CEO of the Hair Club for Men rocking a shaven head. Counter productive.
Again we're back to the battle against the beard. What this battle needs is an insurgency. We're the front lines of a fight against two companies that have their finger on nearly every beard on the planet. I feel like some kind of revolutionary when I show a friend this awesome way of shaving that costs less and isn't some kind of whacked out gimmick. Just the straight dope.
When my eyes were opened to the wonders of wet shaving, I felt lied to. I felt betrayed. Maybe I'm alone in that, but my reaction then was the same as it is now, why aren't there alternatives advertised on television the way cartridge razors are? I realized the answer was, a commercial is too soft, it needs to be a public service announcement. Think about the ramifications of a social movement built around shaving that's not just better and more enjoyable but renewable. That's the fear the beard instills. Because the beard is pure. The beard doesn't require anything, maybe a comb.
So Gillette, if you can hear me, be afraid. Be very afraid. The beard is coming for you, and it's going to be followed by the guys with moustaches and straight razors and that'll be followed by legions of smooth, glistening natives wielding your weapons. Holding your handiwork.
Adapt or perish. I think Gillette gets this. I think they realize that the cartridges are substandard and that they're out of ideas for making it interesting again. Five blades is four too may. Vibrators belong in cell phones, game controllers and 'personal massagers'. Lube strips are a cheap, and paltry replacement for a decent shaving cream or oil. Rubber grips just don't stand up to knurled stainless.
If our 'movement' manages to go main stream, they're sunk. They'll have to adapt. That's the fear.
If they're forced to produce long lasting, quality products then they'll have to admit what they've been selling is junk. And this exact point is what is completely missing from the coverage that wet shaving gets. It doesn't frame the argument as: wet shaving isn't just better for you, the planet, and your wallet, because everyone has taken the worm and swallowed the good and Gillette and Shick don't want you to know that.
It's insane. You read little adds on the side of websites, or fliers picked out of your windshield wiper that go something like 'let me tell you a secret to such and so forth that'll save you money or whatnot.' You see them and don't think twice. We actually know, lets say, an open secret.
Turns out, the best a man can get, is so far from the truth that it could, in my estimation, be considered false advertising. On the grandest of scales. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_advertising
There can't be a change in the balance of power without an accounting of the facts. Fact one, they are lying. Fact two, they are profiting from those lies. Fact three, they are actively attempting to muddy the waters and 'contain' the movement.
At least that's how I see it.
I've seen so many articles discussing beards and how they're impacting the sales of razors. I've seen them often enough to be wary of the messenger at this point. My concerns around reporting about wet shaving and men's grooming in general aren't a secret, and I'm not about to break new ground here.
It seems if the article isn't about how badly Gillette and Shick are doing compared to previous years, it's an article about how the beard is going out of style. As if they're trying to will it out of existence. Does anyone actually believe that beards, or moustaches, are going to go out of style any time soon? After thousands of years of beards they're going to suddenly be uncool because they say so?
Firstly, it's not a style.
You can style your beard or moustache, but having one isn't a style in and of itself. A beard is natural, it's just what we as men know to be a fundamental part of what we are. Deep in every mans gut he knows that a beard isn't just hair. It's a symbol.
Of course it's in Gillette's best interest to foster an atmosphere that is anti beard. But why are we letting a company that is perpetually intent on pushing nothing but the worst possible products on us for the last thirty or forty years, dictate whether or not we grow a beard?
King Gillette sported a moustache, I imagine he's not pictured anywhere with a beard. That would probably be bad business. Kind of like the CEO of the Hair Club for Men rocking a shaven head. Counter productive.
Again we're back to the battle against the beard. What this battle needs is an insurgency. We're the front lines of a fight against two companies that have their finger on nearly every beard on the planet. I feel like some kind of revolutionary when I show a friend this awesome way of shaving that costs less and isn't some kind of whacked out gimmick. Just the straight dope.
When my eyes were opened to the wonders of wet shaving, I felt lied to. I felt betrayed. Maybe I'm alone in that, but my reaction then was the same as it is now, why aren't there alternatives advertised on television the way cartridge razors are? I realized the answer was, a commercial is too soft, it needs to be a public service announcement. Think about the ramifications of a social movement built around shaving that's not just better and more enjoyable but renewable. That's the fear the beard instills. Because the beard is pure. The beard doesn't require anything, maybe a comb.
So Gillette, if you can hear me, be afraid. Be very afraid. The beard is coming for you, and it's going to be followed by the guys with moustaches and straight razors and that'll be followed by legions of smooth, glistening natives wielding your weapons. Holding your handiwork.
Adapt or perish. I think Gillette gets this. I think they realize that the cartridges are substandard and that they're out of ideas for making it interesting again. Five blades is four too may. Vibrators belong in cell phones, game controllers and 'personal massagers'. Lube strips are a cheap, and paltry replacement for a decent shaving cream or oil. Rubber grips just don't stand up to knurled stainless.
If our 'movement' manages to go main stream, they're sunk. They'll have to adapt. That's the fear.
If they're forced to produce long lasting, quality products then they'll have to admit what they've been selling is junk. And this exact point is what is completely missing from the coverage that wet shaving gets. It doesn't frame the argument as: wet shaving isn't just better for you, the planet, and your wallet, because everyone has taken the worm and swallowed the good and Gillette and Shick don't want you to know that.
It's insane. You read little adds on the side of websites, or fliers picked out of your windshield wiper that go something like 'let me tell you a secret to such and so forth that'll save you money or whatnot.' You see them and don't think twice. We actually know, lets say, an open secret.
Turns out, the best a man can get, is so far from the truth that it could, in my estimation, be considered false advertising. On the grandest of scales. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_advertising
There can't be a change in the balance of power without an accounting of the facts. Fact one, they are lying. Fact two, they are profiting from those lies. Fact three, they are actively attempting to muddy the waters and 'contain' the movement.
At least that's how I see it.
