When did cartridge razors decline?

[Rocklock]

Or oil. I have shaved with nothing but oil in at least two years. To me, it's the great undiscovered, underrated, underappreciated shave prep substance out there. Nothing - soap, foam, gel goo, whatever - is remotely as good on my skin as a simple, cheap bottle of shave oil. Plus, I can see what I'm doing while I shave.

If I use oil, I might as well dry shave. BTDT, worse than plain water. There is also not a single cartridge available that will shave my wire quite as close as the Tech. Some others come close. The TracII works well, and the Sensor is fine and they go down hill quickly from there. You just gotta know how to shave.

 

[FaceScraper]

Minor decline if you can even call it that with the rise of the bearded hipster crowd and the generally increased acceptance of beards in the workplace. Otherwise no decline as far as i can tell.

IMO the pinnacle of cart technology was the Sensor and Sensor Excel. 2 blade carts were/are the best. I dont think Mach 3 was the best. The location of the hinge always annoyed me.

 

[Rhody]

The advent of the top trimming blade was what finally did it for me. I actually would cut myself with that thing using in the shower. Or dropping it on my foot.

 

[linty1]

I loved the Fusion with its 5/6/10 (or whatever) blades. Close shave, no soap needed in the shower and I rarely got irritation. I went DE primarily to try something new and not pay $5/blade. Little did I know...

These carts will always be popular IMO and DE razors are a very small niche market and likely always will be. In Canada anyways. I have not seen DE blades other than the 5 packs of Wilkinson Sword at any B&M retailer here.

My local pharmacy had Williams and I was shocked. Suprisingly it sold out recently at $1.99CAD/puck after sitting for a couple of years covered in dust. Other than that... Nivea, Cremo and the odd store stocks Proraso. That’s it for soap.

I really enjoy wet shaving and I love this community, but we are a tiny portion of the shaving market.

If you have a "Toronto Barber and Beauty Supply" store in your area? Hey have a row for shaving and brushes and such.


But yes, cartridges are pretty prevalent here, companies have done a good job pushing the higher margin stuff.

 

[Keystone_Blade]

Gillette sent me a free Sensor when I turned 18. I always kept upgrading it because I was brand-loyal because of that. I do think the original Sensor was the height of that technology--after that it was always one more blade plus some gimmick.

I don't think there is any decline in the cartridge razor market as long as Gillette grooms you to accept those razors as the norm. The Internet is what finally broke through for me--years of crappy shaves, with both cartridges and electric razors, I started reading about what works.