I remember gels in the late 70s. I remember that they had sample size cans that were cheap, probably 10 cents, so I bought one. Not sure what I thought I was going to do with it as a 9 or 10 year old. If I remember correctly, the brand was Edge.
When did shave soaps decline in favor of canned cream?
- Thread starter Shavetheman01
- Start date
Don't underestimate marketing. Especially in the US, it's played a significant role shaping consumer preferences. There's never been a society whose tastes haven't been shaped so much by the likes of Madison Avenue.
If you are curious, look into neuromarketting and New Coke. People in the 80's actually preferred Pepsi in blind tests, but Coke had a firm grip on the American amygdala, thanks to decades of marketing. Coca-Cola tried to change the formula of Coke to something people would like better, and it resulted in people rejecting the new product (so they withdrew the new product, only to quietly reintroduce it later by reformulating the original Coke recipe).
I looked at some on line old photos of stick ss. I think my Dad favored Colgate and was very unhappy when it became scarce. I recall him having a black Bakelite tube he kept it in.
I remember Edge gel. The marketing was effective! I remember for a time there was canned foam that was self-heating. That was a good idea.
I remember Edge gel. The marketing was effective! I remember for a time there was canned foam that was self-heating. That was a good idea.
Interesting that no one has checked Wikipedia on this!! According to it the 1st shaving cream was developed in 1919 by a guy named Frank Shields and was introduced to market under the name Babasol... The 1st pressurized can was introduced in 1949, Rise shaving cream.
en.wikipedia.org
Shaving cream - Wikipedia
I did not see the separate entry on shaving cream in Wikipedia, but some of what I wrote earlier came from the Barbasol entry. There seems to be a descrepancy re the timing of the first aerosol between the entries. Rise sounds right to me.Interesting that no one has checked Wikipedia on this!! According to it the 1st shaving cream was developed in 1919 by a guy named Frank Shields and was introduced to market under the name Babasol... The 1st pressurized can was introduced in 1949, Rise shaving cream.
Shaving cream - Wikipedia
I think folks are right about marketing, though. I remember buying and using Edge gel and thinking I was doing myself a favor, getting a better shave, pampering my skin, etc. I favored it for quite a while. But I was using a Trak II shaver, and the gel tended to clog it up. I went back to regular canned foam and found I got better shaves and no razor clogging.
Then I kept getting razor bumps. So I grew a beard but kept shaving the edges with a Trak II. I had thought I was doing myself a favor with the Trak II, but I kept getting razor bumps around the edges. Then I switched to a straight and a brush and shaving soap and an alum bar and the razor bumps went away. They continued to stay away when I evolved to DEs and SEs. Certainly I had no drop off in shave quality with traditional razors. Quite the opposite.
I guess I was as swayed by marketing as anyone. For me, anyway, the whole move away from razor blades is marketing.
BTW, when new Coke came out, I did a number of blind taste tests with various people against "classic" Coke (as I recall, some that had been sold before new Coke came out) and Pepsi. New Coke generally won, with Pepsi in second place. I think I was able to easily pick out the "classic" Coke. I think others were, too. And even those who said they preferred Coke seemed to rate it last. I personally think New Coke was the superior product, but I am probably not a good test, as I generally preferred Pepsi. Although I think Coke truly went south when it substituted high fructose corn syrup for sugar. I much prefer real Mexican Coke over the US versions, but be careful the Mexican is all cane sugar. Some of it seems to have HFC. I am not as impressed with the Mexican version of Pepsi.
Then I kept getting razor bumps. So I grew a beard but kept shaving the edges with a Trak II. I had thought I was doing myself a favor with the Trak II, but I kept getting razor bumps around the edges. Then I switched to a straight and a brush and shaving soap and an alum bar and the razor bumps went away. They continued to stay away when I evolved to DEs and SEs. Certainly I had no drop off in shave quality with traditional razors. Quite the opposite.
I guess I was as swayed by marketing as anyone. For me, anyway, the whole move away from razor blades is marketing.
BTW, when new Coke came out, I did a number of blind taste tests with various people against "classic" Coke (as I recall, some that had been sold before new Coke came out) and Pepsi. New Coke generally won, with Pepsi in second place. I think I was able to easily pick out the "classic" Coke. I think others were, too. And even those who said they preferred Coke seemed to rate it last. I personally think New Coke was the superior product, but I am probably not a good test, as I generally preferred Pepsi. Although I think Coke truly went south when it substituted high fructose corn syrup for sugar. I much prefer real Mexican Coke over the US versions, but be careful the Mexican is all cane sugar. Some of it seems to have HFC. I am not as impressed with the Mexican version of Pepsi.
Owen Bawn
Garden party cupcake scented
I imagine WWII also had an impact, as hundreds of thousands of tubes of Barbasol Brushless were given to American GIs.
Edge was better than the Trac II. I remember stepping up to Edge years ago from Barbasol and saw immediate improvement in my shaving.
Clogging was a significant problem with the Trac II. That's one reason it failed to gain marketshare in many countries, despite the low cost. It didn't rinse easily.
Good point! That and packs of smokes!
+1. Both my grandfathers used brush/soap/straight razor when I was a kid (in the 1970s). All the other dads and uncles used Trac IIs or Injectors (I never saw a GEM razor until a year or so ago when I stumbled on the Micromatic Monday forum here at B&B) with Barbasol canned cream/foam. I first saw shaving gel in 1987 when marketing people gave free Edge Gel cans to us in the dorms.
Yes, I believe the first gel was Edge. I never saw it until 1987 or so, when I was given a free sample. Before that, it was Barbasol can all the way.
Much like vinyl records and their followers, we are the hipsters of shaving.
How does that make you feel?
How does that make you feel?
Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
A play on words to make a point...
I remember buying and using Artisan Soap Du Jour and thinking I was doing myself a favor, getting a better shave, pampering my skin, etc. I favored it for quite a while.
Others spoke about the power of Madison Avenue. Some Artisans aren't far behind in their techniques.
Artisan shaving soaps are certainly not all created equal. And, I think soaps are highly YMMV. I do not know all the reasons that is true, but I am convinced it is true these days. I suppose water and technique have to make a difference.
I would not want to discourage anyone from trying gels. For that matter, I do not have a great deal of love for shaving creams, although I do own a bunch. But I realize that may be a minority view.
I do not think I mentioned this before, and I did not say anything earlier because I am not sure it is true, but I think I remember my Dad saying that whatever stick shaving soap he was using was not as good as it was back in the day. My guess is that at some point that brand switched from tallow to something else. Or perhaps just otherwise cheapened the product.
I would not want to discourage anyone from trying gels. For that matter, I do not have a great deal of love for shaving creams, although I do own a bunch. But I realize that may be a minority view.
I do not think I mentioned this before, and I did not say anything earlier because I am not sure it is true, but I think I remember my Dad saying that whatever stick shaving soap he was using was not as good as it was back in the day. My guess is that at some point that brand switched from tallow to something else. Or perhaps just otherwise cheapened the product.
Gillette's tubed gel they sell in the Indian market is very good, better than most Indian shaving creams.
Other than tradition, I'm not sure why similar products don't sell in the US. You don't need a brush to use them (I used it without a brush when I shaved with a blade last week). It lathers like a gel, which is to say, no santa beard, but it's slick and somewhat protective.
I would recommend it except the exchange rate isn't as great as it used to be and you could probably get by using Edge or similar products here in the US, with similar results.
Other than tradition, I'm not sure why similar products don't sell in the US. You don't need a brush to use them (I used it without a brush when I shaved with a blade last week). It lathers like a gel, which is to say, no santa beard, but it's slick and somewhat protective.
I would recommend it except the exchange rate isn't as great as it used to be and you could probably get by using Edge or similar products here in the US, with similar results.
I made a trip this summer and bring for shaving a feather popular and can of gillette foam. What a revelation for me, i found foam made a better job on my face and i still use it since.
Recently i bought proraso foam (green can) and i adore combine with my AS-D2 and feather blade.
I am daily shaver 2 passes and got DFS+ without any nicks or blood spot.
Recently i bought proraso foam (green can) and i adore combine with my AS-D2 and feather blade.
I am daily shaver 2 passes and got DFS+ without any nicks or blood spot.
I used Edge gel for years until I found Cremo shave cream. Cremo was a hugh improvement over the gel. I now use soap and a brush which may not be a hugh improvement over Cremo, but it's a lot more fun.
Today, we listened to Miles Davis on vinyl, and Tony Triska on Spotify.
