I got into the whole DE shaving thing a full 9 years ago, just when it was starting to become popular again. To cut a long story short I gave it up due to skin issues and went over to the dark side of electric shaving ( I know I know...), which did work for me, to a point. Well I found out was causing my problem, which, believe it or not, was smoking. Since I have quit cigarettes, and totally by chance, I tried DE shaving again, out of curiosity and a desire to enjoy shaving once more. Well my skin problems have gone and the whole DE thing has opened up for me again. Fortunately, and due to a hatred of waste and being a bit of a hoarder I had kept quite a bit of my stuff, my Simpsons Brush, a few razors ( including my much loved Aristocrats ) and a few soaps. So I was already kitted out ready to go, including blades.
So to the crux of my post - wow! DE shaving is really big business now and how things have changed. Here are the things I've noticed since my 6 year sojourn, some things have changed massively, some have stayed the same:
1. People love Bolzano blades - they were the pits before, obviously being made differently now.
2. People still hate Merkur blades.
3. People still love and hate Arko ( I can now actually use it whereas I couldn't before - it's ok for me, neither love it nor hate it, it's just different, I've been in enough public toilets to appreciate the smell)
4. Swede's are now long gone, so are Iridiums unfortunately, though I have few left ( Tried Polsilvers, a bit harsh for me)
5. I now like and use Derby's, hated them before, I learned you need to break them in.
6. There so many new smaller businesses making soaps, balms etc great to see.
7. Old school razors are much rarer now.
8. I thought DE blades would wither and die, they haven't, still plenty of choice.
9. Proraso have gone beserk - loads of new stuff available, love their new shaving creams in the tubes, great price too.
10. Feathers are still the kings when it comes to subcutaneous level shaves.
11. The choice of different razors has simply exploded - though old school are still the best for me.
12. You could have a different Merkur razor for every day of the year.
13. You still can't obtain Gentlemans Refinery AS balm in the UK - damn shame, it's the best there is by a mile.
14. People now like synthetic brushes - that's just depraved IMHO.
15. Mitchells woolfat is still the best soap ever - it's a scientific fact, like gravity.
16. An American made blade is highly rated - how did that happen? ( I've ordered some, I'll get back to you ).
17. People now know about Permasharp, the best kept secret in the blade world.
18. People still think aggressive adjustable razors are the way to go *sigh* let's not go there.....
19. Cartridge razors still suck ( and always will - unless you're bacteria ).
20. Parabens are out.
21. Paraben Soap nostalgia is in.
22. Everyone still loves TOBs creams.
23. Tabac isn't so popular anymore.
24. "Reformulation" is a dirty word.
25. Still not enough people appreciate the Aristocrat - the gold standard of DE razors - honest guv.
26. This is still the busiest and best forum.
So like I said, many things have changed, some things haven't. I thought modern DE shaving was a bit of a fad (It never was for me to be honest), clearly it isn't, I'm glad to see it's even more popular than ever and I'm glad to be back in the saddle again, my skin has never felt better
So to the crux of my post - wow! DE shaving is really big business now and how things have changed. Here are the things I've noticed since my 6 year sojourn, some things have changed massively, some have stayed the same:
1. People love Bolzano blades - they were the pits before, obviously being made differently now.
2. People still hate Merkur blades.
3. People still love and hate Arko ( I can now actually use it whereas I couldn't before - it's ok for me, neither love it nor hate it, it's just different, I've been in enough public toilets to appreciate the smell)
4. Swede's are now long gone, so are Iridiums unfortunately, though I have few left ( Tried Polsilvers, a bit harsh for me)
5. I now like and use Derby's, hated them before, I learned you need to break them in.
6. There so many new smaller businesses making soaps, balms etc great to see.
7. Old school razors are much rarer now.
8. I thought DE blades would wither and die, they haven't, still plenty of choice.
9. Proraso have gone beserk - loads of new stuff available, love their new shaving creams in the tubes, great price too.
10. Feathers are still the kings when it comes to subcutaneous level shaves.
11. The choice of different razors has simply exploded - though old school are still the best for me.
12. You could have a different Merkur razor for every day of the year.
13. You still can't obtain Gentlemans Refinery AS balm in the UK - damn shame, it's the best there is by a mile.
14. People now like synthetic brushes - that's just depraved IMHO.
15. Mitchells woolfat is still the best soap ever - it's a scientific fact, like gravity.
16. An American made blade is highly rated - how did that happen? ( I've ordered some, I'll get back to you ).
17. People now know about Permasharp, the best kept secret in the blade world.
18. People still think aggressive adjustable razors are the way to go *sigh* let's not go there.....
19. Cartridge razors still suck ( and always will - unless you're bacteria ).
20. Parabens are out.
21. Paraben Soap nostalgia is in.
22. Everyone still loves TOBs creams.
23. Tabac isn't so popular anymore.
24. "Reformulation" is a dirty word.
25. Still not enough people appreciate the Aristocrat - the gold standard of DE razors - honest guv.
26. This is still the busiest and best forum.
So like I said, many things have changed, some things haven't. I thought modern DE shaving was a bit of a fad (It never was for me to be honest), clearly it isn't, I'm glad to see it's even more popular than ever and I'm glad to be back in the saddle again, my skin has never felt better
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