Razor blades

I like wet shaving. It is effective and after you have finished you have a wonderful clean and freshness of face which is unmatched by any electric shaving. Over the years we have gone from razor blades which cut you when you made the slightest error. Given the three moles, two on my face and one at the base of an ear, that was a particular hazard because the buggers bleed like hell with only a slight nick.

But the blades have improved and have protective guards so that I only cut myself if I am really clumsy and get them at the wrong angle. When these protected razors came out, they had a single blade but nowadays you can get up to 5 of them. The argument goes that the first blade cuts of some hair but the residual hair springs back up and you need the second blade to catch it. That makes sense to me but to be honest, I have seen no improvement beyond 3 blades. In my case and I suspect, in most others, my facial hair grows at different angles. So no matter how many blades on the razor, I have to go back over parts of my face to catch residual hairs.

The latest razors vibrate and they do seem more effective but I do think we have entered the realm of diminishing returns here. I could happily live with three blades.

The razor companies cannot live with that of course. Their very being depends upon improving returns and they have one of the oldest marketing ploys of all – sell people the basics cheaply, get them hooked and then rip them off on replacements. I don’t really mind – they have to make a living just like you and me. Strategy no. 2 is to bring out a new product and portray the earlier one as obsolescent. That works too.

All I can say that in all my years of shaving, razors and blades have improved immeasurably and that’s a darn sight better than you have seen in windscreen wipers.