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Canned Foams, Gels

How in the world did canned foams and gels ever catch on?

I have seen some in other posts say that the most important part of a close shave is the soap or cream being used. I agree -- I still use an Atra and a Mach3. Even though I didn't know how to whip up a decent lather (which I am now learning after over a decade of using a brush and finally discovering this forum), the few soaps and the several creams I used and am using have always been far superior to anything out of a can.

Even with the invention of the cartridge razor, how did men get away from using good creams and soaps and move to canned shaving foam and gels? It just doesn't make sense to me as mens' shaves would have been superior with the soaps and creams men already had in their shaving arsenals. Men should have been able to tell the difference between their soaps and creams, and the canned foams, when the canned foams came on the market.

Or maybe, the masses were simply very gullible and susceptible to marketing.
 
Even with the invention of the cartridge razor, how did men get away from using good creams and soaps and move to canned shaving foam and gels? It just doesn't make sense to me as mens' shaves would have been superior with the soaps and creams men already had in their shaving arsenals. Men should have been able to tell the difference between their soaps and creams, and the canned foams, when the canned foams came on the market.

It's for the same reasons why they eat lousy Fast Food (as opposed to high-quality food), wear sneakers (as opposed to high-quality shoes), watch boring sitcoms (as opposed to enlightening themselves with something worthwhile), watch sports (as opposed to actively participate in sports), and on and on: mental and physical laziness combined with acceptance of mediocrity!

Rant of the day :biggrin:

Best - MM
 
I often wondered this myself, seeing that the transformation happened before I was around I don't know. I wonder if it is because men were already using inexpensive or low quality soaps already and the canned goo just seemed to make it quicker and easier not much of a performance difference. Of coarse anyone using the better quality soaps and creams would have noticed an immediate difference. I guess canned technology was considered the way of the future and jusr eventually took over year by year. I can't imagine ever using a can again after experiencing wet shaving.
 
I think that, just like today, canned foam offers speed and convenience.

Also, most guys in the late 40s - early 50s were using a puck of williams and a boar brush.

This was the same era that spawned the TV dinner, Velveeta, and similar products - if it was "modern" its was better.
 
My dad used a brush and soap for years.. I'm not sure when.. but at some point his brush probably "gave out" and he's been using canned foam ever since.

*shrug*


-Mason
 
The short answer: Not everyone is a shave geek like us.

Too true!

My dad used a brush and soap for years.. I'm not sure when.. but at some point his brush probably "gave out" and he's been using canned foam ever since.

*shrug*


-Mason

I think that, at some point, canned goo took over the shelves and it became more difficult to find quality shaving supplies - so folks switched over from their brush and soap to canned goo, as it was easier to buy.

I do wonder how the canned goo of the '50s and '60's compares with what's on the shelf now - I have used Proraso in a can and its pretty good, so it may be that the early canned products were better than they are now.

Its interesting that, even with all the science that goes into modern products, razor manufacturers have added lubrication strips to their razors. As far as I'm concerned, this is an acknowledgement that the company's canned product isn't good enough on its own.
 
I do agree with Suzuki that like a lot of things during the 1950s. Men switched over to the canned stuff because it was the modern thing to do. Fortunately or unfortunately most of the stuff like Velveeta or Grape NiHis were disgusting chemical concoctions that did not live up to the claims of the manufacturers.

Part of what happened in the 60s & 70s was a reaction to all that industrial food. People got interested in whole grain, natural and organic foods. We are still living that today. In addition to Budweiser people have a great choice of boutique beers. It's the same thing with shaving.
 
I too must agree with Suzuki.

One other thing is that with the massive marketing of most brands behind canned foams and gels a stockist can be fairly certain of moving them, no matter where it may be located. Getting in expensive brushes and smaller orders of a variety of more expensive creams and soaps could end up taking masses of a stores shelf space for few sales, and/or poor mark ups.The internet has effectively taken away most of this potential trade anyway, so I assume the larger retailers can't see much point in trying. The only places I have ever seen any variety of traditional products are either the brand itself, or small independent shops; usually tobacconists at that.
 
You hear about people in the old days using horsehair brushes... It may be that most men then were like most men today; they didn't care a whole lot about their shave as long as they looked presentable. That probably translated to: cheap brush, cheap soap and a just-barely-acceptable shave. A badger brush surely cost more than boar or horsehair back then as well. So, when they were presented with a quick and dirt-cheap way to get a halfway decent shave, the great majority of men probably went for it right away.

These same people also couldn't be bothered to change the channel on their TV, resulting in shows like Family Matters inexplicably running for years and years.
 
And for many, a close and comfortable shave, especially if they start with a wetter face.

I was in a hurry the other day, and got a very nice shave using Barbasol Gel. The prep makes all the difference. The problem is, many men walk into the bathroom, coat their (dry) face with that stuff and start choppin'... ow.

-Mason
 
I was in a hurry the other day, and got a very nice shave using Barbasol Gel. The prep makes all the difference. The problem is, many men walk into the bathroom, coat their (dry) face with that stuff and start choppin'... ow.

-Mason


You got it. Them things don't hydrate quite as well as what we use. They seem more designed to hold water to the face-- so you better make sure there's plenty of water on the face.
 
I think that, just like today, canned foam offers speed and convenience.

+1

That, and marketing. And the time that it took for experienced shavers to diminish in numbers and new shavers to come on board. The newbies found using the canned foam much easier than trying to learn how to lather up with soap.
 
+1

That, and marketing. And the time that it took for experienced shavers to diminish in numbers and new shavers to come on board. The newbies found using the canned foam much easier than trying to learn how to lather up with soap.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by shave cream in a can. Remember the commercial where they ran a sports car through a pile of Foamy?? Hehe. I even loved the SOUND it made as it came out of the can.. even though I thought my dad's soap mug was cool, I also couldn't wait to start shaving so I could use canned shave cream. I remember playing with my grandpa's can of Noxema. SO yea.. definately marketing.. even to young boys. Gets them interested. There were no ads for shave "soap" on tv...

but there was this:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKqhwpY963I[/YOUTUBE]

-Mason
 
that’s progress for you! im sure that when these products came out a lot of men thought they were the best thing since sliced bread!

you know im also a little curious as the effect that WWII had on the American men’s shaving habits. did the us government provide solders with cans of cream, if so maybe many of them stuck with the cream when they got home because of the convenience. any body?
 
that’s progress for you! im sure that when these products came out a lot of men thought they were the best thing since sliced bread!

you know im also a little curious as the effect that WWII had on the American men’s shaving habits. did the us government provide solders with cans of cream, if so maybe many of them stuck with the cream when they got home because of the convenience. any body?

I remember on M*A*S*H Hawkeye using a shaving brush. I know that was Korea, and I don't know how realistic that part was. For some reason I remember that.

-Mason
 
I think that, just like today, canned foam offers speed and convenience.

Also, most guys in the late 40s - early 50s were using a puck of williams and a boar brush.

This was the same era that spawned the TV dinner, Velveeta, and similar products - if it was "modern" its was better.

BINGO! Exactly! I remember it was in the mid 1960's that my dad adopted clip-on ties and shaving cream, just about the time we had lots of TV dinners, Tang (because the astronauts drink it!), pop-tarts and we even saw a microwave at the Drugstore lunch counter.

And you're right-- in my house it was always a puck of Williams and a worn boar brush. The old 8mm movie camera gave way to Super 8...and my father's beloved Super Blue Blades became harder to find, in lieu of stainless and his mortal enemy, the Platinum Plus, which he never got along with, and which eventually propelled him toward the trac-II!

Dad will be 80 in a few months, and I just purchased a nice Aristocrat, just like his, a puck of Williams, a couple dozen spankin' new Super Blues, and a modest boar brush. I think he has time to savor the experience-- I'll also send along a NICE soap or two, and some Derby's and (my current daily favorite) several packs of Silver Blues.

As for the clip on ties...well, they're a thing of the past...I converted the home movies to DVD but we still LOVE that Tang and those pop tarts!
 
well, the goo is sometimes good, i have a really bad history with shaving foam, cream, lather, gel whatever, i´ve used dozens of different brands, untill i reached nivea, here nivea sells 4 different types of shaving cream, white which is extra sensarive, light blue which is dry skin, normal blue which is normal skin, and green which is for fatty skin, i use the green, its the only shaving cream that agrees with my skin, but it only comes in gel, so i use canned goo, i sent a mail to nivea asking about the possiblity of getting it in tub or tube, but no response,
the only one that comes in tube is the normal skin one, and my face didnt like it, i am tempted to try the "la toja" sea minerals, which is supposobly what the green nivea is,

i still use a cup and brush, i like it better when its whipped up and applied with a badger brush, more uniform and better cover,
 
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