Don't agree at all. I used a DE for the first time at Age 54 and it was easily the closest and most comfortable shave I ever had. Cartridges made my face feel like raw hamburger meat. I think multiblade razors were created so that the razor companies could charge more. The canned goo and gel was just as bad.
Why did people switch to Cartridges in the 70s?
- Thread starter Shavetheman01
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Don't agree at all. I used a DE for the first time at Age 54 and it was easily the closest and most comfortable shave I ever had. Cartridges made my face feel like raw hamburger meat. I think multiblade razors were created so that the razor companies could charge more. The canned goo and gel was just as bad.
45 minutes? That seems way to long to shave.
I let the brush soak as finish other things, shaving (face and head) takes less than 10 minutes.
Better shave with a DE than any cartridge razor; at least for me.
45 minute's?well i remeber the add's on tv saying the first blade lifts the wisker and the second one cuts it off below the surface.it eleminated the need for multi passes,crock of manure to sell more blades and it worked
I wasn't around when it happened, but the impression I get from reading DE shaving forums is that:
1/2 of razor market was brainwashed by Gillette marketing.
Gillette then stopped manufacturing DE items and pulled all their DE items off the shelves forcing the other 1/2 of the market to stop DE shaving.
1/2 of razor market was brainwashed by Gillette marketing.
Gillette then stopped manufacturing DE items and pulled all their DE items off the shelves forcing the other 1/2 of the market to stop DE shaving.
When I started shaving in middle school in the early 80's I don't even remember DE razors being an option. I chose a Norelco electric because I'd grown up watching Santa drive one through the snow every Christmas season.
The Gillette advertisements had a big hand to play.
I remember as a kid seeing them here in India. It was a computer generated graphic, which would show the first blade cutting a hair (which looked like a black rope), and the second consecutive blade, even slicing it further. That cartoon image was stuck in everyone's mind. And it seemed, over night people swapped to cartridges, and then it was no looking back. The GSE was such a novelty here in India (launched around 1995). Only "high-end" chemists and big stores would keep it. I specially walked down to a big chemist shop, to procure it. Used it for years. Disposables, were the final nail in the coffin for DE systems. Same happened with foam cans. I remember in high school, when I got my first can of foam. Crystal clear. They were marketed in such a manner, that one felt, he was becoming superior or more rich by using cartridges and foam dispensing cans. I think the product positioning varied as per the market geography, and Gillette made a killing.
"Gillette, the best a Man can get".
I remember as a kid seeing them here in India. It was a computer generated graphic, which would show the first blade cutting a hair (which looked like a black rope), and the second consecutive blade, even slicing it further. That cartoon image was stuck in everyone's mind. And it seemed, over night people swapped to cartridges, and then it was no looking back. The GSE was such a novelty here in India (launched around 1995). Only "high-end" chemists and big stores would keep it. I specially walked down to a big chemist shop, to procure it. Used it for years. Disposables, were the final nail in the coffin for DE systems. Same happened with foam cans. I remember in high school, when I got my first can of foam. Crystal clear. They were marketed in such a manner, that one felt, he was becoming superior or more rich by using cartridges and foam dispensing cans. I think the product positioning varied as per the market geography, and Gillette made a killing.
"Gillette, the best a Man can get".
for the same reason people bought snake oil, diet pills, go to fortune tellers, or listen to anything political candidates say. its the idea we want to believe this new thing will be better, or that it really works. the two biggest sales pitches, fear and lust. a close third is newest and best stuff. the sad thing is we all have succumbed to this mind manipulation. i enjoy my shaves now, and thats all that matters to me
I don't believe that's entirely accurate. If there was still a significant market for DE razors and blades, pulling them off the shelves wouldn't have forced everyone else to do the same. It would have been giving everyone else that market share. By the time Gillette did stop selling DE razors in the United States (in the 1990s), they were the only ones still selling them. It's a myth that Gillette's business model is based on planned obsolescence. They continue to sell old models alongside new ones, and still sell cartridges for all of their razors back to the Trac II.
Two reasons: (1) Convenience and (2) marketing hype.
I started shaving in the early 60's with a Gillette Slim, soap, brush and mug. I thought it was great shaving like my father. Always had a close comfortable shave with DE shaving.
I've tried cart shaving from 2 blade to the 5 blade swivel head and the razor bumps, burn and ingrowns are not worth it. Thankfully I never tossed out my DE. That can of goop went to target practice.
As said above, it was Marketing Hype, so called convenience and speed of a shave. We have been conditioned to get things done faster and easier.
I've tried cart shaving from 2 blade to the 5 blade swivel head and the razor bumps, burn and ingrowns are not worth it. Thankfully I never tossed out my DE. That can of goop went to target practice.
As said above, it was Marketing Hype, so called convenience and speed of a shave. We have been conditioned to get things done faster and easier.
One of the things that you have to keep in mind is that every major "revolution" in shaving technology has been about giving the same or better quality of shave while relying less on (or being more forgiving of) technique. So, combine that with the idea of shaving as a chore and that lovely graphic of the twin-blade razor slicing the hair off even closer and you have the formula for a must-have product. ("What? You mean I can get a close shave without even having to be careful?"
Also, never underestimate the public's desire for new technology, even if it is just for technology's sake. ("Two blades? Pah! Three is the way to go.)
Also, never underestimate the public's desire for new technology, even if it is just for technology's sake. ("Two blades? Pah! Three is the way to go.)
among other things...
don't forget the world was in a space race, and anything modern and technically innovative were 'cool'!
don't forget the world was in a space race, and anything modern and technically innovative were 'cool'!
I used a Gillette Slim from about 1965 to 1971 with a can of Gillette Foamy or similar product and I didn't know anyone who was using a brush and soap at that point. I wasn't exactly a fan of the process and happily switched to an electric when I exited the military in '71 and stayed with that for the next three plus decades. Many men switched to cartridges but many switched to electrics as I did.
It wasn't a mass exodus to cartridges or electrics so much as it was an exodus to anything not a DE or injector. Then again many men happily or unhappily stayed with their DEs or injectors. I suspect that the majority of them used a brush and soap or cream and were getting better shaves than those like me who used a can of goop.
It wasn't a mass exodus to cartridges or electrics so much as it was an exodus to anything not a DE or injector. Then again many men happily or unhappily stayed with their DEs or injectors. I suspect that the majority of them used a brush and soap or cream and were getting better shaves than those like me who used a can of goop.
Ninety-something percent of men regard shaving as a chore to be endured. Cartridge shaving held the promise of efficient results in very little time. One-pass shaving was the norm, and the earliest carts, in the form of Trac II, essentially advertised two-pass results by catching the whisker on its snap-back from the first blade. Using goo saved even more time since there was no "having" to make the lather. Brushless creams had already been around for 20 years or more. On top of all that, advertising reinforced the perception of new products being superior. By the time I was off in the service in the late 1970s, and having to shave all five whiskers of my face, all the other young men were using Trac II. I do not even remember if the PX stocked DE. By regulation, straight razors were prohibited.
I was trying to poke fun a little bit at the animosity towards Gillette in the DE shaving community.
That's a good point about the old carts as well.
I wonder if the notion of a naked DE blade in the hands of a curious child had anything to do with it. They could still cut themselves with a cartridge or disposable, but not so deeply.
The ONLY advantage I can imagine with a cartridge or disposable razor is that the handles are not circular. Before I came back to a DE razor I'd shave in the shower with a disposable, and the rectangular or oval handle made it easy to orient it by feel, without a mirror.
The ONLY advantage I can imagine with a cartridge or disposable razor is that the handles are not circular. Before I came back to a DE razor I'd shave in the shower with a disposable, and the rectangular or oval handle made it easy to orient it by feel, without a mirror.
Anyone here remember the test in the commercials of a man's shave by running a credit card against the grain on his freshly shaved face and hearing the stubble left behind by the double edge? I'm old!
When Gillette first introduced the cartridge razor, the emphasis was on speed and safety to change blades, supposedly better shave, speed, and any other gimmick Gillette could think of. Most important was the fact that they sent tons of free cartridge razors to men all over the country. I think I received free cartridge razors of the first three models Gillette introduced. Of course the free razor only included 1 blade. I do remember the credit card commercial. I also remember that Gillette sponsored Friday Night Fights on TV. They also had a catchy jingle and the slogan, "Look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp."
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I remember
I remember trying to grow as much hair on my head as possible during the 70's and my teen years. When I finally started shaping up my beard disposable razors made sense and lasted a long time mostly shaving my neck. I used disposable razors for the bulk of my life. I might still be using them but it seemed like they degraded in quality.
I'd say popularity of beards and long hair had a lot to do with this cultural change.
I'd say popularity of beards and long hair had a lot to do with this cultural change.
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