Category — Creams

I’ve been thinking more about this post on Gillette’s new ad campaign touting the economy of the Fusion shave system. I’ve decided they’re not so much coming after wet shaving as addressing the current cratering economy.

Regardless, the fact that they feel they have to stress the cost-effectiveness of the Fusion cartridges shows that Gillette knows people think these things are ridiculously overpriced. The reason many wet shavers got started with the habit was the high cost of cartridges.

So, how much do you figure your shave costs per week?

In the previous post, I mentioned about forty-five cents max. That would include fixed costs of the DE razor and brush, premium blade like a Feather, cream or soap and water/water heating cost. The average wet shaver gets about a week out of a DE blade and they are available at far less than a Feather would run. A quarter a week total cost would be easy to achieve. Straight or ‘cut-throat’ razor shaving would be even less.

Come on over to the Dark Side, Fusion users. You’ll save a hell of a lot of money and we have cookies.

Gillette has launched a new ad campaign in which they tout the Fusion as a razor that you can use for “as low as a dollar a week.”

A dollar a week? Lol.

Using the most premium blade available, like the Feather, and including the fixed costs of making soap or cream lather, shaving brush wear (almost none), DE razor (Merkur x about $40 spread over a lifetime), water and energy, you’re looking at maybe 45 cents a week for a far superior shave.

The mighty Proctor and Gamble could have embraced wet shaving. Instead, they are taking a pot shot at it. Their call.

Interesting that the trend seems to have finally officially hit the radar screens on Madison Avenue.

A cool way to put some twist on the fragrance of your shaving lather or after shave splash is to use a little essential oil.

Essential oil is captured by distillation from the parent plant. Steam is passed through the plant material, distilled and voila! Essential oil.

EO’s are easy to come by at the drugstore or online. They are potent, so care needs to be used not to get it directly on your skin.

I like to mix up a little with unscented shave cream like Kiss My Face brand, or put some in a spritz bottle of witch hazel.

Glycerin soaps can be (carefully, slowly) melted, some EO stirred in and allowed to cool creating a custom-scented soap.

In my early days wet shaving I experimented a lot with this. I was going for a scent made popular by the Nancy Boy company: Lavender, peppermint, and rosemary. I’d melt a little Van Der Hagen soap and stir in some oil. I got a mix I liked but it took a few tries.

We have some hand soap around now, that’s really slippery and smells like chewing gum. Nothing I want to shave with, but it’s fine for hands. No need to waste perfectly good soap just because it’s got more peppermint scent than I anticipated.

Essential oils differ from fragrance oils in that fragrance oils contain some synthetics. I’m not sure whether they would do any harm mixed with soap; probably not.

Using your own essential oil, there is no limit to the possibilities of scent in your morning shave.