Category — Soaps

"Mmmmm, nice shave."

I’ve mentioned that lots of guys get into wet shaving initially because they’re sick of paying through the nose for overpriced cartridge blade shaving systems, a la the Gillette Fusion.

Yeah, you come for the money savings. Then, you get used to the sheer pleasure of warm lather being worked into your face with a soft, silvertip badger shave brush. Before you know it, you’ve got Wet Shaving Acquisition Disorder and you’re all over the Net bidding on Fat Boy adjustable Super Speeds, looking at the fine English soaps and creams, checking out the Rooney and Vulfix brushes, ordering blades by the gross and wondering how you’re going to explain all this stuff coming into the house to your wife.

Been there. It happens to us all.

Wet shaving is such a pleasurable hobby, it’s hard not to go a little overboard when you get into it. Yes, I said hobby. It’s strange how a routine that used to be a dreaded chore becomes an anticipated ritual. You put a lot of thought, time, and money into it. Shaving becomes a hobby.

That’s because it feels so damn good.

So good, that I’ve seen more than one stogie-chomping, Marine Corps serving, muscle car-driving, deer hunting, bar brawling tough guy turn into a Nancy Boy-shopping metro after taking up wet shaving. OK, maybe I exaggerate a bit. But not by much. Pampering oneself a bit is enjoyable. Nothing wrong with it.

You start taking better care of your skin and grooming overall. Maybe you invest in some real bathing soap when you learn that deodorant bar you’ve been using for years isn’t really soap at all, it’s detergent. You might get serious about losing some weight (happened to me) and keeping your hair a little better barbered than you used to. You invest in some nice cologne or aftershave and finally put on those clothes she bought for you that you wouldn’t have been caught dead in.

Next thing you know, your partner gets that gleam in her eye again when she looks at you and you’re getting some of the best sexing up you’ve had since you started dating.

All because you got fed up with paying Gillette too much money for a shave you hated doing anyway.

Yes, yes. Come for the savings. Stay because it feels good.

Photo credit: Mark J. Sebastian

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.