Shavin' Money
Shaving is one of those rites of passage for any young person. Weirdly getting hairs on your body and then slicing them off with a razor is seen as some pivotal moment from childhood to adolescence.
When the time finally came for me I realised I had no idea what I was doing. I tried an electric razor but this was incredibly uncomfortable and ineffective. At the same time I recall seeing a bizarre TV ad war in which Gillette would slowly increase the number of blades on their razor for an ever closer shave (I recall this bit from Lee Evans on it). I tried these out and realised that they were rubbish because when your hair became too long, the cut hairs would get stuck in between the blades and you’d have to spend ages washing them out. They also dulled incredibly quickly which meant the hair would get stuck during cutting leading to an uncomfortable pinching sensation.
The worst part was they were incredibly expensive. I don’t recall the actual price but today the price is about £2 a razor head and they lasted around 3-4 shaves before finding their way into the bin. This is all quite fuzzy in my memory because it’s been years since I last bought one because there is a much better way to shave.
But first let’s estimate the cost of the Gillette approach so behold, a table:
| No of Shaves Per Week | Lifetime Cost |
|---|---|
| 1 | £5,520 |
| 2 | £11,040 |
| 4 | £22,080 |
| 7 | £38,640 |
(assumptions: 63 years of shaving (81 average UK life expectancy - 18), 4 shaves per blade, inflation at 3.4% per year).
These are some non-trivial numbers, even at the low end.
Double Edge Safety Razor Enters The Chat
I don’t recall how I discovered Double Edged Safety Razors, it was likely after googling or maybe a youtube video, but it was a revelation which I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t the default goto in the supermarkets. I now think I understand why but I will discuss this later on.
What a Double Edged Razor is and how to use one is out of scope for this blog but check out this video for the skinny, but the TLDR is cheaper, better and greener.
I bought a MERKUR 34c in a set that came with a shaving brush, a Taylors Of Old Bond Street shaving cream and a selection of different brands of razors blades (the advice is to try a bunch to find one that works best for your hair type). This was more than 10 years ago and while the brush, cream and razor blades have long gone, the trusty German manufactured razor with a name that only an engineer could come up with is still going strong. I also don’t recall the cost but it can be bought for £40 today.
Weighing Up the Costs
Let’s crunch the numbers. We make the same assumptions (I find a DE razor typically also lasts 4 shaves). We assume shaving cream cost between the two methods is the same. A pack of 100 blades can be had for £7 or just 7p per blade!
| No of Shaves Per Week | Gillette Razor | DE Razor Cost | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £5,520 | £193 | £5,327 |
| 2 | £11,040 | £386 | £10,654 |
| 4 | £22,080 | £772 | £21,308 |
| 7 | £38,640 | £1,352 | £37,288 |
That is some serious dough to be saved.
Why Doesn’t Everyone Use One?
So why is such a cheap and superior way to shave not become the default for people everywhere. I have a couple of theories.
It Has A Slight Learning Curve
I can imagine if you’ve never used a razor like this it can be somewhat daunting to have a sharp exposed edge with less safety barriers. Once in the razor however it is incredibly safe and the only way to injure yourself would be a gross misuse of the product which could also be achieved with a Gillette style product.
The Simply Don’t Know That They Exists
This is my local supermarket’s section on shaving products:
It’s filled top to bottom with products and not one of them is a DE blades or razor. If they’re not on the shelves and the only adverts you see are for the inferior product then you won’t buy it simply because you’ve no idea that they exist. The only way you’ll be aware of them is if a loved one has used one for their entire life or you did what I did and started to actively look for cheaper alternatives.
The Money Game
I think this is a perfect example of how solving a problem and making a reliable product is punished in this economic system. I gave £40 to the MERKUR company 10 years ago and haven’t bought another thing from them since because I haven’t needed to. I would take a wager that his is likely to be the same experience for the vast majority of their customers.
Compare this with Gillette, that vastly bigger sum going out also has to go somewhere and it ends up in Gillette’s marketing and supply chain. With such a vastly larger number comes an outsized influence over the retailers in greater ability to pay slotting fees (or any other cost of sale fee), and through marketing budgets, hence my bombardment of advertisements when I was younger.
With all this economic power there’s no wonder DE razors cannot keep up.
Here’s to another 10 years of cheap shaving 👊!