Friday, October 3, 2014

Shaving Win

I'm not a fan of these multi-bladed razors The Suits keep selling us.
Most of my life I've been skeptical of their claims, but for the past several year I've been convinced for that all we need is one blade to shave with and that all these extra blades are just gimmick: offering  nothing of value to a closer shave, and serve more as a  hinderance to what should be  personal grooming ruled through practicality and simplicity.

After all, we are men. It's in our nature to keep grooming simple and easy. So, why all these blades? and why do we keep buying them (why? I'll tell you why... because it's all they sell, dammit!)

I'm happy to see that there is a movement to get back to the simple one-bladed shave, like my father and grandfather before me, but you gotta get your gear through the mail. Gillette and The Boys have too much cash at stake in the status quo.

That being said...
I've never enjoyed keeping myself freshly groomed in the facial department, therefore, I've spent most of my adult life sporting a two to four day stubble (by day five, its itchy and annoying, so I gotta fix it...)

I was blessed with a thick beard growth, much in keeping with the Mediterranean blood line I've inherited from my father.
Unlike my mom's side of the family, shaving is not child's play for me. Some razors work well, other designs just didn't cut it.
There was one cheap disposable style (single-blade) that worked really well that hasn't been on the shelves for 20 yrs. (gee, I wonder why?)
You can still find them (what stock is left of them) on Ebay, and they are expensive.

Here's a link to that!

Further compounding my shaving woes are the results of several surgeries that have rendered the landscape of my neck a less than desirable place to drag a blade.
It's not just the visible crevices from outward scars, either.
There is also scar tissue below the surface. An attempt to pull the skin tight/smooth resembles the feel of a lumpy mattress: It looks fine, til you put some pressure on it... or a blade.
Getting a clean and even shave on the right side (the surgery side) is a chore, a difficult one, requiring several passes at several angles and two (or three) changes in blade style.

Then, along comes the Gillette Flexball, or as it's properly known the Gillette Fusion ProGlide with Flexball Handle...
I decided to give this new thing a try.

It's been three weeks now...
I must say that I am quite pleased.
I use one razor, and get everything I need to get on the first pass... no going over, no missed spots, no more getting a different style cartridge for a different angle.

Despite what it claims far as being a closer shave and what not, I suspect the opposite is true. I receive little to nothing in the way of small cuts and nicks that were usually par for a typical shave. Maybe this blade cuts  whiskers microscopically less-close than the competition, and that is why. I don't know. Don't much care when I can get the job done as comfortably as this device allows.

Consider this my full endorsement of this product.



5 comments:

Mr. D said...

But does it come in Pumpkin Spice?

Gino said...

no pumpkin spice. that might be the next 'improvement' marketing gimmick.

W.B. Picklesworth said...

Gino, you've just made me realize something. I've saved some serious money by growing a beard! That's awesome!

Gino said...

congratulations, Ben. glad i could help.

i was bearded in some fashion for a large part of my 20s... i got tired of the upkeep.

Foxfier said...

I can't remember what it was you suggested last time, but I know it worked great for my husband. (It was a third of the price of the razor he was using before, I know! But they discontinued it, of course.)

When this blade stops working as well, try www.harrys.com -- if you use the coupon code Ricochet they'll give you a discount, and my husband likes his enough that I ordered the Wow That's A Lot Of Blades batch. (Bonus, we didn't get any more of the lotion stuff he doesn't use.)

I'll pass the Razor That Looks Like A Vacuum suggestion, too. :D