In a country where people want to own vehicles that were originally built with gun turrets and radar, where you can buy triple-patty hamburgers and 64 oz. sodas, and where sports aren’t exciting unless you score at least 6 points at a time, it’s understandable that we have a “more is better” complex, even when it seems absurdly excessive.
Case in point: five blades on a razor.
The rapidly increasing number of blades to give the absolute closest shave has been mocked and questioned since the first two-blade safety razors came out. It started with Saturday Night Live’s sketch, “The Triple-Trac: Because You’ll Believe Anything.” and continues as a proud tradition today, with Mad TV advertising a 36 blade razor. (The 36thblade cuts gauze for you bleeding face.) Even The Economist has caught the spirit, offering a mathematical curve that shows us hitting 14 blades sometime before the turn of the century.
However, most dermatologists agree that more blades mean more friction; even if using five blades does pull the hair out and away from your face to give you a closer shave, more blades still means you’ve got more of a chance to cut yourself or end up with razor burn. Their theory seems to hold true for many people who say that they like a close, sexy shave as much as the next person, but they weren’t really looking to rip their face off in the process, thank you very much. The five-blade razors also tend to clog more quickly (or maybe there’s just more to clog), and the replacement cartridges are considerably more expensive than 2- or 3-bladed razors—meaning some people might not bother, even if they’re curious.
The thing is, there are people who love the new razors and sing songs of razor praise right in the faces of the dissenters. They claim it’s a more comfortable shave, much closer than any they’ve had before (which has actually given rise to some internet conspiracy theories, but I’m not buying them). They love the new razors enough to pay the extra money, and seem willing to give up their old razors. My own brother told my dad the other night that his “manly whiskers” (I think those were his words) just needed more razor, and the Fusion was it.
Still, the Schick Quattro and the Gillette Fusion haven’t replaced the Gillette Mach 3 as the most popular razors out there, but we can’t help but wonder whether they might. Maybe after they release the Septiconverse or the Octo-close razors in a few years.
Guest Blogger: Megan Winegar
from Overstock Drugstore
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