Razor Burn: Fancy Shavers Leave Some Men Feeling Nicked

The inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live featured a mock commercial for the Triple-Trac, a three blade razor:

“From the straight razor, to the safety razor, to the injector system, amd finally the highly acclaimed twinblade cartridge. Almost perfect, yet not quite the superlative groom. Introducing the Triple-Trac. Not just two blades in one system, but three stainless, platinum teflex-coated blades melded together to form one incredible shaving cartridge, easily fitted into your old twinblade holder. Triple-Trac’s triple-threat cartridge, with more close shaves than ever before…Triple-Trac’s third blade, a finely-honed bonded platinum instrument, cuts cleanly through the whisker at its base, leaving your face as smooth as a billiard ball,

The Triple-Trac. Because you’ll believe anything.”

Thirty-five years later, as we know, George Carlin’s satire is alive and well…I just used one this morning.

The shaving market in the U.S., as anyone who’s ever stepped into a pharmacy can attest, is a bit silly, and worthy of the ridicule its recieved. More recently, “The introduction of Gillette’s Fusion razor, kept secret until its debut in 2005, was eerily predicted the year before by the satirical Onion newspaper, which ran a fake memo from a shaving executive bragging about besting a competitor’s four-blade razor by making one with five.”

No wonder, all sorts of men are opting for traditional safety razors, creams, brushes, and salves. The Wall Street Journal has created this fascinating exposee.

“It’s easier to buy Uranium,” says one.

I’ve been considering making the switch myself, though I worry about have the open blade around all the time…

What are your experiences with traditional wet-shaving? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

A Flood of Fancy Shavers Leaves Some Men Feeling Nicked