Safety razor

A modern safety razor based on the classic design

Drawing from Gillette safety razor patent #775,134

A safety razor is a razor that protects the skin from all but the very edge of the blade. These razors eliminate the possibility of serious injury, which makes them more forgiving than a straight razor.

History

Before the first safety razor

Before the invention of the first safety razor, most men used a straight razor. These razors are available from several different manufacturers; but they are not very popular, because they require more skill and attention to use properly.

Invention

The first safety razor was invented in the late 18th century by a Frenchman, Jean-Jacques Perret, who was inspired by the joiner's plane. As an expert on the subject, he also wrote a book called Pogonotomy or the Art of Learning to Shave Oneself. In the late 1820s, a similar razor was made in Sheffield, England. From the 1870s, a single-edge blade, mounted on a hoe-shaped handle, was available in Britain and Germany. One of the rarest European razors was made by "Comfort" and, while this was not a true safety razor, it remains a landmark in razor design. None of these razors are considered a true safety razor.

Described as a razor in which "a small blade is held in a suitable frame and provided with a guard to prevent the edge of the razor from cutting into the skin", the first American safety razor was patented in 1888 by the Kampfe Brothers. The new razor featured a wire skin-guard along the razor’s edge. Only one edge of the blade is used to shave, and it must be removed often for sharpening.

World War I

During World War I, Gillette worked out a deal with the U.S. Armed Forces to provide Gillette safety razors and blades to every enlisted man or officer on his way to Europe as part of his standard-issue gear. By the end of the war, some 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades were put into military hands, thereby converting a substantial portion of young men to the Gillette safety razor.

Switch to stainless steel

Gillette TV advertisement from the 1950's showing a man shaving.

Gillette manufactured carbon steel blades until the 1960s. These rusted quickly and required the user to change blades frequently. In 1965, the British company Wilkinson Sword began to sell blades made of stainless steel, which did not rust and could be used repeatedly until blunt. Wilkinson quickly captured the British and European markets, and Gillette was forced to switch its production lines to stainless steel to compete. Today, almost all razor blades are stainless steel. The carbon-steel blade remains available; its modern version does not rust if it is rinsed in alcohol after each shave. Because Gillette held the patent for the stainless blades but had not acted on it, the company was accused of exploiting customers by forcing them to buy the rust-prone blade.

Single-edge razors

A less common variety of the safety razor is the single-edge razor. This razor is so named because the blades have a single edge rather than double edges. These razors, although not in use as much as they were in the 20th century, are still available worldwide. The first successful single-edge safety razor was developed and sold by Schick Razors. The individual razors were stored in a metal clip injector and pumped into the holder. Injecting a new blade, caused the old blade to move out. It became the common design for almost all other single blade safety razors. The most common of the single-edge razors were made by the American Safety Razor Company under the name Ever-Ready using its "'Radio' Blades"; the company also produced a shaving brush, which it called "The Honest Brush". Another was the Gem Safety Razor Company under the name "Gem Damaskeene Razor". It is possible to use common hardware-store blades for shaving, although most shavers use blades that are made specifically for shaving.

Modern safety razors

Double-edged safety razors

A traditional double-edged razor blade, with its typical recognizable shape

Until the early 1970s, most safety razors were manufactured to accept a single, disposable razor blade. These blades were manufactured with either one or two sharpened edges, depending upon the design of the razor. This style of razor is made by a number of companies such as Merkur, Treet, Weishi, and Parker. The blades are still being made today in a wide variety of countries including the USA, Israel, Russia, Korea, Japan, and Egypt.

Availability today

The 1961 Gillette Adjustable razor (commonly called the "Fatboy")

Single blade razors new and old are actively traded through auction sites and some shavers prefer them. Single-blade safety razors come in a variety of configurations including the classic sandwich type, adjustable, and the Twist to Open (TTO) or "butterfly" model . The sandwich type has a head that may be unscrewed from the body of the razor and disassembled for inserting a new blade. Adjustables may also be sandwich type, but typically have a ring below the head of the razor that may be adjusted to allow for greater or lesser blade exposure, which affects the level of aggressiveness of the shave. TTO razors require the user to twist a knob at the bottom to open butterfly doors where the blade is. Two popular TTO razors are the Gillette Super Speed and Schick Krona. Safety razor blades are available from a variety of makers throughout the globe including the American Safety Razor Company (ASRCO), Merkur, Derby, Feather, Bic, Dorco, Treet, Croma, Lord, and Gillette.

Cartridges introduced

An innovation was the replaceable blade cartridge containing the blade which reduced the risk of the user receiving a cut from the unprotected blades used up until then. These took the form of a cartridge, with the blade fixed within a plastic enclosure of the type still in use today. In 1965 Gillette introduced the Techmatic razor which utilized a cartridge with a steel strip that could be wound forward to expose a fresh section of new blade.

Twin blades

Circa 1971, Gillette introduced the Trac II, designed by Francis Dorion, which was the first mass-produced multi-blade razor available in the United States. Rather than accepting standard razor blades, this razor was fitted with a proprietary disposable blade cartridge containing two separate blades. The claim is that research shows that twin blades give a closer shave than single, because of hysteresis — the first blade tends to pull the hair, and the hair is unable to retract into the skin before the second blade cuts it, resulting in a closer shave. Whether, or the degree to which this works, is debatable.

By controlling patents on the Trac II razor, Gillette was able to assure repeat sales of its multi-blade cartridges for use in its razor. This was a natural extension of the razor-and-blades sales philosophy. Gillette was able to sell these cartridges at a higher price than the single blades, leading to higher profits. Competitors Schick and ASRCO were quick to follow this change, introducing their own multi-blade razors.

Gillette subsequently introduced the Atra twin-blade razors (known as Contour in many parts of the world), which featured a pivoting razor head that the company claimed would more closely follow the shape of the face. The Trac II Plus and Atra Plus blades introduced later incorporated a "lubricating strip" made of polyethylene glycol.

Gillette followed the Atra system with the Sensor system, which featured twin blades that were individually spring-loaded to adjust to the contours of the face. The Sensor system was later modified as the SensorExcel system.

Disposable razor

The next innovation came with the introduction of the Bic disposable razor in 1974. Instead of being a razor with a disposable blade, the entire razor was manufactured to be disposable. Gillette's response was the Good News disposable razor which was launched on the US market in 1976 before the Bic disposable was made available on that market. Shortly thereafter, Gillette modified the Good News construction to add an aloe strip above the razor, resulting in the Good News Plus. The purported benefit of the aloe strip is to ease any discomfort felt on the face while shaving. Plastic disposable razors and razors with replaceable disposable blade attachments, often with one to three cutting edges (but sometimes with four and as of recently, five cutting edges), are in common use today.

3- and 4-blade cartridges introduced

Gillette introduced the first triple-blade cartridge razor, the Mach3, in 1998, and later upgraded the Sensor system by adding a third blade to create Sensor3. This escalated the "arms race" with rival Schick/Wilkinson Sword. The marketing competition for blades in a cartridge has been parodied since the 1970s. The debut episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975 included a parody advertisement for the Triple Trac Razor, shortly after the first two-blade cartridge for men's razors was advertised. In 2004, a satirical article in The Onion entitled "Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades" predicted the release of five-blade cartridges, two years before their commercial introduction.

Schick/Wilkinson responded to the Mach3 with the Quattro, the first four-blade cartridge razor. These innovations are marketed with the message that they help consumers achieve the best shave as easily as possible. Another impetus for the sale of multiple-blade cartridges is that they have high profit margins. With manufacturers frequently updating their shaving systems, consumers can become locked into buying their proprietary cartridges, for as long as the manufacturer continues to make them. Subsequent to introducing the higher-priced Mach3 in 1998, Gillette's blade sales realized a 50% increase, and profits increased in an otherwise mature market.

Recent developments

Gillette Fusion razor cartridge.

The latest razor introduced by Gillette is the Gillette Fusion brand shaving system, which utilizes a five-blade cartridge razor with an additional single blade for trimming. An entire line of shaving products were introduced as part of the Fusion brand system.

Gillette has also produced powered variants of the Mach3 (M3Power, M3Power Nitro) and Fusion (Fusion Power and Fusion Power Phantom) razors. These razors accept a single AAA battery which is used to produce vibration in the razor. This action, as advertised by Gillette, was intended to raise hair up and away from the skin prior to being cut. These claims were ruled in court as "unsubstantiated and inaccurate." Schick also offers a powered version of their Quattro product called the Schick Quattro Power.

In 2008 British company King of Shaves launched in the United Kingdom the 4-blade Azor, a so-called "hybrid synergy system razor" that they claimed to shave as close as rival products. The Azor uses a much simpler two-shot construction method than other system safety razors and the handle is made in the UK. The Azor has a flexible hinge instead of a pivoting head used by other razors. King of Shaves claimed that the number of blades is not strictly important, it is the sharpness and cleanliness of the blades that is important to getting a close shave. The Azor has now been launched in the USA at Duane Reade.

As of January 2011, the Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn sells, under its store brand, six-blades razor cartridges.

Difference between men's and women's razors

Woman's razor with disposable blades

Razors are generally marketed in men's and women's versions; the exact difference between the two varies from color only for most disposable razors to completely different design principles. By and large, men's and women's razor blades and disposable razors are interchangeable; however, there is sometimes a difference in ergonomics; women's razors either have a longer handle for longer reach or a paddle-shaped handle to allow for a lengthwise grip. Specialized handle designs also exist, for shaving such areas as the underarms or the bikini line.