The usually daily habit of shaving has been part of a man’s life for over 100,000 years. The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with controlling body hair, the Romans raised the bar even further and soldiers would assault their stubble with pumice stone in search of the closest possible shave.
It’s a search that has continued ever since – from the first appearance of shaving professionals, around 300 BC, through the emergence of the angled ‘cut-throat’ blade, the introduction of Mr Gillette’s T-shaped safety razor (1901) and the first electric dry shaver (1927).
When Wilkinson entered the arena in the early 60s it sparked a one-up-manship war with Gillette which has see-sawed through a series of double, triple and 4-blade cartridge razors to the very latest pulsating, battery-operated dream machines.
So there’s nothing new about man’s search for the ultimate, close, comfortably smooth shave that reduces, relieves or eliminates suffering, rashes, soreness and risk of bleeding.
Indeed, the marketing industry’s modern generation of ‘Mad Men’ have built reputations on suggesting the right tools, whether brush, blade, razor, preshave lotion, aftershave or balm – and persuading customers to use them correctly on a variety of skin types.
So, let’s take a closer look at ...