Nicks and Scrapes and Toilet Paper (Blog #3)

Maybe a disposable razor blade isn't typically classified under the category of most used technology but when you have used it for as long as I have, it is close to falling in the "ancient column" of things. 

When I was probably 12 or 13 years of age, I used a disposable razor for the first time and thought I was the BMOC (Big Man on Campus).  Unfortunately, when I got to high school and the chatter in the boy's locker room focused on shaving, it sounded like a was little bit behind the times.  Some of my classmates had been practicing with a disposable razor for a few years prior to my even picking one up.  From time to time, I would see them laying around our family bathroom, usually on the sides of the bathtub where any one of my seven older sisters used theirs to shave their legs.  It was cute to see them lying around the bathroom with the different colors of fingernail polish to indicate who's razor belonged to who.  My mother would constantly holler at my sisters to put them away so that myself and two younger sister wouldn't cut ourselves on them.  But, that didn't happen.  And, it was just a matter of time before one of us would come running to her with what looked like a paper cut but stung 100 times more. 

As I got older, some of my sisters moved out (YAY!!!) and the number of disposable razor lying around the bathroom dissipated.  Unfortunately, with me always having a newer razor for myself my sisters had no issue with using my razor and then when I would go to use it, my razor would be very dull and be quick to cutting my face. 

The Gillette website, under the article, "The Truth About Disposable Razors" says:  "Disposable razors are meant for one-time use.  Two tops.  They always have been.  The blades are made from inexpensive and flimsy steel that tends to spawn bacteria that creates microscopic grooves in the blades.  And, if you have ever had a dent in a car, you know that these grooves are where corrosion happens.

Disposable razors were never meant to be the shaving workhourse."

When I turned 19, some friends of mine went together and purchased me an electric razor and I thought it was going to put an end to my wanting to use those disaposable razors.  What I found was that I could never get the same close feel on my face that the disposable had given me for many years prior.  I kept the electric razor and tried to use it but I just could never get comfortable.  The electric razor seemed to improve and I kept up with the trends, but no matter how fancy the technology became on the electric razor, I could never get comfortable enough to use it and I could still  never get the quality to my shave that I got from the disposable or refillable razor. 

Shaving has long been one of the more time-consuming parts of a man's morning routine. With the invention of more advanced razors, however, shaving has become less and less of a hassle. Today, electric shavers  make the process much easier for a lot of men. Rotary and foil electric razors have made it simpler than ever for men to quickly shave and head out for the day.

I have a great many friends who use both the electric and the disposable razor and I polled them to get a feel for their take on which they prefer.  To my surprise I found that it was a pretty even split.  I mean many of my friends were content with using the disposable razor when they were in a rush and in a hurry to get to the airport or even to do a quick touch-up shave after a long flight that left them temporarily stranded at the airport.  Others were alright to use the electric razor on the plane prior to landing at the airport. 

I like the fact that the razor is around for a while and has given men options as to how to treat their facial hair.  For as long as I have shaved and will continue to shave, I am probably always going to feel partial to the disposable/refill razor.  It provides me with quality and closeness that I like.

And while this may sound like a testimonial to the razor, it really is not.  It is just one man's opinion of how technology has evolved over the years to allow for men to move on from what could be a costly endeavor to saving the almighty dollar.  Too, one would probably save on the amount of toilet tissue used to stop the amount of blood trickling from the nicks and scrapes that a dull razor would leave behind.
                                                                                                                         -JT

Gillette.com, "The Truth About Disposable Razors"