The Future of Shaving ?

[Northam Saint]

I’ve posted this on the other site under a thread, but thought it was a point of conversation for here too.

Will we see more converting now and even a more mainstream approach to DE or the like ?

There seems to be weight being put on the plastic industry, how will they adapt ? I’d imagine with the sharps factor recycling a cart is near to impossible?

DE and SE are great in the way that steel is recycled be that a blade or even a razor. How recyclable is a disposable cart ? Are we ahead of the game or “old fashioned”

Just looking at soap tubs, they are all recyclable, and brushes last for years.

 

[DamianJ]

I don't think that we will see more people taking up DE shaving to save plastic without a big push on advertising to highlight that DE blades see easily recycled.

I can see the cartridge manufacturers making replacements that are all metal so they can be recycled, but only if they are forced. Unfortunately that would be more expensive and increase the costs accordingly.

 

[N_Architect]

My take is that wet shaving (or if you like, the return to traditional shaving) will continue to be on the rise. I also believe that there will soon come a moment in which the whole thing will explode and will become a fashion. That of course cannot obviously last very long, if and when it happens.

When some of us started full time shaving something short of a decade ago, the vendors out there were few, and the whole thing was starting to grow. Of course every market is different - for example in North America orders of magnitude are absolutely different when compared to anything else in the world. In the last 10 years we went from traditional tallow-based soaps to veggie products, we are now full of artisan soap makers, and we have also seen a rapid rise in small manufacturers who make stainless steel razors.

But that's for the purists, up until now. The average consumer out there is not like us here. Volumes and numbers may not change much for the purists. However if we start to talk about the market in general, I feel that the current trend with beards and absence from shaving (that's been going on for some years, especially in Europe) will stop at some stage. That will be the moment when the average consumer, the bulk of the market, will discover and turn into wet shaving. I believe that when this moment comes, sales of DE razors and wet shaving/grooming specialized products in general will more than quadruple.

I'm sure that giants like P&G or others have done research on these things and do have market data, as well market forecasts of course. Here in Greece for example we are currently experiencing an intense growth of 'barber shops' that offer grooming/shaving experiences. Obviously it is a matter of debate how many of these 'shops' know their craft as should, and at the end of the day the subject market is so tiny with respect to the rest of Europe that it is insignificant even to talk about it. Already in the local flea markets you can't find vintage Gillettes on the cheap, as you could three years ago. Anything that surfaces is immediately swept by antique shop dealers.

The big break will come when one of these disposable celebrities or a few pro athletes start to wet shave. These are the factors which can drastically turn the general public into such a hobby. For long or short-term, we'll have to see, though...

 

[Francorelli]

DE/traditional shaving will never become mainstream again.

The niche market has undoubtedly grown over the last 10 years, and will most likely continue to grow. But then so has the market for vinyl/turntables, and in the same way I see that as being only of interest to purists and hobbyists.

 

[JAGS009]

In last 2 years of Wet Shaving I would have introduced 4-5 friends to the hobby. There are some fragrance FB groups I am part of and post pictures of my SOTD along with the scent I wear for the day. Many of the folks appreciate the setup and few inquire about the same.

It's gonna be slow for everyone to take up to Wetshaving as we hardly see any advertisement by a Timeless or OB or General or soap makers etc on the mainstream media. I know its expensive and economically unviable option for many to come on mainstream but FB, Twitter campaigns can still be feasible for them.

P&G on the other hand and ofcourse few other cart/gel manufacturers continue to push large funds in their marketing campaigns targeting easy converts in students and young age professionals.

But traditional wet shaving is getting more and more interesting and may suck people in once they have experienced the fun part.


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[R181]

I doubt traditional wet shaving, DEs/SEs/straight razors, will ever be more than a niche market compared to what the bulk of modern shavers are using. It may become larger yet but won't be mainstream.

As far as plastics go, unless various governments enact legislation banning/restricting the use plastics there will not be much of a move away from them by the average consumer.

Bob

 

[pimple8]

Who knows what the future brings, ladies already remove their hair with a laser....

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[Jacobite]

Gillette is trying to force India and other countries away from DE razors and blades and toward cartridges and disposables. Converting the world to such products is their goal.

 

[p.b]

As far as plastics go, unless various governments enact legislation banning/restricting the use plastics there will not be much of a move away from them by the average consumer.

Bob

There currently seems to be a movement / campaign to reduce / eliminate single-use plastics. I suspect that, in the UK, we are not far away from legislation to do such a thing. The plastic bag tax has been an outstanding success in changing public behaviour and acceptance and has massively reduced the number of plastic bags finding their way into landfill.

I would think that cartridges would not be classed as single use but, in the UK at least, the public consciousness of plastic waste has dramatically increased in the last 12 months so that might have an effect.

 

[R181]

There currently seems to be a movement / campaign to reduce / eliminate single-use plastics. I suspect that, in the UK, we are not far away from legislation to do such a thing. The plastic bag tax has been an outstanding success in changing public behaviour and acceptance and has massively reduced the number of plastic bags finding their way into landfill.

I would think that cartridges would not be classed as single use but, in the UK at least, the public consciousness of plastic waste has dramatically increased in the last 12 months so that might have an effect.

Yes exactly, some governments are actively trying to discourage people from using single use plastics. By actively, I mean legislation banning their use and/or a fine for using them in the form of a tax on them. To be really effective it has to go global and that is a ways off. Also, as you say, that likely will have little effect on cart razor use.

Bob

 

[halvor]

There currently seems to be a movement / campaign to reduce / eliminate single-use plastics. I suspect that, in the UK, we are not far away from legislation to do such a thing. The plastic bag tax has been an outstanding success in changing public behaviour and acceptance and has massively reduced the number of plastic bags finding their way into landfill.

I would think that cartridges would not be classed as single use but, in the UK at least, the public consciousness of plastic waste has dramatically increased in the last 12 months so that might have an effect.

And thank God for that. The plastic dumped in the UK has a tendency to end up in our fjords. Just had BBC over taking a look, picking up a water bottle from London Marathon on our west coast shores. (Never mind the floating plastic landfills in the oceans, which we’re all responsible for, obviously.)

I recently heard an environmentalist and plastics expert talk about how rather than choosing bio degradable, new products for eg picking up after dogs, we should much rather use what is already produced, using recycled plastic bags. But I guess that’s for another thread.

 

[Sid James]

There currently seems to be a movement / campaign to reduce / eliminate single-use plastics. I suspect that, in the UK, we are not far away from legislation to do such a thing. The plastic bag tax has been an outstanding success in changing public behaviour and acceptance and has massively reduced the number of plastic bags finding their way into landfill.

I would think that cartridges would not be classed as single use but, in the UK at least, the public consciousness of plastic waste has dramatically increased in the last 12 months so that might have an effect.

I didn’t really give it a second thought until I watched the plastic whale documentary last week, which then led to others, and a bit of online reading. I would urge anyone who hasn’t looked into this to do so.
Only this month it was reported that a sperm whale washed up on a beach in Spain with 29kg of plastic in it’s digestive system, one of many and an increasing trend.