Innovations in shaving gear since 2019?

by philg

It has been more than three years since Gillette paid huge TV ad dollars to teach Americans that masculinity was generally toxic. This prompted the following posts here:

It certainly seems fair to say that in 2020, SARS-CoV-2 showed Gillette what something that was truly toxic to humans looked like.

What have ingenious humans developed in the three years since this flurry of posts and the research behind them?

Gillette seems to be stuck on the same “Fusion 5 ProShield with Flexball” that I tested against Dorco in early 2019. They have a “GilletteLabs” heated razor, but it doesn’t seem to have made it into the mainstream (Wirecutter did not like it back in 2019). Dorco has a new-ish “Pace 6 Pro 3D Motion” that seems like a copy of Gillette’s FlexBall (this can be used with the 7-blade cartridges or the 6-blade ones that include a trimmer on the back, just like Gillette’s top-of-the-line).

Is it fair to say that there is no room for improvement?

15 thoughts on “Innovations in shaving gear since 2019?”

  1. I haven’t seen any significant motion in the front lines since your last test, which means I’ve been using the Dorco Pace 7 system with the handle thanks to your willingness to push your sanity to the edge (badump bump, cymbal crash.) https://www.amazon.com/Dorco-Pace-Worlds-System-Cartridges/dp/B016APMT9I

    It looks to me like Dorco could get another blade in there if they narrowed the honeycomb strip a little and tweaked the dimensions. I wonder if they’ll up the ante and release a “Special Edition Zelensky” version with a camo. handle and “More Ammo!” in the form of eight blades? That would be one controversial product for a South Korean company!

    One thing I’ve never seen is a disposable (or any other) razor with rainbow-colored blades, which I attribute to the relative difficulty of applying lasting surface colors to stainless steel while maintaining a good shaving edge, thin enough to still have a lot of color brightness but still fit into a razor. You’d need 7 blades for ROYGBIV. Maybe powder coating or vapor deposition, but I think they’d be popular (and command a premium price) in a lot of places.

    • @gwood:

      I think it would be cool to choose the blade colors and maybe even an inset engraving or emboss effect on the handles. I mean: razor blades esp. on cartridges have ALWAYS been basically the same color, right? People love customization. It would be cool if people could choose the blade colors and put their names on the handles. The Dorco Pace 7 kit with the handle and two packs of five blades is $29.99. Say $44.99 for custom blade colors and an engraved handle insert? I like the razor – I’d spring for that.

    • Then add a little, zippered waterproof antimicrobial case, again with a few color options and your name on it. Two levels: bottom level is the handle and a few cartridges, top level has a little brush to clean the cartridge currently on the razor and get the schmutz off it after use, a tube of shave gel (unpressurized so it is airplane-friendly) a pair of nail clippers, a little nose/ear/eyebrow hair trimmer, and even a little room for a small cloth napkin, a little mirror, a tiny bar of Ivory soap, an actual styptic pencil and small bandages in case you’re one of those people who shaves while currently inebriated – and you’ve got a Dorco Travel Shaving Kit – $80.00 with the personalized handle and 10 cartridges.

      Bang! Done! Payment made. Give me the camo handle option, too.

  2. In my opinion both Gillette and Wilkinson have made progress in planned obsolescence in the past ten years: The blades are unusable after three shaves, previously it was about ten shaves.

    I’m sure they participate in #SaveThePlanet initiatives on Twitter.

    • I use one Gillette cartridge per month, shaving every morning in the shower. My hair growth is pretty normal and I have sported a beard at times. However my hair is admittedly very fine.

    • @randall g: Which is interesting because people report wildly divergent longevity. I think some of it has to do with how you clean the razor afterward and *dry the cartridge off* or at least wipe it off. The cutting edge of a good stainless knife will still retain its sharpness longer if you clean it and dry it right away. I have a spare toothbrush that I use just for this purpose, I have what I’d call “medium coarse” facial hair and my Dorco cartridges last about 12 shaves each. I don’t shave every day, so I can easily make one last a month.

    • After shaving I just blow on the blade before putting it down, which seems to remove the water just fine. Works for me.

  3. PhilG, was meaning to raise this topic for a while! Are you happy with dorko? Any recos on what supplier to use for new blades?

    • Anon: I’m almost at the end of the supply of Dorco 7-blade cartridges that I built up during the initial test. I am thinking of switching to that “3D Motion” Dorco system mentioned in the original post and perhaps backing off to the 6-blade cartridges due to the trimmer on the back. I’ll just use Amazon as a supplier since I want to make sure that MacKenzie Scott (formerly Bezos) can continue her program of philanthropy.

  4. I didn’t know anyone kept shaving 2 years into the nonsense. You either work from home or can’t be fired due to no replacements.

    • Look at the exploding inflation. New hire software engineers salaries doubled. Loosing a lot of money staying on the same job. Need to shave for job interviews.

  5. A few months ago I ran out of Dorco blades, and since I can’t buy them locally, I used some Gillette product for a few days. Ouch! The Dorco blades really leave me with substantially less (usually zero) nicks or cuts. Can’t believe I had used Gillette for years without even thinking there could be a better way.

  6. Why not Walmart store brand, the 5 blade ones are $1.5 each blade, cheaper than dorco, and fine to change every month?

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