Remember that old ad slogan for The Gillette Company… “The best a man can get!” I can’t remember when it first aired or even how long it did air, but I’m here to tell you that after more than 30 years of daily shaving, I’m still convinced that Gillette razors are the best that I can get. Considering the company’s product line and its 100+ year history, it’s nice to know that my favorite blade will most likely be around throughout my next 30 years! Yes… them thar Gillettes are that good!
My first experience with a Gillette was on June 16, 1975… at 4:30 a.m. Chicago time. How can I recall that little factoid? Simple… it was my first morning of Navy Boot Camp, when I and a lot of other 18-year-old boys with “peach fuzz” found out that shaving was a required part of our new life. We were issued a three-pack of Gillette “Good News!” razors along with a starter can of Gillette “Foamy” shaving cream (how’s that for ingenious marketing!) and for most of us, that three-pack lasted for nearly half of our entire 9-week tour at Great Lakes Recruit Training Center. I suppose part of the reason for the longevity of those razors was because our beards hadn’t developed enough by that age to get to that “stubble” effect, but I think a better reason those disposable blades lasted so long was the simple and obvious fact that they just didn’t get dull after one or two (or three or four or five) shaves.
I’ve tried other brands of disposables… mainly when I was in a pinch and thought I could save a few bucks going with a cheaper alternative. I even used an electric razor for a brief time, but I never got the satisfaction from that or other disposable blades that I have always gotten from the Gillette products. Even the “look-alikes” that beg you to “Compare to Good News! brand” really offer no comparison at all.
I consistently get a clean, close, comfortable shave with my “Gillette Custom Plus Pivot” and often times get five days’ worth from a single unit. In fact, I seldom throw one away because it’s not sharp… I toss them in the trash can when it becomes too much trouble to clean the micro stubble from between the twin blades. The pivot heads, I think, work much better than those floating heads found on some electric razors, and the “UltraGrip” padded handles give me better control maneuvering around the contours of my jaw and chin. The aloe and Vitamin E fortified lubri-strip above the blades makes for a refreshing shave and I’ve discovered that I don’t need to use as much shaving cream.
As far as value goes, the 10-packs I buy at Wal-Mart for around $6 definitely give me more “bang for my buck.” More often than not, I’m able to find bonus packs of my favorite brand that include up to three free units; a few times I’ve even found bonus packs with five free… slightly different styles, promotional items I reckon, but equally as satisfying. Considering I usually get five shaves per unit, even the base 10-pack will last two and a half months. Comparing that to the “look-alikes” and single-blade disposables that are only good for one shave per unit, it doesn’t take an economist to realize that $6 for 10 weeks’ use is a whole lot better than $3 for a 12-pack that’s only going to last two weeks.
Yep… I like them thar Gillettes! In fact, if Gillette suddenly decided to stop manufacturing my favorite blades, I’d decide to quit shaving!
