How do the rest of the world shave?

M

mrjim

Messages
21
With so many DE blades being made and marketed abroad and other items like alum blocks being a common bathroom item in India etc, is DE shaving still the predominant way for the rest of they world?

Are cartridge razors and canned foam as commonplace in the developing world as they are here in the west? Are straights more common?
 
Yes, I think hunnymonster is right, DE blades are a simple inexpensive method used by most if not all of the 3rd world and I think that the mass of users of the $4 Pakistani or Chinese straights will be domestic where quality expectations will be some what lower than in the west and the self honing will be more common place as it would have been here 70+ years ago.

I was in Thailand a few months back looking at the shaving supplies there and really it was the same as would you find in any supermarket in the UK. The marketing of the big brand owners like Unilever is even more pervasive because they can still find converts from DE to the western multiblades and Chinese clones.

You mention the alum blocks, in the East alum is used as a deodorant, probably why a SAL 120g alum block which is made in China looks just like a fat deodorant stick we use in the West.
 
Assuming they even shave, DE blades are the go to razor for the rest of the world. Cartridge razors are seen as a luxury item. Electric shaver, even more so. Only the affluent have those.

Straight razors are still used by the affluent, but their butlers shave them. I'm sure there are other parts of the world that share our views as we have many foreign members who join our discussions and buy our products. Even in UAE.
 
HM's right. I think the Indian shaving scene is the most staggering given the poverty on the large scale there, of course they largely use DE blades which are dirt cheap, and mostly see something like a 2 or 3 blade cartridge system as something they look forward to using one day when they're well off. 5 blade razors aren't really on their radar.
This worried Gillette massively seeing as their business model is to convert the world to 5 blades and more. Their answer was the Gillette Guard, (see link below and marvel at the simplicity)... one blade set in a bit of plastic. Reminiscent of a BIC orange, but with a permanent handle, and a bit cheaper. They sell it as being safer and better than a DE, and it's just that tiny bit dearer to attract the customers in. The plan is to get everyone started on carts of some description, then they're trapped in that escalating model.
Here's the guard, no expensive hard plastic tray for the carts, they just come in a little plastic bag.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONE-GILETTE-GUARD-RAZOR-WITH-10-CARTRIDGES-REFILLS-/110827898674?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19cddb8732

Russians still like DE blades hence the production scene there. It's about half and half though, younger professional guys like using carts, most common being the Gillette Atra / Slalom (I think it was what the Gillette GII was in the UK). Still reasonably cheapish... you'll notice on the Gillette multiblade model, Russia are where the UK was 20 years ago, India where we were 30-40 years ago.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GILLETTE-SLALOM-RAZOR-WITH-1-BLADE-SIMILAR-GILLETTE-ATRA-/200775268803?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ebf2379c3

Older and less well off Russian men use Russian made DE razors a lot because they cost a dollar or less for the razor... amongst current ones you've got Vostok, (cheap Tech copy) Schick (similar to a plastic Boots DE), Rapira butterfly razor (similar to a Gillette slim twist), then you have vintage (i.e. old) Russian razors which there are millions knocking about.
DE blades are ten a penny there, pretty much literally. This is why enterprising men like the eBay Atra seller above can make a healthy profit selling good quality Russian blades to decadent westerner. Ditto Bestshave and all the other overseas sellers... it's a good earner. Good luck to them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom