State of Wetshaving

I think that like a lot of new trends you have a large number of people that will jump into the marketplace and what ends up happening is that the good companies will stay around while others drop away.  If you were in the any other business - the top companies would buy out the smaller ones and you eventually boil down to several large companies producing less then stellar products that are basically the same.  

Obviously that won't happen in the wet shaving market but you will see some of the others close that may be marginal or just didn't quite get off the ground due to poor marketing or personal reasons.  That has always been the trend in business - it doesn't mean the whole industry is doomed - it just means the companies that are customer focused, innovative, and produce quality products will stick around.

I used an electric razor from 1982 until 2014 and found the shave was not that great.  I switched to wet shaving because as I got older I have rebelled against what I see as the blasé corporate offerings of cheaply made in China, designed to last the shortest possible time, and have blended to be essentially the same product from 1 or 2 companies. Others here may have different reasons but mine is nostalgic and I never ran with the herd - just way to crowded for me.

I believe the market might be a little saturated right now and from a consumers stand point that is the best thing in the world - healthy competition.  From a vendor's standpoint you have to deal with lots of competition and a price point that makes or breaks you.  In the handcrafted world we are a little different.  If you made beer - we could try a different vendor every weekend - find a few favorites but we essentially can use up a six pack in a weekend and move on to the next offering.  In the wet shaving world if we had only 20 soap companies to choose from - I may get one from each and then I am saturated with soap.  I used the Sterling soap from beginning to end recently and it lasted 136 days.  Would I like to try other soaps out there?  Of course but I am also a realist and know that 3 soaps will last a year and if I picked one from each of the 20 mentioned before I am looking at 7 years before I buy another soap.

I don't think wet shaving will be a phase or passing trend because as we tread water in a rapidly changing high tech world there is always a part of us that will want to step back and cling to some bit of tradition whether it is fountain pens, mechanical watches, or the old fashion brush and razor. I for one know that I will never switch back to electric razors or try the multi-bladed offerings from the mega-giant-corp because I enjoy the simple pleasure of lathering a soap and a new blade in a 50 year old razor.

I didn't know flannel shirts were a fad. Up here In The frozen north they just make sense. Comfortable, cozy and warm. I especially like my summer wieght flannel shirts. On to the question of the shave, I think we need to stop chasing the elusive perfect soap cream brush or whatever and focus on the mindfulness aspect. A very nice shave every morning with nice products making do with fewer razors soaps and creams and enjoying what we have more. When we turn it into a materialistic drive for the latest greatest we'll wind up unhappy. We should also introduce our sons to the practice of taking the time to shave properly and pleasantly. Life is meant to be enjoyed not endured, the journey should be the point rather than the part you get over with as fast as possible on the way to the destination, which is, ultimately inescapable isn't it.

no issues with the post from a moderating perspective, ezlovan. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to post it here!

I'll add my thoughts to the thread sometime soon..

I didn't know flannel shirts were a fad. Up here In The frozen north they just make sense.

Wait - what?  Flannel is a fad?  There goes 90% of my wardrobe.

I bought both my son's DE razors and blades to use.  At this point they use shaving cream because when the shave they are usually in a hurry but that will likely change.

I am guessing that probably everyone in this forum has introduced someone or multiple people to wet shaving.  Will it take the world by storm like smart phones?  No but like I said previously they will be those that pick up wet shaving because it is as an alternative to what is out there or they will find that it is less irritating, or any other reason and for that reason alone it won't fad.

I've been thinking about this thread since first reading it yesterday - my earlier post was written just before dropping off to sleep on an iPad and comprises some initial thoughts, however, I'm going to be pondering this question for a while and likely posting again as the grey matter works this through. There is more than just the future commercial landscape to consider, there's an existential question here as well. I'm going to enjoy the mental exercise .
Marko

I have used a Gillette cart from 1986 to 2016, and I have no plan to stop.
I have improved my shaves pretty much yearly, and since starting on the shaving forums in 2011, have focus sed and learned to maximise my technique and still to this day learn and improve my shaves.
Have carts given me razor burn, hell yes.
But most times they give me great shaves.
In 2011 I started mainly focussing on using DE razors, but still used my Fusion carts along side. DE razors learned and improved my technique.
Today I appreciate being able to use carts as well as DE, SE and Japanese straights with great results.
I think artisans are overlooking an area that can give them 1-2 billion new potential customers. The cart market.
Using a cart with a brush and an artisan soap will improve the shaving experience more or at least just as much as changing from a cart to a DE will !!

Thought provoking thread... I do think wet shaving has longevity. I am 50 but recall when very young my grandfather and father using DE razors.

My granddad kept it up for quite some time but my dad eventually began using carts. Somewhere in my early teens he picked up a brush and puck and began using straight razors. This must have been in '76-'77.

Point being is that there was some wet shaving footprint even back then. Not to the degree of today but still some subset of men and likely women who preferred grabbing a brush and soap.

I think we have seen and are experiencing an explosion in goods the past few years due in large part to the general cultural nostalgia or "retro" aspect as well.

Remember when a Farmer's Market was just a Market?

Because a segment of the market is so accessible [soaps, etc.] you have a ton of artisans; some good, some great and I do believe the fragmented market will consolidate but that overall the TAM will continue to increase and the few that survive will continue to grow.

I look to the collaboration of Amazon and Edwin Jagger as a general litmus. If Amazon is willing to market an exclusive DE razor [the Kelvin] they must feel the market potential at the very least worth the effort of inventory, customer service, etc.

Do we know why either of those companies closed shop? It may have nothing to do with the market or the health of the wet shaving trend. As you well know, running a small business is hard and time consuming. It might just be the case that they had a good run and want to move on to other things. Of course I have no knowledge of their individual circumstances.

I have used a Gillette cart from 1986 to 2016, and I have no plan to stop.
I have improved my shaves pretty much yearly, and since starting on the shaving forums in 2011, have focus sed and learned to maximise my technique and still to this day learn and improve my shaves.
Have carts given me razor burn, hell yes.
But most times they give me great shaves.
In 2011 I started mainly focussing on using DE razors, but still used my Fusion carts along side. DE razors learned and improved my technique.
Today I appreciate being able to use carts as well as DE, SE and Japanese straights with great results.
I think artisans are overlooking an area that can give them 1-2 billion new potential customers. The cart market.
Using a cart with a brush and an artisan soap will improve the shaving experience more or at least just as much as changing from a cart to a DE will !!

Claus makes a very good point - cart shavers can dramatically improve their shaving experience by upgrading their soaps, creams, brushes and post shave treatments while still shaving with carts. I did this for the first year or so of my wet shaving adventure. I had picked up an eshave travel kit with a small badger brush some cream, aftershave pre-shave oil and alum block and it really improved my cart shaves. I decided to go DE and got a merkur of some sort, I can't recall the model but it had been recommended on the vendor site. It was an awful experience, burn, blood etc so I just stuck with the carts and the brush and cream for another year before trying again with the EJ DE89 with much better results. I think vendors would be well advised to target the cart shavers, even if they never evolve to DE, SE or straights they can certainly enjoy much of what the wet shaving world has to offer. Its all a matter of personal preference and as they say, YMMV.
Marko

I think about this now and then: the problems attendant to cartridge shaving aren't just the cartridges, but the habits surrounding them. Canned foam and gel isn't properly hydrating nor particularly slick. It's tough on skin. Cart shavers use these products and, additionally, often don't prep their beard, so the whiskers are much tougher than they need to be. Add to this the tendency to use cartridges well past their prime, since they're so expensive. And finally, the multi-blade design itself invites trouble with ingrown hairs and clogging with bacterial debris.

Shave foam was available for decades before cartridges were introduced. I wonder whether guys noticed poorer shaves at that point? I assume the notion of convenience made up for it. To be fair, we modern wet shavers are a lot more particular about optimizing every element.

In any event, yes indeed a cartridge shave would get better and more enjoyable by switching to a brush and good shave soap or cream. And better again from changing carts when they're dull (though they'd likely dull less quickly with properly softened whiskers!). But that leaves the problems with these tightly packed multiple blades. Not everyone suffers from this design, but I do feel it's asking for trouble from in-grown hairs, irritation, and such. I read somewhere recently that a former Gillette researcher said the company was well-aware that multiple blades were not really better, and that they introduced problems. But the company was, we assume, looking for something that SEEMED better. Those early Trac II commercials sure make "the hysteresis effect" seem great, but in hindsight how could we be surprised by ingrown hairs? Ugh.