Why Should the Average Man Join Us?

I think one thing the hobby has going in it's favor is the recent trend of men "pampering" themselves.

Say what you will about metrosexuals and "hipsters", they have done all of us a favor...they have made it socially acceptable for "real men" to pamper themselves.

Don't take that the wrong way. "Real men" have never much concerned themselves with how others perceive them...they do what makes them happy. But the hipster movement and the metrosexual movement have both opened up HUGE avenues of fashion and hygiene for men. New companies with product lines dedicated to men, by men, where in the past, men's lines were merely annexes of larger fashion outlets.

Suddenly it is not only OK, but encouraged for men to take better care of their skin, their hair, their nails, etc. "Manly" has always been portrayed as grease under the nails, crumbs on the shirt, dirty jeans and workboots. We only "cleaned up" when our women "made us". That's all changed, dramatically, I might add, in the last 15 years or so. It is now acceptable for men to pamper themselves, have soft and smooth skin, wear nice smelling products, dress in Sunday Best on Wednesday morning, and generally spend money on products and spend time on routines to achieve those goals...and still be able to tear into a carberateur, rip around on a motorcycle, swing a 15lb maul with one hand and own a chainsaw...just in case...

I think that is why this hobby continues to grow...

BadDad you are 110% correct, the rise in popularity in our hobby is because of the change in times. It is now completely acceptable for a man to care for himself as much as woman does.

There are two things stopping our hobby from growing rapidly and that is:

1. PACE OF LIFE - Life these days is fast paced, we need to do things quickly a lot of the time to fit in with everyone else and traditional shaving doesn't fit in with this.

2. EXPOSURE - This world is not exposed on a grand scale to get enough large scale support. There is no big company like Gillette making a DE razor and plastering it all over the TV and Radio.

I can't make my mind up if I want it to become a big thing though. On one hand I am always praising it and telling my friends about it (when they ask) but on the other hand I enjoy it being a smaller Niche market in some respects.

I share my experience with my friends. If they show interest then I give them a starter kit and a written set of instructions to get them going. I have converted about a dozen to our world.

Matthew McConaughey

I think one thing the hobby has going in it's favor is the recent trend of men "pampering" themselves.

Say what you will about metrosexuals and "hipsters", they have done all of us a favor...they have made it socially acceptable for "real men" to pamper themselves.

Don't take that the wrong way. "Real men" have never much concerned themselves with how others perceive them...they do what makes them happy. But the hipster movement and the metrosexual movement have both opened up HUGE avenues of fashion and hygiene for men. New companies with product lines dedicated to men, by men, where in the past, men's lines were merely annexes of larger fashion outlets.

Suddenly it is not only OK, but encouraged for men to take better care of their skin, their hair, their nails, etc. "Manly" has always been portrayed as grease under the nails, crumbs on the shirt, dirty jeans and workboots. We only "cleaned up" when our women "made us". That's all changed, dramatically, I might add, in the last 15 years or so. It is now acceptable for men to pamper themselves, have soft and smooth skin, wear nice smelling products, dress in Sunday Best on Wednesday morning, and generally spend money on products and spend time on routines to achieve those goals...and still be able to tear into a carberateur, rip around on a motorcycle, swing a 15lb maul with one hand and own a chainsaw...just in case...

I think that is why this hobby continues to grow...

BadDad you are 110% correct, the rise in popularity in our hobby is because of the change in times. It is now completely acceptable for a man to care for himself as much as woman does.

There are two things stopping our hobby from growing rapidly and that is:

1. PACE OF LIFE - Life these days is fast paced, we need to do things quickly a lot of the time to fit in with everyone else and traditional shaving doesn't fit in with this.

2. EXPOSURE - This world is not exposed on a grand scale to get enough large scale support. There is no big company like Gillette making a DE razor and plastering it all over the TV and Radio.

I can't make my mind up if I want it to become a big thing though. On one hand I am always praising it and telling my friends about it (when they ask) but on the other hand I enjoy it being a smaller Niche market in some respects.

I thin the "fast-paced world" is part of what draws men in. This manner of shaving is time consuming, true, but that time is so relaxing that it is appealing specifically because of the "personal spa" nature of it. It is a time that we can relax and prepare for the day, if youre a morning shaver, or relax and unwind at the end of a hard day, if youre a night shaver.

There are so many variables in traditional shaving that simply arent put to use by modern shavers that make it a much more enjoyable experience, that the time consumption becomes somethjng we look forward to.

I think that as the pace of the world ramps up to ever higher speeds, it is these little roses that some of us stop to smell that make the rat race worthwhile. These distractions from "real life" become more important, as life becomes more hectic.

For me, personally, I looked to traditional shaving as a way to avoid razor bumps and ingrown hairs on my head. It works like a charm, and even though i could probably cut my shave time in half at this point...why should I? I love my 30-45 minute evening shaves. I love smelling my soaps and picking one to use, and choosing a blade and razor, and generally extending the time it takes, rather than trying to shorten it. I savor every moment of that time consumption.

The healthy skin and bump-free chrome dome are just a bonus!

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Well said again, BadDad!!!!!!!

I'm with BadDad on this one - well said.

To move from niche to mainstream is largely a matter of public relations and savvy marketing.  There are lots of different reasons to start wet shaving and there are lots of completely different groups to which the appeal would be obvious -- once the idea is planted into their minds.  Most people go about their lives in an endless routine and most, I think, are not even aware that there are any options beyond which can of goo they are going to squirt on their face and which plastic handled whisker thresher they are going to drag across their skin.    They are simply unaware that there are other options.  They don't know that shaving doesn't have to be a mundane chore, like unloading the dishwasher or taking out the garbage.

Large numbers of people would change if they first knew that there were options and more importantly how they could personally benefit themselves and/or others by changing their habits.  There are many groups of men who would change, but the motives for change between groups can be very diverse.  For example,  to some the idea of not discarding tons and tons of plastic into the environment and squirting petrochemical foam onto their faces and into the atmosphere are an excellent target group.  There are traditionalists, who romanticize  "the good old days"  and the traditionalist's motivation is very different.  They want to know that this was how they used to do it back when men were men and times were good.  Likewise,  there are those who expect the zombie apocalypse to occur at any moment, but there's no need to face it with a ragged beard.  They might like to know that they can face the end of days clean shaven, even if there are no plastic face scrapers left on earth.  Beyond that there are those with affluenza who have money and want everyone to know it.  You can't do that with a package of plastic razors now can you?

While I could continue, it's obvious that the potential for growth in wet shaving is enormous.  It is a vast and largely untapped market.  The key to growth is to influence public opinion by being vocal, wise and informed ambassadors of wet shaving and by spreading the word across a wide variety of media channels with ideas that appeal to the pre-existing opinions of the various targeted groups.  We already have a number of unofficial and possibly unaware, but very effective public relations specialists at work right now, primarily on YouTube.  Imagine how many people are being brought to wet shaving by TSE,  The Stallion, Nick and many others. It's happening right before our eyes.

I think one thing the hobby has going in it's favor is the recent trend of men "pampering" themselves.

Say what you will about metrosexuals and "hipsters", they have done all of us a favor...they have made it socially acceptable for "real men" to pamper themselves.

Don't take that the wrong way. "Real men" have never much concerned themselves with how others perceive them...they do what makes them happy. But the hipster movement and the metrosexual movement have both opened up HUGE avenues of fashion and hygiene for men. New companies with product lines dedicated to men, by men, where in the past, men's lines were merely annexes of larger fashion outlets.

Suddenly it is not only OK, but encouraged for men to take better care of their skin, their hair, their nails, etc. "Manly" has always been portrayed as grease under the nails, crumbs on the shirt, dirty jeans and workboots. We only "cleaned up" when our women "made us". That's all changed, dramatically, I might add, in the last 15 years or so. It is now acceptable for men to pamper themselves, have soft and smooth skin, wear nice smelling products, dress in Sunday Best on Wednesday morning, and generally spend money on products and spend time on routines to achieve those goals...and still be able to tear into a carberateur, rip around on a motorcycle, swing a 15lb maul with one hand and own a chainsaw...just in case...

I think that is why this hobby continues to grow...

The ancient, affluent Romans were doing this way before the 'hipsters' and the 'metrosexuals'.

Len i think the future, as always, belongs to our youth. I have a 21 year old son and he and his ilk seem keen on retro things including wet shaving. It's funny because it was my son that got me going with a DE razor. I had picked up a eShave travel kit from a knife booth at a local farmers market, small badger brush, pre shave oil, shave cream and aftershave balm and an alum block. I was using carts at the time and the brush and lather really boosted my experience. I decided to try the de razor and picked up a Merkur that was said to be a good beginner on the vendors website. It was awful, I did view some YouTube videos but after a couple of shaves I abandoned the de razor. About a year later my son took up de shaving and generally shamed me into trying again. This time I did more research and I stuck with it Better results and continuous improvement. The point is, his generation seem to like this sort of retro thing. They're actually interested in wrist watches and classic cocktails. Maybe it's because it's not the way that most of their dads shaved. Rebels in some form in every generation.
Mark

The ancient, affluent Romans were doing this way before the 'hipsters' and the 'metrosexuals'.  

Yes, they also wore togas and drank copious amounts of wine, but we can't copy everything they do