My dad never taught me how to shave, and for the longest time I just used these disposable Gillette style blades, and got terrible results. Missed spots, cuts and skin infections. At some point I decided to do some research and settled on double edge disposable blades. I've never been happier, and feel much better about my skin too. These are the products I use: * A wooden synthetic shaving brush (I felt bad about th…
Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
141–150 of 982 posts
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I also get less skin irritation from the safety razor compared to the Mach3 Isnt't Mach3 a safety razor?
To help differential the styles, (double-edge) safety razors and cartridge (safety) razors are named slightly differently to help reduce confusion in general conversation: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor Of course if you want to go old school: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_razor Slightly more convenient, but uses a similar technique: * https://bespokeunit.com/shaving/shavette-vs-straight-razor…
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Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#143I've used a straight razor for almost 20 years. Vindicating to read that the price of a Dovo pays for itself. I think my bar of shaving soap is probably the better part of decade old as well. In the interim, a whole peculiar subculture around shaving has developed, but you don't have to be a part of it to just use a razor. Makes you unreachable by corporate marketing as well, which is itself its own reward.
Straight razor here too. Primarily because I wanted to get off the cost and waste wheel. It’s great.
I sharpen my own knife and woodworking tools. So learning to sharpen my razor is no big deal.
Now my only expense is occasionally buying some soap or aftershave once a year or so. And my time I suppose maintaining the razor which isn’t much at all.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#144Semi-serious cyclist chiming in about this part of the article: "Well understood mechanical bike shifting transitions to electronic shifting which requires you to pay more and charge your pedal bike (Not sure about this example, as in theory a bike derailleur needs not be a repeated purchased)" One of my bikes has a Shimano electronic shifter. The others are a mix between mechanical SRAM and Shimano components. The e…
Came here to say similar! Di2, when it works, has serious advantages over a mechanical system IMO.
What era Di2 did you have that failed?
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#145Hair trimmer set to shortest length will make your face like shaven 2 days ago. Costs nothing. Needs no foam, no aftershave gel, creates no irritation or red skin, just splash of water and optional facial creme. My condolences to those who must have a clean shave every day of their life.
With my trimmer (Philips OneBlade) I'd say the result is more like "shaven 1 day ago". I kinda like the idea of a good ol' safety razor but so far I always got skin irritations from those. With trimmer I do not experience those issues. The blades are more on the expensive side with about 10 Euro per blade. But I replace those only about every three months. So it's not a big deal.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#146The key thing to recognize with modern Gillette cartridges is that the blades last a lot longer than the lubricating strips. For me, those lubricating strips last a couple of shaves at most but I get 15-20 shaves out of the blades. When the strip wears off the shaves get a bit uncomfortable while that stuff peels off but then they start to feel better again after that. A friend of mine actually hates the strip so muc…
The razor blade doesn't really dull, it gets mineral deposits that make it rough. So water hardness can make a big difference in how long they last.
Can you put it in vinegar acid to essentially descale it then?
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a ritual to straight razor and traditional single-blade safety razor (what I use now) that is compelling in modern times when everything tells you to shave off minutes from every single thing in your life so you can free up your time. Seemingly this means just more time for internet browsing and things that have no impact on your life but I digress. The daily or semi-weekly ritual that takes time, attention a…
> I stopped using a straight razor since I couldn't get the edge as sharp as I'd like to Don’t get mad at me, but what you need is a 5000, 8000 and maybe 12000 grit Naniwa (or comparable) superstone. Also, a good strop. Leather would be sufficient. Send your razor off for establishing a good edge to Portland Razor Co. Once you get it back, you should be able to maintain that edge with minimal fuss. Carbon steels can…
I couldn't manage it. I'd send mine off to get that edge, it would come back, I'd put it on the Nanis, ruin it, boom one shave. And those Naniwas were expensive. Went back to the safeties. I might try out shavettes one day.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#148Add dishwasher pods to the list. It’s literally just smoke and mirrors for nearly the same formula as powder, only less of it per package. All those fancy colors? It’s die. It’s the same formula across the entire pod. So… Yep: more cost, more waste, and it has some reasonable downsides. For “convenience,” since I guess deciding how much to put into the tray is just too much work. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGD…
I watched this video and was very excited to try out the powder, since I’ve just been using the pods they sell at Costco for my entire adult life.
But there are Problems.
1. You can’t find powder anywhere. Not a single grocery store near me sells it. Gel, sure. Pods, sure. Powder, not even Wal-mart had it, and they have everything. I finally found a faded and dented box at an Ace Hardware, where I wasn’t even looking for it.
2. The pour spout is a pain in the butt to open. I don’t have long nails (due to a very bad habit), and it takes me dozens of seconds every time to open.
3. A single clump makes it even more annoying. Now you have to figure out how to break the clump (because it’s blocking the spout), or you have to shake the box for a long time.
4. Speaking of shaking. If you get too much powder in the cracks around the dispenser, it won’t close anymore! Now you have to figure out how to get the powder out of the cracks before you can close and run the machine.
I’m sure it’s cleaning my dishes a little better, but I am not going to buy another box of powder. The marginal convenience of the pods is much higher than Alec claims. I’m going back to the product that I can actually buy in enormous bulk at Costco.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#149> Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. I fell for this marketing thinking non-stick was the best out of everything always and kept having to buy new pans and trays when the teflon would eventually flake off thinking it was my fault. Stainless steel is fine: works without a lot of…
The plastic waste thing is kind of silly. People commenting here mostly live near well managed landfills and aren't worrying about burning 10 pounds of oil driving to work.
Like fine, feel free to use less plastic, but it really isn't a big portion of most people's resource consumption.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#150I've used a straight razor for almost 20 years. Vindicating to read that the price of a Dovo pays for itself. I think my bar of shaving soap is probably the better part of decade old as well. In the interim, a whole peculiar subculture around shaving has developed, but you don't have to be a part of it to just use a razor. Makes you unreachable by corporate marketing as well, which is itself its own reward.
I use safety razors because it is must sharper than a regular disposable razor. As a result, you don't need to do multiple passes over the same area which leads to less razor burn and skin irritation. I buy a couple hundred new blades every few years for $25-$30 and never have to throw money away on a $10 Mach XXX or whatever... I am actually surprised more dermatologists and skin experts haven't recommended safety/straight razors.