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Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

johnwhiles.com

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Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#91

Post by swayvil »

stoltzmann wrote: post #81
swayvil wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You and everybody else. This is where the putty comes in.

Can you elaborate what you consider the problem to be?

Seriously?

It's white, optimized for showing dirt. It's closest to the ground, optimized for getting dirty. And (In the case of your typical sneaker) It's a special weird porous rubber that is difficult to get clean, optimized for quickly looking like crap.

And when your shoes look like crap it's time to buy new shoes.

Thus we have shoes optimized for short lifespan.

But this is dead obvious.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#92

Post by karaterobot »

The argument seems to be that people pay more money for products they find more convenient. That's true, but I don't think it's a problem by itself: it's their choice how to spend their money.

The problem would arise if the more convenient choice also externalized in some way: if it hurt other people, or the planet, and so on. There is some vague idea that throwing away a cartridge "produces more waste" than throwing away a razor blade alone, which may be true, but the difference between them seems like a trivial amount, as does for that matter the total share of waste from all shaving cartridges put together.

In other words, I don't see the harm; shave however you want.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#93

Post by hprotagonist »

zimpenfish wrote: post #82
hprotagonist wrote: post #10

It is, however, hard to find these sorts of razors. If you go into a shop to buy a razor, you will almost certainly not be able to buy one - but you will be faced with a wide range of very similar cartridge razors. The double edged razor has become a product that you can only buy on the internet, and which you will only buy if you know that it exists. This was true -- in about 2010. My local CVS has three or four DE…

In the UK, the bigger Boots used to have cheap safety handles and blades (at least ~5 years ago when I was using them.) I'd guess they're probably in the bigger Superdrugs as well. There's also a bunch of smaller brands like Truefitt & Hill, Mühle, etc., that have physical shops in London which sell them. Definitely not "you can only buy on the internet".

not to mention the veritable explosion of instagram drop-shippers for safety razor blades.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#94

Post by derbOac »

chongli wrote: post #26

The 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…

I usually shave with a DE but do use cartridges sometimes.

I really wish you could purchase them without the lubricating strip. I have no proof but strongly suspect they encourage microbial growth and contribute to skin irritation.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#95

Post by methodin »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #48
motohagiography wrote: post #11

I'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.

Aside from differences in cost, do you find anything about a straight razor compellingly better than e.g. a Gillette Mach 3? I go through Mach 3 cartridges pretty slowly, so price isn't a big concern. And I don't notice anything deficient about the quality of my shaves. But one thing I really like about safety razors is that there's zero risk of serious injury.

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 and care is relaxing. I stopped using a straight razor since I couldn't get the edge as sharp as I'd like to but I may pick it up again once kids are older. I moved onto purchasing a $20 classic single-blade safety razor about 4 years back and now buy the razors in bulk. Can be very cheap depending on where you buy them. For the ones I buy it's probably $10 a year if that since I only shave every 3 days or so and a carton of 100 blades lasts a year. Does require 2 passes though but doing it right with shaving cream and brush is something I've come to enjoy.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#98

Post by truffdog »

schroeding wrote: post #3

There is maybe another reason why cartridge razors are standard now, apart from the lower upfront cost: They are foolproof. It's more or less impossible to hurt yourself with it. On the other hand, it's absolutly possible to cut yourself with a double edge / safety razor, as you have to handle a razor blade and you can scratch yourself quite badly if you don't hold it at the right angle. But IMO, as with many of the…

There's a company selling a cartridge-esque razor that you refill with DE blades- https://leafshave.com/

It is maybe a little less foolproof than a Mach 3, but it's pretty close. Looks shiny too.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#99

Post by foobarian »

ethbr0 wrote: post #84
schroeding wrote: post #3

There is maybe another reason why cartridge razors are standard now, apart from the lower upfront cost: They are foolproof. It's more or less impossible to hurt yourself with it. On the other hand, it's absolutly possible to cut yourself with a double edge / safety razor, as you have to handle a razor blade and you can scratch yourself quite badly if you don't hold it at the right angle. But IMO, as with many of the…

DE / security razors completely surprised me with ease of use. You can cut yourself... but it's pretty difficult.

Meanwhile it's perfectly possible to cut yourself with cartridge razors too. As that saying goes, "down, not across." Move the cartridge sideways against the skin... ouch.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#100

Post by GingerMidas »

jchw wrote: post #61

Add 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've seen that video, the takeaway was the difference in price is so miniscule you might as well use what you're comfortable with.
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