ReBoot – The Shave: How much is too much?

When I started shaving, I used a simple 2 blade disposable razor. I didn’t need anything fancy and shaving once a week meant I could use the same razor several times. What did I care? I was still in high school. I do remember cutting myself a lot. Looking back, I never really learned how to shave properly. Like other fathers and sons, my dad gave me the basics. Wet, soak, lather, shave… Shaving seemed pretty simple.

As I got older and become more concerened about how I looked, I wanted to know if I was shaving properly? After all there is an “art to shaving”. Right?

As I read articles and discovered that all these years I was truly shaving incorrectly. The tool I was using also needed to good. After all, you need the right tool for the right job. The new multi-blade systems seem to provide the best shave. These blades come with other features such as lubricating strips, pivoting heads, high quality anti-friction blades which shave closely without cutting, skin guards which precede the blades to smooth out the skin and lift hairs for easy shaving, ergonomic type handles, etc. With all these features, shaving has become dummy-proof. Even without following the right shaving protocol, I still got a descent shave without damaging my skin.

I currently use the Schick Quattro which has 4 blades and recently bought another system that has 5 blades. Both give amazing shaves. I was wondering how many blades can a manufacturer put on a blade – 9? 10? 20? Is there a law of diminishing returns? After critical mass will a man not be able to get a good shave. I am sure there is a study out there that analyzes this.

So the next time you are shaving, look at your razor and think about it as you lather up….