Not the 'best a man can get' (Gillette Fusion)

Member Name: the_prince

Product:	Gillette Fusion
Date:	31/07/07 (962 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Longer lasting cartridges

Disadvantages: Expensive cartridges, lots of friction and irritation, results in many ingrown hairs

I started shaving as an adolescent using a disposable razor with cheap supermarket foam. Many nicks/cuts and lots of razor burn resulted. Shaving, I discovered, was an uncomfortable chore that society expected us men to perform for a presentable look.

My father took pity on me and bought me a Gillette Sensor and some lime Gillette foam. I noticed a tremendous difference in the razor with almost no more cuts and the foam smelt quite nice. I believed at the time that Gillette made superior products, but that was based on my limited experience with dirt cheap products.

My next razor was the Mach 3 which was slightly better in that it was easier to clean and had a better handle. But the Sensor was great at shaping facial hair / sideburns. I believe there is a lot of marketting bolognie with the new razors, e.g. the 'lubricating strip' which is above the blades and so lubricates after the blade has gone past the skin.

I did not bother to get the M3 Power as I felt it to be a gimmick (Gillette and Duracell are owned by the same company). When the Fusion came out I resisted getting it for many months. But what made me decide to buy it was the single blade 'trimmer' which I thought would be good for shaping my facial hair. I then decided to go for the power one because I wanted to feel what I had missed with the M3 Power.

The look of the razor I think is cheap with orange plastic and a metallic sheen making it look like something out of a Christmas cracker. I noticed that the cartridge loading mechanism had changed, for the better in my opinion.

The first time I shaved with it (using Gillette Fusion Gel) I noticed there was so much drag & friction passing over the skin. The buzzing was weak but unpleasant so I turned it off and noticed even more drag. Also, the cartridge head is huge now making it more difficult to shave around my facial hair without chopping off a bit of my beard unintentionally. I had to shave more slowly and it was taking almost twice as long. The drag was a real let-down as even with a cheap Bic, the razor usually glides effortlessly.

I chose to buy the razor mainly because of the single edge trimmer on the back. This was quite a nice tool but unfortunately the blade became dull after about 3-4 shaves and I had to use my old single-blade Bic again.

The most dramatic difference was after my shave when I noticed much more razor burn than with my Mach 3. Also, over the 5 weeks that I used the razor I noticed so many more razor bumps and ingrown hairs than ever before. I would get 1 ingrown per week with my Mach 3, but with the Fusion it was with every shave and my face and neck were covered in them.

I found that the cartridges lasted longer than with the Mach3, up to 3 weeks compared with 10 days; but they are still very expensive!

After 5 weeks, I was sick of looking in the mirror and seeing so many razor bumps, ingrown hairs and scars from healing ingrown hairs. I had tried so many things, like exfoliating before the shave and only doing one pass with the grain but with little improvement.

Enough was enough, I was sick of it and reverted to using a Mach 3 with a noticable difference in my skin after one week. I decided there must be a better way to shave for healthy-looking clear skin.

I did some online research and came across lotions/creams like Tend Skin for ingrowns but the idea of slapping on harsh chemicals after every shave did not appeal to me.

I then came across a video by Corey Greenberg on Youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bhDjWSJk0cQ . Also videos by Mantic59 which talked about 'traditional wetshaving' involving 'double edge' razors. I did a lot of reading, especially at forums like shavemyface.com and decided to invest and give it a try.

My first purchases were a Merkur Futur razor, Geo F. Trumper's rose cream and a Silvertip Badger brush by Edwin Jagger.

My first few shaves left a lot to be desired as there is a steep learning curve with traditional shaving. However, now there is no turning back as the quality of my shaves has gone way past the level possible with a cartridge razor. My skin is completely clear and radiant. I can shave to achieve BBS (BABY BOTTOM SMOOTH) with no irritation.

I now consider myself a shavegeek (for whom shaving is a hobby). I have 3 different razors, 12 creams/soaps and 9 different types of blades. I now look forward to shaving and choose my shaving combination according to my mood that morning. The creams have wonderful fragrances as well as giving a superb shave and can really be uplifting when lathered with a quality brush.

All this I can thank the Fusion razor for being the 'straw which broke the camel's back' or I would still be shaving with my Mach 3 and green goo out of a can!

Check out this interesting video about the new Gillette Fusion Power Phantom http://youtube.com/watch?v=yKhDdVsu9o0

Also there is a useful article by the Leisureguy called a Guide to the Gourmet shaving experience: leisureguy.wordpress.com/2006/07/10/a-guide-to-the -gourmet-shaving-experience/

Summary: The straw which broke the camel's back.