Amenity Blog

I have always been able to describe my husband with 4 simple words:  JOHN BELUSHI, ANIMAL HOUSE.  So how did a beer drinking, party animal become a grooming product junkie?  When I first met Mitch (the husband) in college, his idea of grooming was showering daily with a bar of soap.   He backpacked across Europe for 4 weeks with the same bar of soap and a single 2-in-one shampoo bottle.  I’ll never forget Mitch’s sheer horror when he first experienced my plethora of cosmetics products housed in my 2 by 4 bathroom.  The cabinets were filled with everything from daily scrubs to nighttime moisturizers. The thought of using one of these products terrorized Mitch.

It wasn’t until my business partners and I launched a men’s grooming line (Amenity) did I notice that my bathroom cabinet space was slowly diminishing.  Mitch became hooked on Amenity’s 3-step program.  Now I find myself fighting to get into the bathroom in the morning.  He spends so much time looking in the mirror, joins me occasionally at the local spa, and even indulges in the occasional manicure (shhh…this is a secret).   All it took was a great product line, masculine packaging and formulations designed with men’s specific grooming needs in mind to get him hooked.  With 2 new product launches on the horizon, I think we’re going to need a bigger bathroom!

Both get the job done, but there are a few subtleties between the two options that split men into two camps. For all the features — and sometimes high price — of most electric shavers, 18 out of 20 men in our focus group who tried an electric were not persuaded to convert after 21 days of use. In the following article we will explore the pros and cons of both blade types.

The Clean, Baby Smooth, Shave - Any guy who has ever used an electric razor will tell you one thing - no matter how much time they spend running the thing along their jaw line, pressing it hard against their skin, and any other number of ‘tricks,’ they never get every hair (in fact, many electric user do post-shave clean-up with a manual blade or scissors). A manual razor cuts closer to the skin (too close for comfort according to some dermatologists that we know – thanks to the five blade razor) and it is the best way to have delay stubble and avoid stray hairs.

Every Guy is Rushing in the Morning - Shaving can be a nominally pleasing process. Rubbing on the shaving cream, warm water on your face, and the pursuit of the perfect shave – this is a calming, thought-free process. If you rush a manual shave, you’ll be looking at the consequences for several days (nicks, scraps, bumps, redness, dull pain, etc.). If you’re scrambling to make your first meeting, electric razors can handle the job (during the commute) and offer a better shave than a botched, manual rush shave.

Simple and Quick Is No Match - A manual razor seems pretty darn simple to the untrained eye. Hold razor, press gently against skin, pull down in short strokes, rinse blade often. But you need a rich and protective shave cream, lots of warm water, and a soothing moisturizer to help repair the many layers of skin you just shaved off. Electric razors don’t need any of these things and you can shave in Starbuck’s (if you want to be that guy). But seriously, shaving in the car is pretty common for electric users.

Likelihood of Severe Injury from Blood Loss  - Even the CEO of Gillette cuts himself from time to time. It’s not a difficult thing to do with a razor blade. But nicks and scrapes aren’t the only common injuries. Many men suffer their entire lives with the tormenting itch of razor burn and ingrown hairs. Preventative steps can be taken, but there’s no quick fix for these men. Using a manual razor can reduce razor burn if you only shave with the grain. A lubricating shaving cream is also a must to soften your skin and beard hair to help reduce irritation. Although electric razors will never cut you, the circular motion of many models can be irritating to your skin and produce ingrown hairs.

Price -You can spend anywhere from $30 to $300 on an electric depending on the maker and the model. Features are endless and can include waterproofing for shower shaving, the ability to use them with shaving creams, battery life, foil and rotary heads, multi-blades etc. Manuals have the marketing clout behind them - when a man turns 18 in the US, he receives a gift in the mail from Gillette or Schick who send the latest razor as a birthday present. Most men use this razor, not necessarily knowing that each replacement blade cost $2.75 and you need one every week, or that they need an expensive shave cream and aftershave with proven ingredients to keep good skin health. Total lifecycle spend is much more expensive for manual shavers. Manual razor because an electric shaver doesn’t get as closeand many users still needed their razor to get more difficult hairs.

During a recent meeting at Dermatology Partners in Boston last week, I found out that dermatologists were increasingly seeing more men in the office. Men have traditionally been a little more carefree than women about their looks, but eventually sun damage, low-to-no skin maintenance and everyday stress catches up with them. Experience tells us that men, like women, do want to enhance and improve their appearance. The difference between men and women’s skin is largely due to hormones. Because of their testosterone, men have thicker, oilier skin, making their appearance “tougher and rugged”. The top problems men are visiting dermatologist for include:

Acne and Acne Rosacea - Because of their more active oil glands, men tend to have more acne, not just on the face but also on the chest and back. Later in life, fair skinned men can suffer acne rosacea, which causes broken capillaries, redness and bumps on the face.

Shaving Bumps - Many men are prone to ingrown hairs and shaving bumps. These occur when hair works its way back into the skin, causing irritation, redness and dark spots. Black men, because of their curly facial hair, tend to be more prone to this condition.

Moles and Cysts - Because of increased oil production, men tend to have larger pores that can often grow into larger bumps, moles and cysts.

Unwanted Hair Growth - Because of their testosterone, men have more body hair than do women.

Frown Lines - Testosterone results in bigger and more defined muscles. On the face, this gives men more lines of expression, such as frown lines. These may sometimes result in an ongoing worried look.