The first time I shaved with my new Philips OneBlade, I should have cut myself three times. As I tilted the electric blade too steeply against my skin, I braced for the sting of the cut. But I escaped unharmed.
This hardly seems like fitting material for a column, but the OneBlade is a remarkable electric shaver for those with a frustratingly thick growth. I have tried every kind of shaving technique, new razors, new shaving creams, and wet and dry shaves. Getting the occasional nick is part of the process – unfortunately.
I’ve long since settled on the combination of a wet shave using a Gillette Mach3 razor, and shaving cream applied with a brush. ‘I’ve been using the same brand of shaving cream for decades and am down to the last tube (of the 10 I bought before the company closed a few years ago).
I’ve tried electric razors over the years and concluded they can never replicate the efficiency of those thin blades pioneered by King Camp Gillette in the early 1900s. He improved on the existing design for so-called safety razors and started the disposable razor market.
But, like Gillette, with his thin stamped steel blades that could be disposed of after use, Philips seems to have created a breakthrough technology of its own with the OneBlade.
Enter the OneBlade
It says the “protective plate with glide coating ensures smooth gliding and prevents the blade from ever touching the skin, while rounded tips help protect the skin from moving cutter”.
Whatever that is, it works, and I’ve had a wonderfully smooth shave several times more. It’s a really impressive razor. And, better yet, I bought it on a 50% sale on Takealot for R350.
Apart from his eponymous razors, Gillette is also notable for creating the now infamous razor and blade business model, where you buy a cheap product that requires expensive components to keep running (razor blades or printer ink cartridges).
I’ve been stuck in that business model my whole adult life – and the Philips OneBlade uses the same model. Two blades (R650) cost almost as much as the R700 entry-level model normally does, so I bought two packs of the blades, also 50% off, too.
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I bought the OneBlade after seeing all the billboards around Joburg, and it inspired me to try it. Not only does good old-fashioned (non-programmatic) advertising work, but works well.
As it happens, in the last few weeks I have been re-listening to one of my favourite podcast series, the BBC’s excellent 50 Things that Made the Modern Economy, and last week was listening to the disposable razor episode. It’s quite a fascinating listen, as is the whole series. (Apple podcasts)
A quick shout-out to Takealot, which has lifted its game since Amazon came to town. The R39/m TakealotMore subscription is worth every cent for the free next-day deliveries, although the basket still has to be more than R500 to qualify, which I think is fair. I have a few things I regularly use (like lime juice or tonic) to top up the cart when needed.