Just what kind of person are you?
Are you a reckless risk taker or the kind that likes to play it safe?
You don't need to take some silly Facebook quiz.
The answer might be right here in your medicine cabinet.
Just like personalities, the sort of razor you use falls on a spectrum, from risk taker
to super safe and everything in between.
Maybe you're the sort who demands the cleanest of shaves.
To heck with all the consequences.
Or are you the type to plan and eliminate all risk?
Sharp blades are nice and all, but when the trade off is nicks and cuts or slashes and
gashes, are you really up to the challenge?
Let's see what your razor tells us about you.
If you're a bit of a daredevil, you may still be using the straight razor, originating in
Sheffield, England in 1680.
It's world renowned for sharpness and maneuverability.
The exposed blade is brought into frighteningly close contact with the skin, and it takes
a skilled operator to maneuver it.
Too much pressure or too sharp of an angle, and whoops.
You just learned why this blade earned the nickname "cut throat" razor.
Back then barbers were also part-time surgeons, and it's not by accident that the pole outside
the shop symbolized the red of blood and the white of bandages.
Not only are straight razors dangerous, they're high maintenance too.
Blades had to be sharpened frequently.
A dull blade would be a very unpleasant experience, pulling and twisting at the hair it's meant
to cut.
Sounds pretty risky.
Want a little more safety in your life?
French barber, Jean-Jacques Perret wanted that too, so in 1762 he invented a wooden
guard that enclosed most of the straight razor blade, so it wouldn't slice too deeply into
the skin.
I'm sure his surviving customers appreciated the effort.
Feeling a bit more prudent?
You may own a descendant of the Star Safety Razor, patented in 1880 by the Kampfe Brothers.
The design was groundbreaking, because it introduced a handle for more control and a
metal guard to protect the skin.
The blade is perpendicular to the handle and held in by metal clips.
The design sort of works like a garden hoe, but you drag the blade across your face, instead
of a bunch of dirt.
Less this seem boring, there is still some element of risk.
You're still in control of the pressure exerted on the surface of the skin.
If you don't have enough skill, you could shave off too much, causing harsh abrasions
that release plenty of chemical communicators, like histamines, prostoglandins, and bradykinins.
These cause the redness, stinging, and dryness we recognize as good, old razor burn.
These sorts of razors sometimes have a row of teeth, called a comb, that runs the length
of the razor, just under the blade.
The comb catches the hair and guides it into the blade at the correct angle for a closer
shave.
Open comb guards don't clog as much, but are not as safe as the more common closed comb,
where a continuous metal bar protects the user from the blade.
Many razor manufacturers also tinkered with adjusting the width between the blade and
the guard.
A smaller gap means less risk of nicks and cuts, but also can diminish the precision
of the shave.
Increasing the gap improves cutting efficiency and precision, but also means you're more
likely to show up for your date looking like this.
It's a little less than perfectly safe, bu, hey, we all gotta live a little right?
Now, if the most reckless thing you've done in years is cutting off that do not remove
tag on your pillows, then modern razors are definitely for you.
There is a lot of technology to get you the safest, most comfortable shave possible.
Check it out.
The most advanced razors have an anatomy that looks something like this.
The guard on the modern razors are typically made of plastic or a soft, rubber material
called an elastomer.
It gently stretches the skin ahead of the blade, providing a more taut surface for shaving.
They also cause hairs to be lifted upright, so they can be cut more efficiently.
Let's not forget about the blade.
When you shave, hair is not immediately cut when it comes in contact with the blade.
Instead, what happens is the blade sort of embeds itself in the hair, and the hair is
dragged or pulled along by the blade tip, extending it out of the hair follicle before
it's cut.
Once the hair is cut, the hair retracts back into the follicle for a close to the surface
shave.
So, what's deal with the multiple blade thing?
What are all those blades for?
The first blade catches the hair and lifts it, and the second blade sneaks in underneath
to cut the hair even further down the hair shaft, while it's still extended.
Pretty clever stuff.
More blades also spread out the pressure by providing more points of contact.
It's the same principle that allows people to lay on a bed of nails and not get punctured
with thousands of tiny holes.
There are so many tweaks to these blades to increase safety.
They even put mini stabilizers behind the blades to keep them from bouncing around.
Even the narrow spacing between the blades is calculated to prevent the skin from bunching
up and getting carved up like a turkey.
In case you still can't get it right, there is also a lubricating strip to reduce friction
and minimize drag.
A key lubricant that is used is polyethylene oxide.
It's a long chain polymer with a high water binding capacity.
In more expensive models the handle is placed behind the head of the razor, so pressure
isn't applied directly to the blade.
There is also a pivot that moves the blade backwards and forward to maintain the correct
angle and stretch the skin for optimal tension.
The size of the cartridge is also important.
Larger cartridges spread pressure onto the skin, while narrow cartridges, like those
found on a disposable razor, add more pressure, but are optimized to fit into the harder places
on the skin, like under the nose, the chin, and the jawline.
This is why ladies razors are usually wider than a guy's.
Legs are less complicated than faces and prettier too.
So, do you feel like your razor fits your personality?
Are you starting to think that this relationship could use a little bit of a change?
You know, I totally can see why shaving is thought of as an art.
There are so many factors involved.
There's the angle of the blade, open or closed guards, the cartridge size.
I mean, we haven't even discussed shaving cream yet.
If you wanna find out more about how that affects your shave, then check out the next
video right here.