"Steam, Gillette's safety razors, the rotation of the Earth around its axis - all this is open and invented by the Americans and partly by the British."
Mikhail Zoshchenko, “Voice Recorder”.
About Brand
We all know such a brand as Gillette machines - razors that have conquered both men and women. This item is great for getting rid of unwanted hair on the face and body, as well as for styling mustaches and barbs. The machines that appeared at the beginning of the last century quickly gained popularity and recognition around the world. Fans of the satirical work “The Twelve Chairs” by I. Ilf and E. Petrov probably remember the statement that the Gillette razors are unmatched in safety.
History of creation
The Gillette brand belongs to the American multinational American company Procter & Gamble, which has been specializing since 1901 in the production of accessories for shaving and body care, as well as women's products. The founders of the company were candlestick master William Procter and soap maker James Gamble. The inventor of a real razor and a company bearing the brand name is King Camp Gillett, who by his own example proved that household items that are not of great value can bring success and prosperity to their creator due to the fact that they are often used in everyday life. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the brand owner himself received his first million in 50 years, because before the creation of machine tools, he was a salesman for half his life.
Incredible success
"Razor King" Gillette all his life tried to invent at least something more or less interesting for ordinary people. But all his attempts did not end with the desired result. And once, standing on the porch of his house with an old razor in his hand, it suddenly dawned on him - you can replace these bulky razor structures, which, of course, were distinguished by quality and grace, but were not at all practical items due to their high cost. So the brilliant idea about the T-shaped razor was born. Having studded the thresholds of various technological institutes, King Camp Gillette received the most advantageous formula for creating materials and found investors for this enterprise. In the first year he managed to sell only 168 Gillette machines, which, however, did not cool his desire, and the next year, 60,000 machines were sold.
With the onset of World War I, the need for razors and razor blades for soldiers rose sharply. Thus, in 1917, 36 million blades were sold for the military. In 1991, Gillette was acquired by Procter & Gamble.
Gillette Shaving Systems - Ladder to Heaven
The first systems with two blades were Track-2 and Gillet Atra with the first floating head, Atra +. In the year 90, the Sensor model was invented with a steel design and a two-point swimming head, the successor of which is still widely used. The Mak-3 is the first machine with three blades, followed in 2004 by the Mak-1 Turbo system with ten ridges instead of five. "Mac-3 Turbo" - the first machine with a vibration mode on batteries.
2007 was marked by the advent of the Gillette Fusion machine. This system is characterized by the presence of 5 blades and a more comfortable handle. The latest version at the moment is Gillette Proglide machines (5 blades, without vibration), which are related to the modification of progled power with vibration. It is in this model that the blades are located very close to each other, which relieves pressure on each blade and provides maximum comfort and minimum irritation. Braun trimmer was invented to remove and trim hard-to-reach hairs . After the appearance of a competitor in the person of Bic, Gillette had to produce disposable machines that can also be thrown out after a single use.
Female counterparts
The line of female consumer goods in this area is also very diverse. These are peculiar modifications of famous men's razors:
- Sensor Excel for women - unlike Sensor Excel has a more elegant handle
- Venus - female version of "Mac3" with three levies
- Venus Divine - the female version of the "Mac3 Turbo" with three blades
- Venus Vibrance - female version of M3Power (three blades and vibration mode)
- Venus Breeze - the female version with three blades, characterized by the presence of shaving products on the pads located below and above the blades
- Embrace - Women's Five-Blade Fusion Version
Life time
The life of all Gillette machines at the moment is approximately 1-2 months, depending on the frequency of use. An unsuitable machine is the one on which the paint on the grease pad has worn off.