The Evolution of Shaving
Removal of unwanted facial hair dates back as far as history. And the methods of this removal have evolved greatly over time. From literally pulling off hair from your face, to rubbing pumice stones and shaving with obsidian to remove hair, and finally metal blades, most of this evolution has dramatically improved shaving quality and efficiency over time.
By the late 1800s, straight razors became the primary method for shaving in developed countries. But the metal razors required resharpening using a whet stone. Clearly the sharpening process was inefficient in the eyes of a man named King C. Gillette, who in 1904 patented the first safety razor with replaceable blades to eliminate the cumbersome process of blade sharpening. This shaped the future of shaving forever. And if you look at what has happened since then, there is no question that King C. Gillette would be rolling in his grave.
Safety razors continued to be par for the course until 1971 when Gillette launched the Trac II the world’s first two-blade razor. Unlike the incredible innovation that removed cumbersome processes like blade sharpening while improving shave quality, this “innovation” marked the beginning of the absolute shit show that has carried on into the 21st Century: An absurdly myopic focus on the theoretical “closer” shave; increasing razor cost and margin to fill up the pockets of big razor companies and leaving YOU with a smaller bank account balance and more skin irritation and ingrown hair.
From there it was determined by big razor companies that two blades weren’t enough, so then there were three. Then there was a “lubricating strip” (a bullshit, lotion-containing strip of cellulose or sponge with no function). Then there were four blades. Then five. Then vibrating handles that more closely resemble a sex toy than a razor. Then six blades! And most recently (and most ridiculously) a heated-handled multi-blade razors for $200. Although King C. Gillette hasn’t been around to share his opinion on these matters, it’s pretty safe to assume that he would be less than satisfied with the innovation shift going from positively transformative to incrementally increasing in nonsensical blade and gimmick additions that add no value yet cost tremendously more.
The best shave has always been and will always be with a single premium blade. While this is common knowledge to this day in barber shops, where barbers have always used single blades, it has been largely lost by those shaving at home. Can you get single blade razors? Absolutely. But your choices have historically been: safety razors or crappy plastic handled full disposable BIC-type razors. Until UNO.
UNO is the first ever premium-handled single-blade disposable cartridge system. A product that was blatantly missed while razor “innovation” was taking place. What does that mean to shavers? It means no more robbery. No more irritation inducing shaves. And no more senseless waste in our landfills. Although we will never know, we think that our product would please historic razor innovators because it aligns perfectly with the spirit of their innovation. With UNO, our promise to you is to provide the highest quality shave at the most affordable price without ever selling you any feature that you don’t need in order to extract money from your pockets.
It's time for big razor companies to pay the price for the thievery they have gotten away with for too many years. UNO is here to make them pay that price by showing every shaver, one at a time, what barbers have known since the beginning of time: You only need one blade to shave.
