Using the Baxter line has forced me to do something I’ve only done occasionally over the last couple of years…consistently use a cartridge razor. The Baxter shave cream is ideally suited to a cartridge system because, despite the recommendation to use a brush (a completely meaningless suggestion since the product doesn’t lather at all – an attempt I suspect to seduce the nascent traditional shaver out of the closet, but not too far out!), this is an apply-by-hand product that provides little protection from a sharp DE blade.

Using my latest reverse-engineering approach to evaluating my shaves, i.e. assess the end-result before evaluating the more sensual elements, I can conclude that overall, cartridge razors produce a pretty fine shave, leaving a very smooth and irritation-free visage, almost entirely bereft of stubble. But strangely enough, this fine end-result doesn’t seem to last very long, with a substantial stubble and roughness evident by next morning, and much more so than after a DE shave. Whereas with a DE shave I could sometimes even forgo the next day’s shave and still look presentable at a client meeting, this is nearly impossible with a cartridge razor. This is a perplexing paradox, because frankly, the cartridge razor appears to actually produce a closer shave.

In principle, the cartridge razor should produce a closer shave because, as most shave enthusiasts know, the cartridge razor’s task is accomplished through the phenomenon of beard hysteresis, whereby the first blade stretches the beard shaft and the second (or third, fourth, fifth, etc.) blade sneaks up behind it and cuts it below the point which normally sits just under the surface of the skin.  A conventional single blade on the other hand, basically shears off the beard along with a microscopically thin layer of skin, resulting in the exfoliating action that has recently been touted as being so beneficial in producing “younger looking skin”, as the commercials say about the various abrasives and chemicals women use to achieve a similar effect to what men have been doing (unintentionally) for generations – up until the development of the multi-blade cartridge that is.

Since the cartridge razor’s blades never actually touch the skin explains why it is possible to maneuver these technological wonders so haphazardly over the face, generally without the cuts and lacerations that would result if the same machinations were done with a DE. On the other hand, we can only speculate here that the reason the cartridge shave doesn’t appear to last as long as the traditional shave is that the DE may in fact be cutting the beard at an even lower level than the cartridge as it removes the thin layer of epidermal cells in its path. Not being a shave scientist, I’m just guessing here, but can think of no other explanation for the difference between the initial effect and its long-term sequelae.

Anyway, IMHO, although my face feels pretty good immediately after a cartridge shave, I’ve found that it neither lasts as long, nor does my face fell as “clean” as it does after a DE shave. YMMV.