The History of Hysteresis
Every day millions of men and women dread shaving because of the irritation, ingrown hairs and bumps they get from their multi-blade razor.
Sometimes this happens because they have sensitive skin. Sometimes they need to change the blade cartridge on their razor (or we recommend just changing their whole razor). But, the problem can almost always be traced back to their multi-blade razor and a process called Hysteresis.
What the Heck is Hysteresis?
Merriam-Webster defines it as:
- The phenomenon in which the value of a physical property lags behind changes in the effect causing it, as for instance when magnetic induction lags behind the magnetizing force.
Magnetic induction. Magnetizing force. Phenomenon. Sound like gibberish?
The only phenomenon is how this concept is connected to your morning shave. But if you have been using a multi-blade razor, hysteresis has everything to do with why you dread shaving, or at least why it’s become just another boring part of your day.
Hysteresis and Your Shave
Here’s how hysteresis works when you use a multi-blade razor. It doesn’t matter if your razor has 2, 3, 4, or 5 blades. Any multi-blade razor is shaving your hair in a way that damages your skin, causes irritation, and ingrown hairs. Shaving “insiders” call it the tug-and-cut method.
The first blade pulls up on the hair and cuts it. Before your hair has a chance to fall back down to the surface of your skin, the second blade catches it, pulls it up a little more and cuts it even closer. The third, fourth and fifth blade repeat the process until all the blades have passed under the single blade of hair.
The result is more friction with skin and hair cut so short that it can falls beneath the surface of your skin after the last blade makes it's final cut.
It looks like this:
It’s not that they cut so deep, otherwise you would bleed every time you used one. It’s that they pull and cut and pull and cut until the hair is too short.
This is why your skin can feel so smooth after using a multi-blade. That is - unless your cheeks and neck aren’t covered in razor burn or ingrown hairs.
But Isn’t a Smooth Shave a Good Thing?
Of course it is, but you don’t need five blades to get a smooth shave. You don’t even need two.
Big razor corporations have told you that more blades are the key to a smoother shave for decades. They’ve even told people that hysteresis is actually good for their skin.
But cutting hair below the surface can be terrible for your skin in the long and short term. And telling people that the only goal of shaving is smooth skin is like telling someone to rip all the grass out of their lawn because they’ll have to mow less. It makes sense for a short time until you realize the long term damage you’ve done.
When a hair is cut below the surface of the skin, it can have a small layer of skin grows over the top of the follicle before it has the chance to grow back. This impedes your hair from breaking through the surface, resulting in an ingrown hair.
Plus, multiple blades running over the same area of your skin again and again is the express lane to razor burn, especially if you have sensitive skin.
We believe there's a different - and better - way.
A smooth shave can be good for your skin.
The key isn’t adding more blades to your razor. You actually need to subtract blades until you have one extra sharp blade placed at the right angle.
That's exactly what our Single Edge SE and Pro give you. Here's the SE in action:
This would be true even if Supply didn’t exist. Expert shavers, barbers and your grandpa knew that one blade was more than enough to get a smooth, healthy shave every time. A single blade razor only cuts hair at the surface your skin, allowing the hair to grow back the way it’s supposed to.
It even works if you shave over the same spot multiple times, because there isn’t another blade to catch the hair and cutting it so short that it falls beneath the surface. You are always cutting hair with precision at the surface your skin.
Hysteresis is History
If you’re sick of dealing with razor burn, ingrown hairs, and bumps every time you shave, we’ve got some good news for you.
Say goodbye to irritation and ingrown hairs and join the single blade revolution. Your skin, your wallet, and the planet will thank you. We offer two version of our Single Edge depending on where you want to shave and your experience level:
The Supply SE and Supply Pro.
The SE will give you all the convenience of your multi-blade razor with the quality of a Single Edge shave. Our industry-first NickStop™ Technology will protect your skin while the 16 precision fins lift and guide your hair to the blade. It’s easy to use, safe, and feels great in your hand.
The Pro is the most customizable safety razor on the market. It gives you six main settings and thirty micro-settings that you can switch between with nothing more than a flick of your thumb, never having to put it down. You can adjust the closeness of your shave while you shave.
If you need help finding out which one is right for you, take our 30-second quiz and find out.
