Snake Oil - It's in Your Bathroom, Too!

[Audioholics]

Gillette Co. ads claiming its M3Power razor raises hair up and away from the skin are "unsubstantiated and inaccurate," a federal judge said in siding with Gillette's chief competitor, Schick-Wilkinson Sword.

U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in Connecticut granted Schick a preliminary injunction prohibiting the use of the television and print ads. Gillette was also ordered to change packaging for the product and remove in-store displays that feature the false claims.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050602/ap_on_bi_ge/blade_wars_2

My favorite quote:

But [Gillette spokeswoman Michele] Szynal said the computer-generated image of the razor lifting hair away from the skin was never meant to be taken literally.​

Oh, no - when they show 3D models of razors lifting hairs, naturally, they are only showing you what the razor won't do. Sounds perfectly logical to me...

Cables are apparently not the only products that touch upon snake oil issues in their industry.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Cables are apparently not the only products that touch upon snake oil issues in their industry.

Yes, the consumer marketplace is full of such oil How else could it employ so many workers
But, at least the court took the case. And, the competition didn't like something. Now, maybe there are a few cable makers that can sue the competition?

 

[cgk]

Great Snake Oil Book

A few years ago I read a really interesting book called Galileo's Revenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom by Peter W. Huber. It can be purchased used through Amazon.

It discusses numerous cases of Snake Oil propagating through the court system. Fortunately, since it was written, rules of evidence and qualifying expert witnesses have become more favorable to getting "real" science into the courtroom.

 

[MDS]

This is truly funny to me. Of course it doesn't do what they claim. Nor does the Sensor or the Mach 3. All those ads with a guy making one simple pass down his cheek with the result of a perfectly smooth cheek is equally bogus.

No matter how sharp any razor is from any manufacturer you have to go up, down, sideways and make multiple passes to get a close shave. And don't get me started on 'Close as a blade or your money back' for Remington electric razors - they and most other brands don't shave as close as a 50c bic (although Panasonic wet/dry are pretty good in my experience).

Do the courts really need to be involved with this kind of junk? I guess Shick felt that the uninformed masses who have never shaved in their life will flock to the MP3 Power and hurt their own sales.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

You must have a really thick beard, I can make one pass and my skin is smooth. Takes me less than a minute to shave.

And when I used an electric, I thought it was as close as a blade.

Anyway, as far as that MP3 razor, who would be so stupid as to think that you can raise beard hair? It's far to thick for that.

 

[sjdgpt]

Yes, the consumer marketplace is full of such oil How else could it employ so many workers
But, at least the court took the case. And, the competition didn't like something. Now, maybe there are a few cable makers that can sue the competition?

OH, OH, I can see it now.

Headlines in some newspaper:

"Monster Lawsuit filed by Snake-Oil against Monster"

or

"Monster Lawsuit filed by Monster against Snake-Oil"


Oh yes, I can see it coming.

 

[sjdgpt]

You must have a really thick beard, I can make one pass and my skin is smooth. Takes me less than a minute to shave.

And when I used an electric, I thought it was as close as a blade.

Anyway, as far as that MP3 razor, who would be so stupid as to think that you can raise beard hair? It's far to thick for that.

One pass? How old are you? Still shaving peach fuzz?

My scraggly beard takes at least two passes.

Damn hairs.

One grows upwards, the next one grows downward.

At least the W likes it when I skip a day shaving, and then shave really, really well the following day. Its that baby smooth, I got every little stubble feeling that she likes.

Now, if I could only convince her that I like her legs the same way.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Thats the real reason I have a beard..... shaving was a big pain in the butt. That and theres one spot where the hair grows against the grain in every conceivable plane. I had to shave the same spot six diffrent ways and it always looked like a group of wasps stung me there afterwards......


I never bought an MP3, because I was never a fan of a razor blade that vibrated while I was going to use it near my carotid artery

 

[surveyor]

I hate my beard.
I blame my thick, dense beard for the loss of hair on my head.
My beard is hogging up all the nutrients that could be shared with the hair on my head.
There aint no stinking razor that works with two or three passes on mine.

 

[Dan]

When I heard that they were putting a BATTERY in a razor I thought that had to be the silliest thing I had ever heard. I guess now that three blades are standard and Schick even has a four blade model, the technologydevelopment is approaching an end. Still I'm sure they will try to foist FIVE blades on us eventually.

 

[RJB]

I like stubble...

I love to have day old stubble on my face, it's my secret weapon against the wife! The day old chin makes an excellent "exfoliant" on sensitive places...always helps me win any disagreements!

I also earn more brownie points when I do shave the next day, it's extra smooth. It's a win / win for me.

 

[annunaki]

I have a pretty thick beard. I have had my best results with the Shick Quattro and a disposable three blade razor from Old Spice (though the Quattro still is tops). The Mach Three did not work well for me, I had five o'clock shadow by 1 P.M.

To top it all off, I have somewhat sensitive skin, and I have to end up shaving every other day. I have been shaving (on a need to basis) since I was 13. It gets old and annoying. I hate it. I too have to shave in two directions.

 

[ducker]

I'll take an electric over these reoccuring costs anyday!! A full beard is just a bit too "fuzzy" I'll stick with just a goatee. Cuts back on the annoying angles of shaving!

woo

 

[Mort Corey]

Never have understood the point to a goatee....sheeze, ya still have to go to all the trouble to shave around it dontcha Think the last time I took a razor or other implement to my handsome mug was back in 72.

Mort

 

[markw]

Simply put, shaving sucks.

I've bee nshgaving since Jr. High school and by the time school let out, I looked like Fred Flintstone. Getting older and having the beard turn grey minimized that shadow, but it took over 40 years of shaving to get there.

I used to use gillete Sensor 2's and they worked quite well. I'm currently using Shick three blade disposables and these seem to be the best so far. I get over a week outta them.

One trick I learned overthe years is thatt he best shaving cream is not shaving cream at all. I wash my face with soap, rinse it off and then reapply it. then, I massage hair conditioner (Brecks works fine) on and intp my beard and leave it set for a few minutes. Shaving after that is smoother than any cream or gel I've used and believe me, I've tried 'em all.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I've worn a beard or goatee since about '92. In all those years I've only been cleanshaven twice, for a total of about 3 weeks. My beard is just so damned heavy and wirey on my chin that I don't even bother trying to shave it.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

One pass? How old are you? Still shaving peach fuzz?

47. And I can grow a full beard in a few weeks.

 

[mustang_steve]

I'm still a fan of the good ole straight razor....but I can't find any decent ones anmore, and mine broke

I just use the single-blade BICs for $2 a 10-pack.

 

[nav]

Straight razors

I'm still a fan of the good ole straight razor....but I can't find any decent ones anmore, and mine broke

You can always ask the people at BladeForums.com for straight razor suggestions. ClassicShaving.com carries both Dovo and Thiers-Issard, two brands I've heard mentioned before (although I've never used a straight razor before, so I couldn't say how they compare).

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

I'm still a fan of the good ole straight razor....but I can't find any decent ones anmore, and mine broke

I just use the single-blade BICs for $2 a 10-pack.

Are you talking the old fashioned cowboy, sharpen on a strap, slit your throat if you ain't careful, straight razor? I've never used one of those.

I miss my old Wilkinson Sword double-edged razor though. Nothing shaved as close as that or stayed as sharp for as long, not even these goofy quadruple blade things.

And I don't use those cheap disposibles any more. Those are the ones that you have to scrap and scrap and scrap and scrap with until you get a semi-smooth shave with lots of bleeding and they go dull after 2 shaves.