The Traditional Wet Shaving Revolution; A Search for a Smoother Shave

The search for the perfect shave has led thousands of men to something grandfathers and barbers have long used… double-edged razors with high-end brushes and creams. The craze has sparked online communities and full blown stores.

Aliso Viejo, CA (PRWEB) March 12, 2008 -- It's a $12 billion dollar a year industry and men worldwide are part of it. When it comes to the art of shaving, there's no shortage of companies trying to sell their latest electric razors, five bladed razors or gel foams. However, it's the traditional double-edged razor and high-end brushes and creams that have sparked huge online communities and full blown stores, all dedicated to the old-fashioned ritual.

Sites like Badger and Blade (http://www.badgerandblade.com), an online community dedicated to the art of shaving, are thanking traditional shaving methods for their popularity.

"Badger & Blade has noticed a significant increase in traffic, both in terms of viewership, and interaction on our community forums over the past year," says co-owner Nick Lawlis. "More men are realizing that stuffing additional blades into a razor correlates more with an increase in price than an improvement in shave quality. As they become fed up with expensive, second-rate shaves that leave irritation and ingrown hairs, they start looking for alternatives and often times find their way towards us. This trend is largely responsible for Badger & Blade's site traffic more than tripling over the past year, and our new member registration rates increasing by fourfold. As more men and women realize that there is a more economical, more comfortable, more enjoyable way to shave, we'll be there to provide the information and resources they need to get started on the path to traditional wet-shaving."

However, it's not just online communities that have benefited from the recent turn to a more traditional shave. Online stores like WestCoastShaving.com (http://www.westcoastshaving.com) and ShavingEssentials.net (http://www.shavingessentials.net) have seen record sales over the past few months.

"It is easy for us to see the growing popularity of wet-shaving as our customers are increasingly diverse, from age to location," says John Koontz, co-owner of WestCoastShaving.com. "While the bulk of our traffic comes from wet-shaving online communities and search, we're seeing a large growth in traffic from non-traditional sources such as consumer electronics online communities, social bookmarking sites, and blogs."

Koontz goes on to say that WestCoastShaving.com has seen an exponential increase in sales. "We've always enjoyed a gradual increase in sales; however, the last few months have shown staggering growth of close to 40%. The holiday rush aside, the expanding market has continued well into the New Year. Our site traffic has more than doubled over the past year."

Like WestCoastShaving.com, ShavingEssentials.net has also seen more and more shoppers making the switch.

"We are continually amazed at our sales growth. We are averaging a 5% increase over prior month's sales and it shows no signs of slowing down," says ShavingEssentials.net co-owner John Crissman.

Not only have the folks behind ShavingEssentials.net been providing consumers with great products, they've also been a large part of the online community.

"We give advice to newcomers daily. Most adult men want an alternative to the popular multiple blade and foam systems. When they find out that wet-shaving gives a better shave and, over time, saves them money it is easy to understand why they like it," says ShavingEssentials.net co-owner John Hatton. "The online forums provide a great learning tool for one to learn to wet-shave. While many have learned to shave from their father, more and more have learned to shave through experimentation, movies and commercials. Online forums such as Badger & Blade provide a great community for many men of different backgrounds and ages to add comments and advice on any topic. Few men are going to ask even their closest friends how to get a better shave. The forums are the perfect place for these discussions to thrive with some degree of anonymity."

Perhaps it's the increased exposure on television and the big screen (movies like Sweeny Todd and late night shows like David Letterman and Conan O'Brien) that's sparked the wet shaving revolution. Or maybe it's the other way around, but one thing's for sure, barbers everywhere are saying, "I told you so."

For more information on the wet shaving revolution, please visit the following sites:

http://www.badgerandblade.com
http://www.westcoastshaving.com
http://www.shavingessentials.net

Contact Information:

nick@badgerandblade.com
1-888-308-0276

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