Why Single Edge Razors are Ideal for Coarse, Wiry Hair
If you have coarse and wiry facial hair, there's a good chance you've been struggling with ingrown hairs and razor bumps for your entire adult life. People of color - and black men in particular - tend to get an especially rough deal, hardly helped by the fact that most shaving products aren't designed to handle the full spectrum of hair types.
But it doesn't have to be this way. By using a single-blade razor instead of a multi-blade, you can avoid many of the pitfalls associated with an overly close shave, yet still feel fresh-faced when you leave the house each morning.
Why Shaving Can Go Wrong
Before we talk razors, it's worth looking at the science behind facial hair growth.
The root of the problem, so to speak, is the hairs themselves. Human hair was never really meant to be shaved: left to itself, each strand of your hair would fall out after about 3-7 years, and a new hair would grow from the same follicle. Because that new hair grows from scratch, with a relatively soft tip, it almost always comes out normally.
Cutting your hair - with scissors, for example - doesn't interfere with the natural process. All you're doing is shortening the hair. It'll continue to grow from the same follicle, and it's natural cycle of replacement won't be interrupted.
Unfortunately, using a multi-blade razor isn't quite the same as cutting your hair. These razors are designed to cut your hair below the skin - leaving a sharp, irregularly shaped stump lurking beneath the surface. As that "stump" grows, it can easily deviate from it's normal path and curl backwards into the skin. Roughly speaking, this is what we call an ingrown hair. A whole patch of these are what's known as razor bumps.
The Added Challenge of Wiry Hair
"Wiry" hair is essentially curly hair, which is why it's especially prone to growing off-kilter when you cut it below the skin. That's why multi-blade razors cause so many problems for some people of color: every single strand of hair on your face has an even higher chance of becoming inflamed when it's sliced below the skin.
The Solution
Before the proliferation of fancy-looking, mulit-blade razors, many people with wiry hair achieved perfectly good shaves by using classic safety razors, which cut just at the surface of the skin rather than below it. These old-fashioned razors are still available for anyone inclined to nostalgia - but can be tricky due to hard-to-find blade angles and technique.
The Single Edge was the result of years of research, focusing on finding a better solution. Since we released the first Single Edge, we upgraded it twice.
Our most recent iterations, The Supply SE and Supply Pro, are the most advanced designs, yet.
Advanced doesn't mean complicated, though. The SE uses 16 fins placed along the safety bar to lift and guide your hair to the blade for a smooth, safe shave, no matter your hair type. The Pro allows you to take complete control of your shave with 6 main settings and 30 micro-settings.
Both razors will give you you a close shave with a blade angle that's intuitive and easy-to-use, without an increased risk of razor bumps. As an added bonus, they also avoid the hair clog you get with multi-blade varieties.
A single blade razor is great for all types of hair - but in our experience, it's people plagued by coarse, wiry hair who report the most dramatic improvement in the quality of their shave.
Or, if you're a veteran wet shaver looking for a custom shave, get your Pro.
