Richard Hyatt: The price you pay to look sharp

It was a ritual of manhood, created by the marketing department at Gillette, which long ago convinced adolescent boys that to look sharp and be sharp we had to shave.

Theirs was a macho message, delivered during every major sporting event that we watched on black and white TV sets, but especially on the Friday Night Fights, televised live from Madison Square Garden.

My face was growing only fuzz but with the relentless Gillette jingle ringing in my ears, I locked the bathroom door and shaved for the first time at the age of 12 -- whether I needed to or not. Splashing some Old Spice on my face, I was a man.

Or I smelled like one anyway.

By the time I was in high school, I was shaving a few times a week and was proud of every stroke. Until then I borrowed my father's safety razor, but the time finally came when I bought my very own. What a moment that was.

Along the way there would be interludes of mustaches and beards and elongated sideburns. There were times I even shaved my scalp. But most mornings I have stared into the mirror and wondered why I ever started shaving.

These days it takes time and money. Men spend $4 billion a year on shaving products and two-thirds of that money still goes to Gillette. They don't advertise as much today, for until recently they enjoyed a double-edged monopoly.

I've tried disposable razors and tested other brands, but usually I come back to Gillette. Until shopping for razor blades made me feel like a criminal.

If you want to buy a pack of blades today, you mortgage the house and show a picture ID to the pharmacist so he or she will unlock the vault where they keep the blades. It's easier to buy a controlled substance on the street corner.

Razor blades are secured because they're the sixth most popular item among shoplifters, behind steaks, liquor, tools and iPhones. They're just ahead of Nike shoes and Polo shirts.

To avoid the extravagance and the fingerprinting, I've signed up to get my blades by mail, just like I get my magazines and prescription drugs. As the old commercials said, I hope these razors are right for me.

For even now I want to look sharp and be sharp.

-- Richard Hyatt is an independent correspondent. Reach him at hyatt31906@knology.net.

This story was originally published February 7, 2015 at 9:58 PM with the headline "Richard Hyatt: The price you pay to look sharp."