The Non-Disposable Disposable Razor

Regular readers of this blog know we closely monitor the "blind innovation" of shaving razors, as a symbol of our co-evolutionary relationship with technology. Recently, we stumbled upon a rare mutation: The Razorius Gilletus Blue III, is the non-disposable version of the disposable Gillette Blue III razor. It thrives in regions where people have less money to spend, but still want something durable.

Next to the current top-model, the six bladed Proshield Flexball Fusion Razor, Gillette also offers the disposable Blue III razor world. This three bladed razor is a throwaway version of the obsolete Sensor 3 model, which was their best model back in the early nineties.

In itself it is already interesting that a top technology from the nineties – three blades people! –  is sold as a cheap throwaway technology twenty years later. Apparently the Gillette corporation calculated that the old Sensor 3 shaving head could still be successful as a cheap disposable model that can be bought many countries.

Things become more peculiar as Gillette also estimated that the high end six bladed Fusion razors are too expensive in regions where the budget for buying razors is low and there is high competition with cheaper local models. Hence, they decided this would be the perfect habitat for a non-disposable version of their disposable razor. You can buy the oxymoron Blue 3 razor in Greece, Poland, Slovakia, South-Africa, Turkey and Hungary, among others.