Raz*War

How To Extend The Life Of Razor Blades

2011-07-20T17:04:00.001+02:00

It is an understatement to say that razor blades generally costs huge amounts of money. This combined with the fact that they need to be replaced regularly and you get a great mix of factors that will rapidly impact your wallet.

We are trying - through the Raz*War project - to find solutions to let you shave you face instead of you wallet. This is one of the reason we came up with the subscription model that we like to call : Shaving as a Service. But that's not the only way to save money on razor blades. You can also do a few things in order to prolonge the life of your razor blade.

To illustrate that I would invite you to watch this little video from a great shaving expert - Mantic59 - who explains you a few basic tricks that you might start doing as of today.

The full article written by Mantic59 can be found here

In summary, there are a few factors that can influence the life of a razor blade:

The water you use to shave
The metallurgy of the blade used
The type of hair
The quality of the products (lather) used to shave

Learn more about them in the video.

Until your next shave,

David, Raz*War co-founder

Keeping a bit of hair for a rugged, devilishly handsome look

2011-06-23T15:27:00.001+02:00

Looking to keep a bit of hair for that rugged, devilishly handsome look?

Keep that blade away for a few moments and keep growing out that five o'clock shadow, and we can talk about how to ensure an attractive, natural look for your face.

Grow out your facial hair for about a month. Avoid a close shave for a while to see how your beard, sideburns, etcetera grow out. What kind of hair you can grow will greatly affect your choice. A word to the wise before starting though? It is very, very rare in the Western world to find someone with a mustache that works. All too often it draws the mind back to the 70s, a time considered most unfashionable. So, unless you're looking to use that style, are going for a stylish goatee or beard, or have been blessed by the Gods of Haircare with a fine upper lip? You'll want to shave the upper lip no matter what.
Once you've found how your hair grows and what you feel would befit your head and face structure, it's time to begin preening!
We'll start from the most hair to the least.

- The Beard. If you're going for the mighty, manly beard, the most important thing is keeping it neat. While it can provide a very mature look, it can also give an unsightly appearance if used poorly. While you won't shave, it's still important to trim and neaten around the edges and any areas that might be growing in an unkempt fashion. (you might consider using an El Ché razor; it will provide precision)
- The Chinstrap. So named for its uncanny resemblance to a helmet strap, this look - if pulled off effectively - strengthens the appearance of the chin and adds an attractive contour to the face. Shave at the cheeks while leaving the sideburns intact, as well as the areas of the upper and lower lips. Again, keep everything neat and tidy. (you might consider using an El Fidel razor that provides a 6th blade - precision blade to draw the lines)
- The Goatee. A younger, more stylish look. Some people swear by an item known as the GoateeSaver, which is something of a face-guard that you hold over the goatee area to keep the general shape from being shaved over. It looks rather silly, but if you care to chance it, by all means. Shave everything but the goatee area and then figure out what you desire. The Goatee (just a beard limited below the mouth), a Van Dyke (goatee and a mustache, not connected) or the 'Circle Beard'. From then on, shave or keep what you wish, shaping the sides however you desire. (use the Black Edition for that)
- The Soul Patch and the Mustache. The Soul Patch is just a small bit of hair below the lower lip and above the chin, while the mustache takes its place above the upper lip. However, both are highly easy to craft, though have many variations. Shave all areas around the face, save for the upper or lower lip area, depending on preference. From then on, just neaten and trim!

With luck, you'll find a clean-shaven or crafted method of shaving that works perfectly for you and gives your face a brand new allure.

Enjoy your shaving!

3 steps to get a nice close shave

2011-06-20T14:20:00.001+02:00

This is a very basic 3-steps approach to get a nice close shave.

This is not rocket science and might come in handy if you have never shaved before.

Wet your face with a warm cloth towel to exfoliate the pores, and then apply some shaving oil, shaving cream or shaving soap around the fuzzy areas.
Using a relatively new disposable razor for shaving, run the blade along the hairy spots (cheeks, chin, neck, upper lip and so forth), going -with- the grain as you continue your shave. Be sure to rinse the blade periodically to make sure it doesn't clog.
Use a moisturizer (after-shave balm) to help soothe the skin and ensure it has that nice soft feeling.

Like said, shaving is not complicated. You only need the right products.

Enjoy your shavin'

Crazy gifts in June to celebrate a new website and the rise of the summer

2011-06-15T11:59:00.001+02:00

Dear customer,

We could have written thousands of lines about our new website and how cool we think it is.

Instead we prefer to let you discover it and to benefit from great gifts since we want to share our happiness with you all ;-)

We decided to name this operation : SUMMER WELCOME !

Look at the great gifts* we have for you.

Order now on http://beta.razwar.com

---

We are always open for feedback from you on wecare@razwar.com

*the free gifts cannot be cumulated in a same order

Proper Skin Care by Shaving

2011-06-10T16:29:00.001+02:00

Shaving. It is something most people do on a weekly basis (sometimes daily). But is there more to shaving then just looking great and having smooth skin?

Most people do not realize that shaving has a lot of benefits to the skin and body. Women and men alike shave to look professional and obtain, soft smooth skin. Men typically shave facial hair as to have a clean look, obtain soft smooth skin, and impress women. Women shave their legs to have that pretty women look and also to have clean, smooth, soft skin. But shaving does more then just making men and women look professional. It proves to benefit the skin in many ways.

First off, shaving helps to keep the skin clean and free from dirt and debris. Every time you shave you are actually removing dead skin cells off the surface of the skin. This helps to create that baby smooth feeling one gets after shaving. Not only does it give you that silky smooth feeling, it also helps to keep skin looking younger and fresh. By constantly removing dead skin and dirt, shaving opens the pores and allows the skin to stay wrinkle free longer.

Shaving can, however, have many side effects if done improperly. Improper shaving can lead to minor cuts, itchiness, and razor burn. It is import to use proper shaving products when shaving (oil, soap or cream). These shaving oil, creams and soaps are designed to keep the side effects down to a minimum. They do this by slightly numbing the skin and allowing it to stay moist the entire time you shave. But even the most experienced person using proper oil, soaps and creams can encounter a minor cut if they are not paying full attention while shaving.

It is also important to remember that shaving is not just limited to facial and leg hair. Shaving can be done to any part of the body that has hair. Sometimes shaving can be a religious statement or even a fashion trend. No matter where you shave, the benefits can be seen. Great, smooth silky skin is not only a great feeling for you, but for your body and the people around you as well.

The price of a G. razor blade

2011-06-09T13:08:00.001+02:00

As seen in Trends-Tendances of last week.
Are you ready to pay more and more?

Shaving Tips for a Close, Clean Shave

2011-05-26T10:20:00.001+02:00

Contrary to beliefs, you actually don't need to abuse your skin to get a clean, close shave. Follow these simple shaving tips and you will minimize damage and irritation. Most importantly you will also improve the end result.

Scrub : A gentle scrub before you shave will not only help renew your complexion but also help you achieve a closer shave. It works by opening up pores and raising stubs so they are easily accessible. The scrub also removes dead skin cells which helps prevent those ingrown hairs we all hate.
Lubricate : Don't forget to lubricate before you start by using a shaving oil, a cream or a soap (avoid foams and gels). Your shaving formula should be like a lubricating shock absorber between your shaving blades and skin. It's there to allow the razor to effortlessly glide over your skin without scraping and causing irritation. Leave your chosen shaving formula on your face for roughly a minute before shaving. If you feel your formula has inadequate lubrication then you can also use more pre-shave oil.
Shave : The warm, moisture rich environment created by a shower creates the perfect place to shave. This environment makes your hairs plump and soft whilst also opening your pores. Shaving should be your final step before you rinse off and leave the shower. Don't forget to mount a mirror so you don't miss any spots. To shave under the shower is not an obligation ;-) Over the thub works perfectly well also.
Blade : After four or five uses (sometimes more depending on how well you take care of your blades and skin all together) it's time to send your shaving blade to the rubbish bin. To get a close, clean shave it's important to have a sharp blade so remember to regularly keep changing them. You don't have to apply too much pressure to the blade, gentle strokes are perfect but the key is a sharp blade.
Things to avoid : Avoid irritants such as products with alcohol as these can irritate the skin and create microscopic swelling. If the product stings, numbs or tingles then it's not the right one for you.
Top tip : If you are looking for a super close shave for a special event or occasion then shave in two steps. Firstly shave with the grain of the hair then reapply another coat of lubricant and shave a second time against the grain.

Enjoy your shavin'

Shave your friends. Win a Raz*War subscription

2011-05-19T16:59:00.001+02:00

Dear Raz*War friend,

I am writing you today since we need YOU.

We really believe our subscriptions are the best way for you and your friends to save big money on razor blades.

In these times of economic crisis, each saving counts but your hair continue to grow.

We have now subscriptions based on our 3 razor models :

- El Ché : 3 blades

- Black Edition : 4 blades (NEW!)

- El Fidel : 5 blades

For the moment, not everyone is yet registered to one of these plans.

We want to change that with your help:

Convince 3 of your friends to subscribe and you will receive one year of free shaving.

The rules are simple:

Fill in the special form located here http://mgm.razwar.com with the 3 email addresses of your freshly registered friends
Your friends must have signed-up for one of our yearly subscription between 18/5/2011 and 30/6/2011 (friends orders without subscription will not be taken into account)
All duplicates email addresses will not be eligible to entry the Member-get-Member reward (ex: 1 new customer could not be claimed by 2 existing aficionados)
If you already are a Raz*War subscriber we will offer you an equivalent gain in shaving products

Raz*War stands for revolution; therefore we need more people on board to change things in the razor market.

Make your friends join the movement!

Thank you in advance for your support,

Yours faithfully,

David Hachez

Raz*War activist

===

Here is a message you might want to use:

Hello <name>,

I am a happy Raz*War customer since a while. I really like their products. They make me save loads of cash on razor blades.

If you buy one of their subscription I will receive a great gift from them.

So help me by shopping on http://www.razwar.com/

Thanks

Do you know what skin type you have? Discover it with a little help from Raz*War.

2011-05-09T09:52:00.001+02:00

There are various skin types. Raz*War will introduce you to the 4 more common ones among men: oily, combination/normal, sensitive and dry.

Raz*War did not invent them; It is a basic and worldwide classification.

To identify which one is yours, do the test.

Simply wash your face.
Rinse it until it is clean and really dry
Wait around 1 hour (do not do that before going to work but preferably on a weekend or when you go home at the end of the day).
After that check your chin, center of cheeks, outer cheeks, center of forehead, outer forehead and nose, look for oily residuals.
Last step is to try to identify which skin you have regarding which part are oily.

Your skin type is defined by the quantity of oil it produces.

Type 1: Oily
Here you will have the impression to be “shining” all around your cheeks, nose, forehead an chin. The pores of an oily skin are enlarged. This type of skin can be difficult to handle and can be more likely to have some acne and blackheads.

Men with oily skin can be happy because their skin will tend to be less wrinkled over the years !

Type 2: Combination/normal
This type of skin is the easiest to care and to daily protect. It will go toward dryness on the cheeks while being oily in the “T-zone”, meaning forehead, nose and chin. Here the size of the pores are medium and the texture is not so greasy but softer.

Men with normal skin are the luckiest.

Type 3: Sensitive
In this sensitive type we could have guess that the pores are really fine, the skin is really thin and can be really delicate. This skin type will easily develop redness and it can be irritated really fast. This skin type will need a daily special care.

Men who have this kind of skin will directly know it because they use the same products since a lot of years and they fight every morning against the shaving or environmental aggressions.

Type 4: Dry
The dry skin can also tend to become easily irritated and the pores are also really fine. The skin will tend to be tight each time the faces moves.
You will see appear in some areas white skin zones, these areas will appear if nothing is done to moisturize the skin.
When you have this kind of skin you will need to avoid really hot water because it will tend to dry it even more.

I hope these small explanations helped you find which type skin you have.
In a future post we will explain which Raz*War products to use in function of your skin type.

Until next time,
Marina

Avoid Ingrown Hairs: Why young men should absolutely use shaving oil to maximise their chances to seduce

2011-03-22T16:08:00.001+01:00

When going out for a date, for sure the young male of genus Home Sapiens, try to look as good as possible. He usually cleans his teeth, avoid garlic food at lunch, ensure his clothes are appropriate and seek after the perfect shave.

Also, (And, I confess that, when I was young, it was the case for me...) several days before the date, he starts looking at his face in the mirror to ensure no acne buttons just appeared and/or pray for not getting -enemy of the enemies- an ingrown hair.

Ingrown hair: who never suffered from this, for sure not deadly, condition that really annoy you for weeks, leave ugly scars and can, even, hamper you from sleeping (As I heard from some maniacs getting up at night for trying to solve their hair problem...)

Young men should know that they have more chances to develop ingrown hair as their hair are often a little more curly and soft. As a consequence, the hairs have more chance to enter back in the same follicle ("ingrown hair") or enter in the follicle nearby ("razor bump"). See my illustration:

Ingrown hairs also happen as a consequence of multi-blades systems. Honestly, I recomend these multi-blades systems, unless you are a fan of straight razor. A 3 to 5 blades head really gives you more chance to get a "Baby Butt Shave". But, the thing is that it also, slightly, increase the chance of getting a ingrown hair or razor bump. This because of the so-called "hysterisis" effect that causes the hair to be "lifted" by the first blades to be cut, afterwards, by the next blades. See my illustration:

I was personally myself subject to ingrown hairs (4 to 6 episodes per year). But this is now old story: if I except two episodes due to the test of other products, I got no more episode of ingrown hairs since two years.

My secret? I use shaving oil! And I strongly recommend young men to try and test it. It has plenty of advantages (see previous posts), but one is absolutely key for me: no more episodes of ingrown hairs...

How does this happen? In fact, as you will see on the illustration here below, the shaving oil will help the blades enters the hairs. The "hysteresis" effect will still happen. But, and statistically, the chances that the last blades still "lift" more the hairs instead of cutting them got significantly lower. The "statistical distribution" of hairs properly cut is less large: meaning there is a very tiny chance only that ablade is so much pulled that it enters back into the skin. My illustration shows it clearly:

Hence, young adults and men looking for the perfect shave or for maximize your chances for a good date: It is clear to me that you need to switch to shaving oil. Black and colored people, who have more "curly" type hairs, should also use shaving oil. I will explain this in a next post...

Just try the shaving oil! And spread the word.

Keep on shaving,

Pierre,

Donate to help Raz*War s(h)ave the world!

2011-03-04T18:04:00.001+01:00

A call from Raz*War co-founder, Pierre De Nayer

As you know, BigRazCo has huge means that Raz*War doesn't have. Raz*War is the little David versus the Goliath’s of shaving of this world (…But you know how the David story ends. No? Then check your classics..:-) ) We know we have our place in the shaving arena and "we want to s(h)ave the world". This is what animates us.

For doing so, we are proposing superior products:

Our razors and blades are among the best in the world.
Our shaving oil is much better than the shaving oils proposed by brands such as P., G., K. (We do not like to quote the brands of our respected competitors.).
And the same apply for our shaving cream.
Finally, our two shaving soaps are produced by one of the best soap factory in the world.

Don’t believe this? Then, just try out. Or check by a Google Search …

Fighting in the Shaving Arena is really a fantastic adventure. The whole team behind this brand is composed by shaving fanatics, really passionate by bringing the best products to you, while bringing you content (grooming tips, information about shaving market) and service in the mean time. Myself, every single day I am progressing towards becoming a shaving expert, knowledgeable in all of aspects of shaving (Art, Business, Science of shaving).

We receive a lot of support and positive feed-back from every corner of the planet. A lot of you support our stance and our fight but do not necessarily want to buy a razor or a shaving soap once visiting the web site. Hence, for these people, we have created the "Donate" feature.

By donating, even 1 Euro or 1 USD, you perform an act with a lot of consequences. Firtsly donating 1 Euro or 1 USD is like “signing a petition” calling for fair prices for shaving products. Secondly, your donation will means “I support you” to our eyes.

On the practical side, the amount of money generated will help us finance two major project.

It will help finance our R&D pilot for a new razor model (We have a good and non-espensive idea for a new razor model, but its R&D still needs financing).
The sum of money generated will help us launch Raz*War in the United States:THE major market where you need to be to exist as a brand. Dear future american customers, dear fans, dear ambassadors, dear customers: Do you want us to launch your brand in the US? Yes? Then give us a sign and donate now.

Thanks to you, Raz*War will S(h)ave the world!

Click here for donating:

Every little help makes a big difference.

Thank you for your donation.

Facts and figures about Raz*War - A little update

2011-03-02T16:06:00.001+01:00

It has been a while since we shared some facts and figures about us with you.

Let's start with a couple of facts:

We are softly launching our worldwide shipping solution for affordable prices. check the new rates here. We are shipping for free for orders above 50 € too ;-)
We are in the process of pre-launching our new website > have a look at the Beta version (do not place orders there ;-))
We will be launching a new service and model very soon. It is called Raz*War Black Edition. Check it out here.

Then let's have a look at some figures. We are in the process of collecting the results of our satisfaction survey and we want to share a few elements with you.

Our Net Promoter Score is very high : 42 (In a previous survey we were at 18; so according to you we are improving.)

This is very important for us and we would like to thank YOU for that.

A few other statistics for your eyes :

80% of El Fidel users find it "good to excellent"
98% of our customers are satisfied ("good + excellent" answers) with our delivery time
77% of our customers were satisfied ("good + excellent" answers) with our shipping costs
97% are satisfied ("good + excellent" answers) with our payment facilities
63% are positive about our support and the remaining 37% are neutral; this means 0% unsatisfied. Waouw!
1 customer out of 2 is asking for more accessories, more razors & blades and more products; we'll act upon that.

There are also great suggestions and more in-depth feedback to take into account in order for us to improve but we are heading in the right direction. We are always reachable for you on wecare(at)razwar.com.

If you want to participate in our survey, feel free to do so. Here is the link. You might discover a little something at the end. The survey will close at the end of March.

Like always, Enjoy your shavin' !

David Hachez, co-founder and brand activist

The PLEASURE of Shaving (4)

2011-03-01T10:23:00.001+01:00

The pleasure of using a soap

Sorry for all my very numerous readers who were expecting the next issue of the Pleasure of Shaving Series.

Today, we will discuss about how to obtain a good lather using shaving soap. If you remember well, in my last blog post, I clearly said that canned foams and gels should be banned from you bathroom. The more important issue whit canned foams and gels (on top of their very high ecological costs) is the fact that they dessicate the hair...And hair need to be kept (very) wet for being properly cut by the razor. Also, the lather is needed for allowing the razor to "glide" on your face, which will be more easily obtained with a shaving soap and/or shaving cream.

Personally, I am more an adapt of using shaving soaps, but I reckon that Shaving Creams, that I will also discuss in a next blog post, are excellent products too.

There are plenty of Shaving Soaps available on the market. I could easily say that Raz*War Shaving Soaps are superiors to the others (:-)) but, you wont believe me so easily and, hence, you would also notice that we are selling not one but two different soaps. Why this? This illustrates the somewhat complexity of the questions.

Some science for starting: Soaps are the results of the a chemical reaction known as "saponification" (To see more on Saponification, see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponification). During Saponification, fatty acids derivatives (To be found in vegetable oils or from animal fat, like tallow) are transformed under very alkaline conditions (Contrary of acidic conditions) to obtain a "salt" and an "alcohol" derivative. Hence, Soap is basically a "salt" of a fatty acids. The molecules obtained have "soaps" properties, enabling, through the high polarity of the molecules, to extract dirt (If you want to know more, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap).

Do you get me? Hu? Or, you just are wondering why the hell I am giving you a lesson of Science? Bear with me.. If you follow me, you will understand why you should choose a soap properly:

A last piece of Science: The alkanine conditions is often obtained by lye, or Sodium Hydroxyde or NaOh: a very dangerous product. Some soaps have a very very ligh excess of NaOh; they are "hard soaps", alkaline and should be prohibited for shaving. Some soaps, have a very light excess in fatty acids; they are call "free fatty acids" soaps. These are perfect soaps for shaving (because excess of oils) but are difficult to manipulate (somewhat soft) and not stable.
->Prefer soaps with light excess of fatty acids (In most case, the choice will be made for you, on that topic)
Soaps, by nature, dessicate the hair...and the skin. In fact, they really extract water from the skin. You certainly have noticed that. Hence, a humectant need to be added to Soap. Glycerin or Sorbitol are example of humectants.
->Prefer soap with lot of humectant (too much humectant renders your soap soft). I have a preference for sorbitol, that leaves a better post shaving experience.
Not all fatty acids are the same! There is a dozen of very common fatty acids like: Palmitic Acid, Lauric Acid, Myristic acid, etc... In a specific (vegetable) oil, you will see a different proportion of all these fatty acids. In Palm Oil and Kernel Palm Oil you will, for example, find more...Palmitic acid. Palmitic acid and Oleic acid have foaming properties. Others are less foamy, but more appropriate for a dry skin (Linoleic Acid for example). Other are more appropriate if you have an allergy.
-> Hence, you can choose your (shaving) soap based on the fatty acid used for saponification.
On top of the fatty acid, and, hence, the oil used for the saponification reaction, very often, other oils are added in the soap AFTER the saponification. These are, often, essential oils like cedar wood oil, lavender oil, etc... Also other oils, can be added like olive oil, of other source of grease (Like Donkey's milk).
->Chose your soap based on the properties of the essential oil that your are looking for.
Some soaps - basically the cheaper products - have unnecessary ingredients in them. Or surfactants and detergents might be added.
->Avoid them. Prefer a higher quality product.

Hence, let's now go back to the two soaps proposed by Raz*War. Based on these example, you will understand why and how to choose your shaving soap.

Our "modern shaving soap" is made with palm oil which contains a very high concentration of Oleic Acid (38-40%) and Palmitic Acid (43%-45%). This provides a nurturing soap with a stable foam. There is a light excess of fatty acid making the soap more nurturing. Sorbitol is added in high proportion (7%) giving to our soap strong humectant qualities. But this humectant leaves also a a very agreable post shave feeling. Aloe Vera extract have different properties, including skin care properties. An essential oil, Bergamotte, is also added: Bergamotte is fresh and revitalizing and adapted to majority of skins.
The "classical shaving soap" is also mainly composed of palm oil. But, for this soap, Glycerin is used as humectant instead of Sorbitol, at a lower concentration. This more classical formulae is the formulae choosen by barbers. The ingredients will provide you with a more abundant foam.

Personally, I prefer our "Modern Shaving Soap". My secret formulae is to combine it with our truly magic shaving oil. The foam obtained is creamy and I very much like the perfume and the post shaving impression.

Please follow my advise for using the shaving soap. And after having obtained a creamy and rich lather, massage your face with the brush. Then after, after the "massage" motion, switch to a "painter" motion with your brush.

Next time, we will discuss the shaving creams...

And do not forget to visit the store.

The true magics of the combination of Shaving Oil and Shaving Soap!

2011-02-16T11:57:00.001+01:00

(This blog post never appeared on the RazWar Blog but is slightly adapted from my private blog)

As you know (For the regular reader of my posts at least), there is no one single day without me not testing and re-testing again the products Raz*War is selling and comparing them with competitor products. In the past, I was quite well organized in my "shaving experiments", but, now, I am more spontaneous. For the ones interrested, I even created http://www.rateyourshave.com on the basis of my daily shaving experiments. The experiment form that I posted on the website, is a form that I used at home for my own shaving experiments. Now, everyone can find it and download it for their own purpose. And Raz*War consumers can, even, contribute to the improvement of Raz*War brand through what I call "Social R&D"!

(To be honest with you, I am not sure a lot of people downloaded the form or,even, noticed it. I am, even, not sure that this is relevant info. Anyway... Maybe, you tell me?)

Whatever, today, I just would like to post of my discoveries made during my shaving experiments. I discovered that our shaving oil is the best shaving oil in combination with Raz*War soap. I stilll need to understand this. The "why" is not clear to me... But, what I am sure, is that you will obtain the same results in your bathroom.

For the moment, I tested only 4 shaving oils in combination with Raz*War soap. One from Khiel's, one from The Art of Shaving, a new potential formulation for Raz*War and Raz*War's current shaving oil. (I tested much more shaving oils in the past. But, in these last days, I was testing combinations of shaving oil + Raz*War soap). The readers who follow me know already my point of view about Raz*War shaving oil (Really a premium shaving oil: try it now). But what about the combination of shaving oil + soap? What I remarked clearly is that Raz*War Shaving Oil is the best oil for obtaining a first quality foam in a few seconds.

So, let's start with the beginning.

For many readers, the following steps are now well known, but I want to make things quite clear. First, take you shaving oil (See picture) and prepare your shaving by puting shaving oil on your face (For details of how using it: see following hyperlink: http://www.razwar.com/blogs/blog/2287272-the-pleasure-of-shaving-1 ).

Then, take your Raz*War soap ( A mild -and very pleasant- premium soap with Sorbitol as humectant instead of Glycerine, that normally produces moderate foam), and, with your fingers still wet of some shaving oil (The fingers you used for massaging your face with shaving oil), "rub" them on the reverse side of your soap. The very thin film of shaving oil on the reverse side of your shaving soap will make the différence! Chemically, it will be enough to obtain what is called an "emulsion" (To check out what is an emulsion, follow this link to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emulsion ).

Now, take your shaving brush. For my experiment, I took the synthetic fibres shaving brush. Make it wet (Not too wet. You can adapt the amount of water later). And, by rotating the brush on the reverse side of the soap (with a thin film of shaving oil), you will obtain in a few second a very creamy and pleasant foam. Test yourself! For me it, take FIVE seconds! (Hence, I cannot accept the argument of people saying that classical wetshaving takes too much time...)

For obtaining better results, you can, even use, a shaving bowl. Check it out

And, now, lets come to my conclusion with the results of this experiment:

For a still unknown reason, it is with Raz*War shaving oil (versus others) that I obtained the best and more pleasant creamy foam in the minimum of time! I wanted to share this news today, before getting an explanation. Do you have an explanation for me? :-)

I hope you will like this quite new info ...and that you will re-do the experiment yourself in your bathroom. Raz*War is about rediscovering "The Pleasure of Shaving". Hence, we want you to really like our products. If you like this post, share it with your friends!

Your comments (based on your experiments) are welcome.

Keep on shaving!

The Shaving Figures [Infographic]

2011-02-09T19:16:00.001+01:00

Here are a few data collected around shaving and put together in one page.

Feedback welcome.

The PLEASURE of shaving (3)

2011-01-03T12:36:00.001+01:00

The "lather-up" phase: Why you should avoid gels and foams?

At first, let me tell you what are the thing to consider when choosing a products:

The product need to leave the skin wet and to allow the wetness to stay
The product should not content menthol or benzocaine. These ingredients desensitize the skin (Hence, you are less able to choose the right amount of pressure to guide your razor) and closes the pores.
Avoid unneeded ingredients: alcohol, preservatives, dyes, toxic gases (Isobutane and propane): Gels and Foams are full of these.
The product should be easy to use.
The product should not stay on your face after cleansing and should leave a positive feeling after shave.

Ok, now that you get it right: Why should you avoid gels and foams?

Foams were introduced in the early forties and get immediately an immense success. It became suddenly extremely easy to obtain foam and lather up the skin. Gels were developed as a new generation product, to answer to the need of consumers to get at least some pampering. But, consider the following:

By essence, foam desiccates the hair: indeed, foam “attract” the wetness of the hair (see pre-shave products), especially the foams made without usage of water: the foam coming from cans. If the hair is dry, it will be more difficult for the blades to enter in it.
Of course, foam desiccates the skin also: As an impact, the razor head will glide not so easily
Consequence of the above: your blades will wear out more rapidly! I will try to find electronic microscope photograph for you. Difficult to find (I lost them) but amazing!
Gels and Foams contain preservatives, dyes. Some contains Menthol and/or Benzocaine (Yes: the famous Italian brand do offers a shaving cream with menthol. Avoid it).
The propellants of foams and gels are unhealthy and even, sometimes, toxic gases! Realize that the BUBBLES of the foams are made of isobutane or propane, instead of AIR (A foam obtained by yourself with soap is made of air). Hence, you put toxic gases in contact with your skin…
Last but not least, due to the fact that they are conserved in cans, gels and foams are polluting products…

Did I forget one reason why you should avoid gels and foams? Maybe. Maybe not. What is sure is that you know enough to quit shaving with foams or gels r to stay away from these products.

Next time, I will discuss shaving soaps and shaving creams.

Keep on shaving and enjoy “The Pleasure of Shaving”

Pierre,

The PLEASURE of shaving (2)

2010-12-22T10:34:00.001+01:00

The "lather-up" phase: the different kind of products

I need to start with a little « mea culpa ». Yes, Yes, I know your was waiting for this blog post since weeks now. People were writing me to ask me when will do I think I will issue my next blog post. Someone, met in the street, asked me the same question. As a matter of fact, I was blocked in reports to produce, in figures to pile up…

It is now time to go back to the pleasure of shaving.

In the quest of the perfect shave (see my last blog post), the second phase is the lathering up. A quite obvious phase apparently. But, this is untrue. It is maybe the most difficult phase; a critical phase in which you have to make the right choice in terms of product. In The Art of Shaving, the somewhat famous (for the amateurs of wet shaving) of Myriam Zaoui and Eric Malka, a lot of good advise are given for choosing the right products.

Let me summarize here the categories of product you can choose:

The Lather-Up Shaving cream:” By far the best and most effective product for the wet shave. It generate the richest possible lather” according to Myriam Zaoui and Erik Malka
The Non Lathering Shaving Cream: For a rapid an efficient shave. My advise, forget them
Shaving gel: A modern product, rapid to use. Good for the business traveler but that’s all. Quite polluting product also.
Shaving foam: Less modern that gels, rapid to use. The less environmental friendly product. To avoid. Maybe for the business executive.
Shaving soap: an entire category of product you need to rediscover. There are different kinds of shaving soaps. As lather up shaving creams, shaving soaps are among the best products available.
Shaving oil: used as pre-shave, shaving oils possess wonderful capabilities. They are so efficient that they might be used for shaving, without usage of soaps and creams. For the adventurous traveler (biking, hiking, mountaineering)
To end up that list, I need to mention the “depilatory cream and powders”. Use them at your own peril.

I will not discuss all these products here. But you already understand that the choice is difficult. I will start with the products you should avoid when possible: gels and foams. Yes, I hear you from here, “putting aside my gels and foams? You are crazy? ». But wait a little....

I will you explain why you should avoid gels and foams in my next blog post.

Meanwhile, enjoy “The pleasure of Shaving” and Keep on shavin’

Pierre,

Did you know that your grain has a particular shaving orientation?

2010-12-14T14:17:00.001+01:00

Image Source: http://baldheadtips.com/

Each men has his own facial hair growth orientation but the question men often ask theselves the first time they shave is: "Should I shave with or against the grain?"

The grain is the global orientation that your hair will take after a couple of days of growing up.

Just take a few minutes to go with your hand on your hair. If you feel a rough sensation you are going against the grain, on the opposite if you feel a soft sensation you are going with the grain. Normally the healthy way to shave is with the grain but some pretend that against the grain you will have a closer shave and others begin with the grain and end against it.

Which one do you like more?

Shaving with the grain will avoid cuts, ingrowing hairs and razor burn.

Shaving against the grain can create ingrowing hair because you will catch the hair at another level below your skin.

Furthermore don't forget that when you shave you are not only taking care of your hair but your are also putting away a slightly part of your skin, then be gentle with your skin and choose to shave with the grain ;-)

The shaving power of YOU (1)

2010-11-23T13:23:00.001+01:00

This is a first post of a serie that will be focusing on YOU.

At Raz*War we strongly believe that our best ambassadors are our customers: YOU. We often receive feedback of our customers' experiences with our shaving products and related services (such as our subscriptions). We think it is time to share some of those with the world.

We are proud of these great (shaving) stories happening to you with Raz*War. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is less good but we always try to find a tailor-made solution.

Here is a first testimonial from Phil R., living in the UK. So you know, we have replied to his "little issue with his wife" by sending to the couple an extra El Fidel handle so that they can live happily ever after in their home avoiding a shaving war ;-)

Message received by email :

"Good morning...some good news...and some bad news......

Received my order, and yet again I have to say the El Fidel is the BEST shave I have ever had, the handle has style and function and is possibly impossible to improve on. 100% satisfied and a committed long term customer for the future.

The bad news...my beautiful partner Clare borrowed my El Fidel for a bit of "lady shaving" and was so impressed she asked me to order some razors for her to replace her existing "main" brand razor ( for her legs I need to add :-) ). I therefore ordered the El Che...for ladies..it arrived..she tried it...and disaster.(...)..sorry guys but not a success at all. Is it not possible to give the El Fidel a feminine touch...quality is hard to beat...maybe you guys could look into producing the El Fidel with some nice little "female" motifs?

So guys what can we do?....love the product...love the concept..but you got to help me or Clare is gonna steal my razor!!!!

Keep up the good work ...vive la revolution !!!"

picture sent by Phil R.

Do you want to share your stories with Raz*War? Drop us an email on wecare@razwar.com

Enjoy the pleasure of shaving.
David Hachez - co-founder Raz*War

The PLEASURE of shaving (1)

2010-11-17T13:35:00.001+01:00

A good shave starts with a good preparation

After 5 blog-posts dedicated to the maths of shaving, I propose now a series of 5 blog-posts about the PLEASURE of shaving. Believe me: I am now really an expert in shaving. Maybe BigRazCo or another shaving brand will once knock at the door to hire me for getting that knowledge.

I read all large share of all key patents regarding shaving.. and continue to study the remaining one. I went back to old biochemistry books to understand saponification reaction (A chemical process that produces soap from fatty acid derivatives)to be sure Raz*War produces the best shaving soap for you. I studied rheology and lubricating mechanism to be sure we produce the best shaving oil. I read hundred of blogs and articles about shaving. I am so expert in shaving that I have to admit that, as Socrates, I know...nothing (...As I realize the large amount of knowledge I still need to master).

But, be sure of one thing, Raz*War is a brand which is really wanting to produce qualitative products for you, and really dedicated to improve its products in the future. There IS an actual R&D in Raz*War (And you take part in it, as we already explained). There IS a commitment to put reality behind "the PLEASURE of shaving" baseline...

Also, for two years, nearly all of my shaving acts have become scientific experiments: "What does happen If I take shower before shaving?" "And If I use a peeling cream before?" "How many days can I shave with my 5 blades razor head if I use oil?" "What happen if I start shaving again with one day without shave" "Do my wife recognizes a shave WITH shaving oil and shave WITHOUT shaving oil" .."How many ingrown hairs do I get if I do this, etc... ". I, even, prepared specific documents for helping me rate my shave: (You will find them on http://www.rateyourshave.com)

Hence, it is clear that I feel confident to share with you some good shaving tips to help you getting towards the "perfect shave". Today, we will discuss about how to prepare the shave... I suggest you follow the following two steps:

(1)Firstly: Wash and rinse your face with hot water:

By washing and rinsing your face with hot water, you will help clean up your faces of all impurities (including death skin, etc..), you remove the bacteria (use 50°C hot water) -which often cause redness, irritation or even infection- and you allow the opening of the pores (allowing a more comfortable shave). But hot water also plays a role by somewhat "softening" the hair itself by direct action on the hair itself and also through action on the hair follicles (the base of the hair).

In the quest for the "perfect shave", although I personally do not do it every day, I recommend to use some soap, to remove the oily constituents from the surface of the air, that would prevent water from soaking the whiskers and/or the hair to be removed (remember, as I just wrote, that water plays a role in softening the air. Hence, water need to "reach" the hair...). If you use soap, then rinse your face, with hot water too. Do certainly wash your face with soap for the next shave if you have given your face on day "free of shave".

(2)Then, apply the Raz*War shaving oil :

Apply one to two drops of your Raz*War shaving oil on the top of 4 fingers (discard the thumb) and then gently massage the face still wet with the oil so that it is evenly distributed throughout the to-be-shaved areas. Shaving oil allows easier sliding of the razor head on the skin, avoiding cuts and reducing redness and irritation.

The oil also allows the blades to "better get into the hair" thus avoiding "pull and tug" on the hair. "Tug and pull" problems are often generated by last generation of multi-blades razors. "Ingrown hairs" appear often... But, the usage of oil prevents ingrown hairs by allowing a more even distribution of hair cuts. According to me, this is already enough to strongly recommend shaving oil. Personally, since I use shaving oil (as pre-shave method), I got..only one episode of ingrown hair (obtained using an oil of a competitor...). I never get, in two years time, an episode of ingrown hair using our Raz*War shaving oil! (Before Raz*War, I get up to 10 episodes a year).

The oil will also help the action of soap, ensuring proper hydration of the skin and leave a pleasant sensation post-shave. A little more difficult to understand, but key: The oil prevent water to evaporate or to be absorbed by the foam of the soap. What happen, is that the oil, put immediately on the face after rinsing, creates a very thin layer or film on the hair itself, "blocking" the water or preventing the foam to "suck" the water from the soaked hair. Just observe yourself what happen if you use only a typical foam, to be obtained from any retailer, and you wait a little (2 minutes?) before shaving: the foam will have made your hair dry, and the razor blades will gradually be more and more noisy (because hairs dried). The day after, make the same experiment, but use shaving oil (and shaving soap instead of foam). Strange, no?

Finally, oil extends the life of the blades. Indeed, as a mineral oil would allow a chainsaw to enter in wood, the shaving oil enters in the hair. And as the chainsaw would be less rapidly worn out by using oil, your razor blades will also last longer by using shaving oil. (See also my blog "The MATHS of shaving (5)" about economic impact of using oil).

Did you correctly prepared you shave? Yes? Sure? All steps carefully respected? Then, you have already accomplished a major part of you "perfect shave". In the next blog post, I will explain you how to lather the skin using a shaving soap or a shaving cream. Make sure you empty your last bottles of gels and foams: you will no use them anymore after reading the advantages of soap and creams...

Enjoy the PLEASURE of shaving...

The MATHS of shaving (5)

2010-11-02T11:56:00.001+01:00

Why you should absolutely use pre-shave oil!

Time is coming up now to end up with “The MATHS of shaving” series: this is the 5th and last issue. Next week, I will start with “The PLEASURE of shaving” series. Today, I would like to prove that if you use the correct shaving accessories, you can further reduce your annual shaving bill. There is one key accessory that I strongly advise for the amateur of wetshaving, who is in quest of the perfect shave: Shaving Oil. I will be honest with you: when founding Raz*War to answer to the (shocking) shaving market oligopoly situation, I didn’t know that shaving oils were so efficient and useful. I know, now, everything about them! And I am completely amazed!

Why do the “shaving giants”, “BigRazCo” and the other, do not promote them? I think that part of the answer lies… in the proof of today (But let’s be honest, BigRazCo is not so malicious. Oils are also perceived –unjustly- as old generation product, and that’s the second part of the answer). If you would like to dive a little deeper into the subject, I suggest you search on the web and look for some electronic microscope photographs of razor edges affected by foams and gels… You will quickly understand that these products really do not help extend the life of your razor blades.

Instead, I strongly advise to use shaving oil (as pre-shave product, in combination with a semi-synthetic shaving brush and a mild shaving soap). Since I started using shaving oil, I have no more issue of ingrown hairs. The shaving oil allows me to get the “Baby Butt Shave” level (…as we, as “shaving specialists” use to say). Another interesting collateral effect: my spouse never complaint anymore about my “itchy beard”. Also, due to the lathering and moisturizer effect, the typical “burning skin” effect disappears. These, already, are arguments that are powerful enough to motivate you to buy shaving oil (Hence: do so, before finishing reading this blog-post, and click on the following hyperlink ;-)).

But, today, as I am in our weekly MATHS of shaving exercise, I will no longer examine these “comfort” arguments further (I will do that my next series of blogs post: “The PLEASURE of shaving”). Here, I just would like to assess the impact of using shaving oil on your annual shaving bill. It will be quite easy to do, though.

What happen is that shaving oil, due to its lubricating characteristics, will strongly enhance the extent of usage of your blades. This due to the fact that oil will help the blade to enter in the hair to be cut, as lubricating mineral oil would help a “chainsaw” to enter in wood. A good shaving oil could double the lifetime of your razor blades. That’s enough to take your calculator and start yourself the calculation. Consider now the graph I prepared for you:

The graph shows the impact on your wallet of using shaving oil. For making the graph, I made the comparison of our “EL Fidel” 5blades per razor head (premium razor) with a premium razor of BigRazCo. For the stake of simplicity, I considered that you change your blades a little less than every week (what you should normally do if you are not using shaving oil, even with highly qualitative 5blades/razor: our own model and the one from BigRazCo). The first column correspond to the price of buying 48 BigRazCo razor heads per year (With average unit price: 4,2 Euros). The second column corresponds to the price of a 48 razors heads/year “El Fidel” subscription plan (Raz*War premium razor). The third column features the annual cost of your blades by using a highly qualitative oil (I included the price of the oil (3 bottles). 3 to 4 bottles of Raz*War shaving oil, used as pre-shave oil, should be enough). Finally, the fourth column features the annual cost of your blades using a 24 razors heads per year subscription plan (With, also, the price of the oil included). Of course, you need to add the price of the other accessories (Gels, Foams, soaps, after-shave balm): I did not include them here for facilitating the calculations (which would have been very favorable to Raz*War).

One day, after completing my “PLEASURE of shaving” and my “SCIENCE of shaving” series, I will return back to a new “MATHS of shaving” series. Then, I will calculate the TOTAL COST of your annual shaving bill. You will be amazed. And I will prove that the “perfect shave” is not necessarily costly. The thing is that you need to do clever and well informed choices. And that is what I will help you to do. At this time, I would like to really deeply insist on something: A pre-shave oil clearly impacts the quality of your shave! Hence, do not hesitate and buy it now.

But to conclude today’s shaving math’s exercise, I wanted to prove that shaving oil can strongly reduce your annual shaving bill. It appeared quite clearly from the graphs featured today.

CQFD. Next week, I will start with the “PLEASURE of shaving” series.

Pierre

PS: do not forget our Raz*War Xmas giftboxes. There are some with our amazing shaving oil…

The MATHS of shaving (4)

2010-10-20T16:18:00.001+02:00

Looking at the production costs…

As I explained in my last blog post, the too high margins that BigRazCo takes on its premium razors impacts the operational profit of BigRazCo itself and is the rationale behind the incredibly high price that BigShark paid for acquiring BigRazCo in 2005.

In today’s blog post, I would like to dive with you in the production costs of a Razor Blade and prove, from there, that profit margins are too high. Not anyone can produce qualitative razor blades. In total we have identified 5 major players. Three of them produce razor blades for “private labels” and two produces their razors and razors blades under the very well known shaving brands. One of these two is: BigRazCo.

Many years before it has been acquired, BigRazCo was convinced of infringing competition law in EU, by creating, tough buying shares of its main competitor in Europe, a real razor and razor blades monopoly. In the explanation of the judgment, some hints about production costs were revealed: at that time, the minimum investment to produce a de novo model was estimated to 150 million Euros, creating a huge barrier to entry. (Judgment said that given to the high barriers to entry, BigRazCo would have gained an inexpugnable monopoly position if investment in competitor was accepted under EU law).

It is indeed quite difficult to produce razor blades. You need special steel, for example. The “razor edge” is difficult to obtain (The razor egde reaches 300 angstrom in thickness, making it just 30 times larger than atoms size only…) and you need a special quality of steel (with more carbon in it), that, apparently, only one steel producer produces (see on on my next blog post). But, is it so expensive that it explains the price?

Certainly not. The barrier to entry explains the prices. The recent very good news issued by BigShark (A news that I will –honestly-celebrate in a next blog post), the owner of BigRazCo, to launch a razor at 11 cents (45 times lower price than the price of a premium razor in Europe) as retail price in India provides you also with some hints.

But let’s dive into the maths. Imagine a new razor blades producing plant aimed at serving Europe and that costs 150 million Euros (With share of production costs included). Consider now that this factory produces 1 billion razor heads per year. This would not be enough to cover market needs for BigRazCo blades in Europe; as a “Back of the envelope” calculation suggests: Based on EU population, and considering the market share of BigRazCo in Europe and the frequency cardrige refills, a least 1,3 billion blades are needed. But, let’s keep my figures: by using them, we get to an investment cost per blade of 15 cents, just for the first year after opening the plant. Keep now this figure in mind: you could use to check if we can believe the figures I am presenting now:

Last year, the Dailymail online issued an article where the production costs of blades were revealed. Thanks to this article, I was able to produce the graph here-below:

This graph is adapted from an analysis published by Sean Poulter. (No hyperlink is provided as the true name of BigRazCo is mentioned in the original article. But, you can still search Google if you want: “Sharp practice”? The razor heads that cost just 5p to make”). Here is how I established the graph: The retail price in UK of the premium razor I have in mind is 2,43 GBP, which, converted in Euros, makes 2,91 EUR. But, in continental Europe, razor heads are costlier (less competitive market). It can reach up to 4,50 EUR per razor head (The new model coming soon is even more expensive). I took the average price in Belgium - 4.05 EUR per razor head- based on our store checks, and applied the UK cost structure. Hence, the figures featured in the graph should be considered as approximate figures only as, for example, VAT differs from one country to the other.

What to learn from this graph? At first, you should ask yourself: Should I believe these figures? That’s what I asked myself: Is Sean Poulter not exaggerating? I am afraid not…but I am not sure. Hence, I will continue my quest for the truth… (I promise you!). But, and that’s what you have to learn from such kind of “Maths of shaving” exercise: Even if Sean Poulter or I was wrong by a factor of 2, profit margins would still be extremely high!

And now, let’s calculate the margins in percentages. The figures on the graph means that BigRazCo takes a 65% profit margin (with which you still need to pay the marketing costs, part of the salaries of football, tennis and golf stars, etc…). Even half of this sum would already be a large number! Let’s now make the reasoning in “mark up”: divide the profit margin by the sum of “production costs” and “packaging costs”. What do you get? A mark-up of 2245%! Good business to be in, no?

Margins on razor blades are much too high. That’s what I wanted to show.

CQFD.

More shaving maths later (Don’t miss the last “Maths of shaving” episode…).

Raz*War en Nascom lanceren (Mobiele Scheer-) iPhone-applicatie

2010-10-18T18:41:00.001+02:00

Growth Bridge en Nascom (www.nascom.be) vertrokken vanuit een simpele stelling. Een man uit de 21ste eeuw vindt het best moeilijk om de juiste scheermesjes te kopen. Via de Raz*War-scheerproducten (www.razwar.com) van Growth Bridge, lanceren Growth Bridge en Nascom nu samen een iPhone applicatie.

Met de gratis applicatie "Raz*War" kan je van op om het even welke iPhone of iPod touch je scheermesjes bijvullen op basis van het geselecteerde scheermesmodel (eenvoudig of geavanceerd). Raz*War richt zich vooral op mannen die houden van de allernieuwste technologische snufjes, en zelfs gadgetliefhebbers.

Opgelet met snijwondjes tijdens je aankoop ;-)

Heb jij een iPhone (of iPod touch)?

Download dan nu de gratis applicatie: http://i5.be/bbo

Over Raz*War

Het merk Raz*War en de site razwar.com werden in de zomer van 2009 gelanceerd door Growth Bridge (growthbridge.eu). Dit Belgische bedrijf werd opgericht door drie 'serial ondernemers'. Raz*War wil kwaliteits-scheerproducten aanbieden aan een juiste prijs.

Nascom (nascom.be) is een innoverend bedrijf, gespecialiseerd in het ontwikkelen van technologische platformen. Daarbij verbindt het alle businessaspecten met een hoog niveau van interactie, dat nodig is om een totaaloplossing te kunnen bieden.

Meer informatie:

David Hachez - Brand Activist Raz*War - +32 476 969 838 - david(at)razwar.com

Stephane Leborgne - Creative Director - +32 486 688 017 - stephane.leborgne(at)nascom.be

Raz*War wins the Bizz Starters Award

2010-10-14T18:04:00.001+02:00

Last night we won the first edition of the Bizz Starter Awards organized by Bizz (Trends) from Roularta.

Following the event an interview with Kanaal Z was logical ;-)

(interview in Dutch)

The MATHS of Shaving (3)

2010-10-04T13:00:00.001+02:00

Where does the money go?

In my last blog-posts, I showed that our very big (and respectful) competitor, “BigRazCo” clearly was making a fool of you by claiming extremely high margins for their Razor and Razor blades.

But, in these time of social protest and implementation of austerity measures, where too high profits taken on the back of the consumers puts the culprit company in the spot light, it might be useful to tell you where the money, taken out of YOUR pocket, goes. No surprise: in the pocket of the shareholders.

Let’s be clear: I have no problem with that, as I am also myself a shareholder and as all employees and my partners at Raz*War are shareholders too. But, you would certainly agree that, sometimes, company profits could be too large and, in some case, even indecent. On my side, instead, I feel being a “social” shareholder (This is very “Raz*War” :-)) and... I have my doubt about "BigRazCo” being it too...

You, dear readers, are the sole judge of how we could qualify BigRazCo profits. The Shaving MATHS exercise of today will help you.

BigRazCo was swallowed by a well known (and well respected. FYI, I am an alumni of this company) bigger fish that we will call “BigShark” for the stake of facility (we have the policy to not name our competitors). This deal was made for 57 billion USD, in 2005, placing this deal in the top 10 among biggest ever mega purchasing deal at this time. Looking at BigRazCo, in 2004 (the year before the acquisition), the company Razor and Razor Blades division made 4,43 billion USD in sales, with an unbelievably high 1,63 billion USD in operating profit (A 38% profit margin:by itself, already a message). BigRazCo had (and still have) two other division; one for cell batteries and one for electrical toothbrushes. But, in 2004 and 2005, the two others divisions were operating moderately well: Hence, The Razor and Razor blades division made 68% of the operating profit. It was notorious, also, that BigShark was interested by BigRazCo for the Razor & Razor blades business, and not by the other divisions (that they intended to sell).

Let’s start the math:

We could assume (despite I just said it is somewhat false) that 68% of the purchase price concerned the Razor and Razor blade business, as this division accounted for 68% of the operating profits (Hence, I undervalue the Razor and Razor blade business). This would mean that the Razor and Razor blade business was worth 37 billion USD. At this time, BigRazCo had 415 million razor and razor blades consumer.This means that BigShark paid 93 USD per consumer. You can now compare that to other deals. Take, for example, the purchase of “Alberto Culver” by Unilever, just finalized last week, on Sept 27. Unilever paid 3,5 billion USD for a company active in hair & skin care (hence: comparable to BigRazCo). And the company had an estimate 200 million consumers (Just for information: the stock-exchange analyst Morningstar said Unilever overpaid Alberto Culver..). This means that Unilever paid an estimate 17 USD per consumer.

It is clear that Big Shark paid an incredibly high sum for BigRazCo, just because BigRazCo captures incredibly high margins on their razors and razors blades. Now imagine what BigRazCo is worth in the hands of BigShark: since the retail prices of the blades further increased, by at least 35% (vs 2005), and since the brand claims (in its advertising leaflets) having now 600 million consumers… Probably, with the same valuation metrics, BigRazCo would be valued in the 100 billion dollars range...

It is quite clear, when you buy a BigRazCo razor or razor blades, that a large part of the price is, simply, profit. Hence, if you buy a razor of, say, 20 USD, be aware that 8 USD will go into the wallet of the shareholder (before taxes). One advise, if you would like to keep buying BigRazCo blades: buy “Big Shark” stock shares too, at least you would have the feeling to recuperate some of the money taken out from your consumer wallet. Another, better, advise: switch to Raz*War…And do it now, by clicking on this link http://www.razwar.com

CQFD. More shaving maths later.

The MATHS of Shaving (2)

2010-09-28T15:18:00.001+02:00

Are the well known two Razor and Razor Blades industry players making a fool of you? Are they making fun of you? Of course, they do! And I will prove it now in this new "MATH of shaving" episode.

The well-acquainted with the Razor and Razor Blades industry is probably aware of the major new product launch currently organized by the most renowned worldwide leader (we never quote the name of our competitors) for its brand-new, even more expensive, “system razor” (i.e. razor with refill cartridges). For the stake of facility, let's name "BigRazCo" the dominant player we have in mind. The new target market envisioned by "BigRazCo" is UK, where the launch is foreseen...in end of September; hence now or in a few days. As the UK market is a very competitive market (“white labels” brands have more power, for example) and as the major competitor of the worldwide leader is also planning to launch a new model, “BigRazCo” recently announced "The biggest FMCG launch in UK ever". Something that might be key also in their decision to prepare a “big launch”: in UK, there is a small company that produces Razor and Razor blades which also wants to fight against giants. This prominent colleague -and we greet him here- clearly announced that "The War of Razors will soon happen in UK”. It might be in the plan of “BigRazCo”, and the other company, to crush him… Whatever, in his blog, the founder of this small UK Company also quoted some figures, which I will use for my MATH shaving exercise of today (I cross checked the figure, and they seems to be true).

Apparently, the #1 player, "BigRazCo", plans to spend 100 million GBP in marketing for this new launch. The #2 player will be happy with a modest 20 million GBP marketing budget for its own new model. Translated in Euros, this will mean approx 120 million Euros (September exchange rate). Let's now start our calculations: According to World Bank, there are approx. 62 million people in UK. Per capita, the marketing budget of the new razor model is, thus, close to 2 Euros. Let's now assume that 50% of the population are males: thus, per male, “BigRazCo” expects to invest 4 Euros. According to thorough market surveys, 23.4 millions UK males use razor blades and electric shavers, with electric shavers used by 25% of this population. Hence, 17.5 millions UK males are adept of "wetshaving" (Shaving with razor blades). According to another study, disposable razors accounts for 19% of the value of razors& razor blades sold (Good news, as disposable razors are extremely polluting). Considering that shaving with disposable razors is at least twice cheaper, we get to the point that 60% of male "wetshavers" use system razors. Hence, this means that “BigRazCo” wants to spend 12 Euros per “system razors” user: a quite high figure already (as would any Fast Moving Consumer Goods expert notice). But, the reasoning is not finished… Let’s now turn to the graph I prepared for you:

Did you get the graph correctly?

Ok, so let’s continue the calculations. For doing so, I need to dive into my market surveys figures. According to them, “BigRazCo” has a 70% market share in UK and its latest product has got a 25% market share. As you saw on the graph here above, dividing the 120 million Euros expected to be spent by the number of “BigRazCo” clients will mean 17 Euros per customer. Let's now consider, based on these market survey figures, that “BigRazCo” would like to reach a 20% overall market share: The total budget per maximum number of customers would reach an astounding 58 Euros per customer (=expected maximum number of customers for “BigRazCo” new model). And, now, to conclude, let’s consider that “BigRazCo” would only succeed to get one third of its maximum objective - which is a realistic objective, at least in the medium term- then, it would have paid …175 Euros per customer (See graph: “id.” means “idem”. “Id.1.” refers to column 1 and means “same as column 1 but male only”. “Id.5.” refers to the 5th column. Etc.).

Let's be honest, even If I was wrong by a factor of 10, this would have been a huge budget. Why can such huge advertising budgets been spent? Because the two worldwide giants takes, on the back of the customer, extremely high profit margins (These high margins will be the subject of a one my next blog posts). Hence, it is clear that the razor and razor blades players are making a fool of you.

CQFD. More shavings news later...

The MATHS of shaving (1)

2010-09-21T12:36:00.001+02:00

Have you already calculated how much you spend in razor and razor blades per year? If not, you should do... And you would be astonished.
Let's consider first that you are a man and that you buy system razors, i.e. a handle with refill cartridges (much less polluting that the disposable razors) or razor blades. We assume also that your are aged between 25 and 35 years. Let's now consider your are the "average" consumer: then, according to our research, you would pay an average 2,05 Euros per refill razor head and you change your blades every 9 days. This will cost you 83 Euros per year. Not too much isn't? Only 4 months of internet connections in an expensive country... Although, if you add this cost will all the other costs (foams, gels, pre-shave, after-shave), this will already reach a quite significant figure (see one of my next blog posts)...

Imagine now that you keep buying the "average" blades and that you change your razor heads once a week, you would pay 107 Euros per year. If you change every 5 days (what is required for some blades), you would pay 150 Euros per year. It starts already to becomes a fortune.

Let's continue: imagine now you buy only premium system razors, with razor heads having 4, 5 or even 6 blades (yes, yes, it exists!). Put yourself in the situation: you would like to seduce women (or men), you crave for "Baby Butt" shave, you would like to feel in the shoes of a top tennis-man or a top soccer player... And you don't resist to buy the highest priced system razors: 4,5 Euros per razor head (5blades per razor head). Your annual bill would reach 183 Euros per year if you change your razor heads each 9 days, 235 Euros per week if you change your razor heads each week and 329 Euros per week/each 5 days.
I have met once (I swear its true!) someone who changes his razor heads...every day. Hence, if he switch to a premium razor, his annual bill will amount to...1643 Euros per year. More than the annual salary of a lot of workers in the world (In Bengladesh, the minimal monthly wages as been raised to 38 USD...)

I prepared the following graph for you for comparing Raz*War to an average priced razor head (Say a two or three blades per razor head, average quality, private label brand) and a high priced razor head (The most expensive razor head -till now, as a yet more expensive is expected!!! - available, proposed by the well known multinational company...).

As you know, RazWar proposes razor blades subscriptions plans. Hence, I compared the subscriptions plans to what would be the equivalent for the average priced and the high priced brands. For the "El Che" Model (one high quality razor head with 3 blades) , there is three subscription plans available:30blades/year, 60 blades/year and 90 blades per year. For the "El Fidel" Model (one premium quality razor head with 5 blades), there is two subscriptions plans available : 24 blades/year and 48 blades/year. Hence, to allow the comparison, I adapted the unit price of the "El Fidel" to the 30-60-90 blades/year scheme.
The graph speaks per itself. No? Just imagine now that instead of keeping buying your very expensive razor blades 90 times per year, you switch to a 48 razor heads/5 blades per year "El Fidel" subscription plan: you would win 301 Euros per year...

For 301 Euros (your annual saving), you could get a 5stars hotel stay somewhere in Tunisia...
CQFD. More Shaving Maths later...

Pierre,

Raz*War SECOND PHASE

2010-09-03T15:34:00.001+02:00

Dear fans, dear customers, dear brand ambassadors.

Thank you for your feed-back, your suggestions, your “good words” and your support till now.

Today, we are entering in the “second phase” of our “s(h)ave the world” revolution. Raz*War was born on-line, but, the Raz*War community wants it to leave the “virtual only” and to be available in some selected “brick and mortar” shops, closer to you, in your “everyday’s” life. Raz*War is now going down that route. And again, we need your support for doing so: can you tell us in which stores/boutiques you would like to find Raz*War? Are you ready to speak about us to the merchants? Do you have contacts names and tips for us? Can you introduce us to these partners? Please shoot! And tell us here (on Facebook) or directly to me: pdn@growthbridge.eu.

Thank you! And, keep on shavin’…

Pierre

Why RazWar is called RazWar?

2010-08-23T12:24:00.001+02:00

What's in a name?

Raz*War comes etymologically from the word ”raz" that is found in the word ”razor" (but also raser, rasieren, rasierer ...) and “war" which means ”fight". In other words and in a humoristic way, Raz*War implies a fight in the shaving market. But the war that we’re initiating is decidedly a non-violent war (the razor is not to be seen as a weapon) and this war should be taken with great humor by all its ambassadors and customers.

But we can also say that "Raz" has a Norman origin. It derives from a Viking word meaning “quick flow“. ”Raz" shares the root with the word "Race”. To sum up, “Raz” is a quick flow, a wave that is rapidly spreading (a tidal wave).

In computing terminology "raz" also means "reset” (in French "remise à zéro").

Is this "reset” necessary in the current world of shaving? We think so, that’s why Raz*War was born. And we think that a "backwards shift" (as implied by a reset) is needed to fuel the Raz*War revolution.

Raz*War is therefore seeking to shake the well-established rules in our consumer society.

The Raz*War revolution is both a subtle mixture of modernity and past. A step back to basics to rediscover affordable quality shaving and incite the consumer to think about his consumer habits. Raz*War also brings forward more eco-friendly packaging and an innovative distribution method: the shaving subscription plan.

Avec Raz*War, je ne pique plus le soir!

2010-08-20T10:02:00.001+02:00

Un petit « blog post » à l’attention des Français, que nous désirons soigner attentivement (nous préparons quelque chose pour la France bientôt). De plus, comme le français est ma langue maternelle, bien plus facile…

Comme vous vous l’imaginez, je suis évidemment client des produits que je vends. Figurez-vous d’ailleurs que, comme tous les autres fondateurs et collaborateurs de Raz*War, on ne puise pas dans le stock pour notre consommation personnelle. Non, non : nous passons-tous par la fameuse interface http://www.razwar.com; histoire de bien se mettre dans la peau du client.

Et, justement, c’est en se mettant dans la peau du client qu’on fait les plus grandes découvertes. Depuis que je me rase avec notre marque, je n’ai que des avantages : meilleur confort de rasage, lames qui durent plus longtemps, impression post-rasage plus agréables, plus de poils incarnés, mais aussi et surtout : je ne pique plus ! Ca peut paraitre bête, mais je me suis rendu compte de ce dernier avantage que depuis peu. Mais quel avantage. Je vais quand même citer un désavantage pour l’usage de la marque : je passe plus de temps dans la salle de bain ; ce qui a un impact sur toute la vie de famille…

Mais bon : revenons-en à cette grande découverte. En fait, depuis bien longtemps, mon épouse avait remarqué que ma peau était bien plus agréable le soir… mais c’est après avoir testé un produit concurrent qu’un soir, Florence, mon épouse me dit « Mais tu piques, ce soir », repérant ainsi que j’avais du faire quelque chose de différent. En fait, je n’avas pas utilisé de l’huile de rasage…

Bien sûr, nous avons de bons produits chez Raz*War, mais je ne crois pas que ce soit ni « El Ché » ni « El Fidel » qui, en tant que tels, font la différence, ou en tout cas, ils ne font pas la différence seuls, au point que mon épouse repère à la première caresse que je n’ai pas utilisé ma marque. Le savon alors ? Le savon, c’est certain, comporte plein d’avantage ; tous les amateurs et les professionnels du rasage classique vous le diront : un bon savon (ou une bonne crème) vaut bien mieux que tous les gels et mousse. En plus, nous avons un bon savon. En fait, la différence principale vient de l’huile, je l’ai vérifié par après.

Utiliser une huile de (pré)rasage est peut-être le meilleur conseil que je puisse donner. Quelques gouttes d’une huile de rasage (4 à 5 gouttes, que vous versez à l’extrémité des doigts) suffisent. Vous massez ensuite votre visage et vous frottez vos doigts sur le savon que vous utiliserez ensuite : l’huile aidera à former une excellente émulsion : autrement dit une mousse fort agréable.

L’huile va contribuer de diverses manières à un rasage confortable et efficace. Premièrement, l’huile va permettre à la tête du rasoir de bien glisser sur la peau. Ce faisant, l’on évite la formation de petites « bosses » de peau qui viendraient en travers des lames, créant ainsi des coupures, que ce soit pour un mono-lame ou un multi-lames. Deuxièmement, l’huile va permettre au tranchant de la lame de bien rentrer dans le poil à couper (Un peu comme l’huile que l’on met sur une tronçonneuse…), diminuant, au passage, l’usure de la lame. Troisièmement, l’effet lubrifiant aura aussi un impact sur le confort de rasage. Enfin, l’huile va permette la création d’une émulsion agréable ; une belle mousse qui va encore contribuer à l’efficacité et au confort du rasage.

Il faut maintenant choisir une bonne huile. En fait, ces dernières années, les huiles ont fortement progressé. Nous sommes loin de l’huile d’olive utilisées par nos ancêtres. Ce n’est pas, bien sûr, chez les deux géants du rasage qu’il faut aller chercher ces huiles : elles allongent la durée des lames et sont moins chères –à l’usage- que mousse et gels et ces géants savent compter, mais chez les marques de rasage classique. Le choix de l’huile est important : il y a de bonnes et mauvaises huiles. Elle doit être suffisamment liquide, mais pas trop. Il faut éviter qu’elle soit graisseuse et difficile à éliminer par la suite. Il y a aussi une « science » de l’huile de rasage : la composante « végétale » d’une bonne huile de rasage contribuera au glissement efficace et agréable de la tête du rasoir sur le visage et la composante « minérale » contribuera à l’entrée de la lame dans le poil à couper. Une bonne huile à donc une composante minérale et végétale.

Lorsque nous avons choisi et élaboré notre huile de rasage, nous ne savions pas qu’elle était aussi bonne. Maintenant que nous l’avons comparée à d’autres (je me suis farci beaucoup de tests), sa qualité nous apparait encore plus manifeste. Il y a quelque temps, j’ai réalise des tests de notre huile par rapport à celle d’une marque dite « de grande qualité » ; et je pensais que l’huile de cette marque (marque récemment achetée par un très grand groupe de produits de consommation, qui possède aussi cette marque de rasoirs que vous connaissez bien) serait supérieure. Après trois essais de une semaine (et trois épisodes de poils incarnés) avec la marque concurrente, je me suis rendu à l’évidence : notre huile Raz*War est vraiment une très bonne huile. Une très très bonne huile. Faites-le savoir autour de vous !

Et voilà pourquoi, depuis que je me rase avec notre marque, j’obtiens chaque fois un rasage de qualité « Baby Butt Shave » (Qualité fesses de bébé) qui plait aux femmes, et à la mienne ! Je ne pique plus le soir et ma femme me le fait savoir… Donc, pour ceux qui sortent le soir, plus besoin d’un second rasage et pour ceux qui veulent tout faire pour séduire : le chewing-gum « holywood » pour l’haleine et l’huile de rasage pour un rasage de qualité, qui dure plus de 12 heures.

Ma plus grande découverte avec Raz*War, c’est donc l’intérêt d’utiliser une huile de rasage. Faites le tour du marché : plusieurs marques en proposent. Mais revenez vite chez nous : on vous assure que notre huile est vraiment bonne.

A très bientôt.

Did you know? - Tips about our shaving products with Marina

2010-07-20T12:28:00.001+02:00

The Raz*War Shaving Brush

Do you really know how to use a shaving brush?

Step 1: Soak you shaving brush in hot water, only a few seconds will be enough to absorb the water needed to react with your shaving soap.

Step 2: Soak your face also with hot water to prepare and soften your hair; the best moment to shave is directly after the bad or the shower.

Step 3: Swirl the shaving brush hair on your soap until you have a nice foam on the top of your brush hair.

Step 4: Apply the foam on your hair. Move up-and-down and do not make any swirl with the brush ;-) The brush will massage your skin, remove dead cells and prepare your hair for the cut.

Step 5: After the shave, rinse your brush with cold water, remove the remaining water with your hand and place your brush with its hair straight up.

You are ready ;-)

Until next time!

Marina

Did you know? - Tips about our shaving products with Marina

2010-07-12T17:21:00.001+02:00

Did you know that your El Ché blades need to be used more than once to be sharper?

Depending on your hair and skin type, razor blades will have a different lifetime and behavior.

The Raz*War El Ché blades will always have a strong cutting effect during the first shave. This is due to the way there are manufactured.

Named after El Ché, those blades behave accordingly: a strong first impression followed by repeated smooth and sharp shaving experiences.

The adaptation process is crucial: the blades need to meet your skin specifics and your shaving style. So don't give up after a first try. Use it more than once and you will see that it is worth it.

This "Tip" is inspired by your feedback. Our ambassadors who tried more than once realized our El Ché blades were very satisfying (even better than some others ;-))

Dare to be wild on your first shave.

Until the next time !

Marina from Raz*War

Join our affiliates program now!

New Opportunity for Raz*War Affiliates through TradeTracker.com

2010-07-06T11:10:00.001+02:00

Since today Raz*War is active as a Merchant in the TradeTracker Affiliates Network. This is a great opportunity for all the Raz*War fans out there who are in charge of a website or a blog to collaborate and to share the benefits of the revolution with us.

“El Ché” and “El Fidel” Raz*War tribes

2010-07-02T12:37:00.001+02:00

Our Raz*War customers, fans and ambassadors know already it for a while: Raz*War offers two different razor handles, each one with a different technology.

The “El Ché” is a good basic “system razor” (razor allowing blade refills), made for making substantial savings throughout the year and - for the ones who start using system razors instead of disposables - the kind of razor that should make you forget the extremely polluting and inefficient disposables razors.
The “El Fidel” Razor is a more sophisticated razor, with 5 blades and another head technology (more flexible head) supposed (I am underlining the “supposed” as we noticed that our customers thought differently, as you will see…) to be aimed to people who want to “upgrade” after using a particular razor technology for a while.

In our minds, we were sure that “El Fidel” would be considered as an upgrade versus “El Ché”.

On the technology side, it is most probably true. “El Ché” Razor handle is based on a head technology known for a while (out of patent technology), with three blades, while “El Fidel” razor is based on a new (head) technology.

As Raz*War would like to provide “Quality shaving at a fair price", we pay a lot of attention to what the consumers write and say… we even succeeded to access to (apparently non confidential) focus group data (share with us by a potential partner who wanted to work with us) where razors handle and blades quality was assessed. Results were the following: the model the most close to “El Ché” received a score of 8.1 out of 10. And the model the most close to “El Fidel” received a score of 9.3 out of 10. Not too bad isn’t it? In the focus groups, the panel perceived the model the more close to “El Fidel” as being an upgrade…

And what do Raz*War customer think?

As we said, we would like to be transparent with you (not too transparent though, since we also have our intimacy, simply transparent) and we will give you some insights about the satisfaction survey we conducted.

What came really clearly when listening to you is that…there are clearly two tribes of consumers. Each tribe adores one razor handle type and does not want to switch to another one.

Do not push too hard the “El Fidel” to “El Ché” tribesmen (ironically, the two famous leaders whose names influenced the naming of our razors somewhat fought each other at the end); they will strongly dislike it. The vast majority of loyal “El Ché” customers do not want any other razor handle, strongly appreciate the handle, the blades and the head. On the other side, the “El Fidel” tribe only adores “El Fidel” razor handles and blades and are even not interested to even try the “El Ché” model… I am sure a lot of my readers will recognize themselves in these statements, especially among the Raz*War pioneers… (We praise our pioneers, they praise our products).

On our side, we know enough… and we will keep serving both the “El Ché” and the “El Fidel” tribes.

Are you interested to know more about your own customer behavior? Then, we will pay more attention to this and share with you the outcome of our research.

Here are our hypothesis:

The people that love our “El Ché” model are either (1) generation Y people starting with system razors or (2) people that appreciate “technical” classical shaving , and, hence, who loves a somewhat more technical razor, that need to be used with a specific technique (The “El Ché” Razor requires, indeed, to be handled in such way that the angle of the blade on the skin remains somewhat the same throughout the shave).
The people that love our (1) “El Fidel” razor are from an older - wealthier - generation (Gen X or Baby Boomers) or (2) people who want a high shaving comfort, whatever the technical aspect of shaving, and who just want an efficient shave.

Let now look at the result of our survey.

Look at the first graph (The percentages here after are calculated when taking out the “not tried yet” answers…).

Good news, our products are very well appreciated! 29% of you consider “El Ché” to be an excellent product, and 40% of you consider it to be a good product: Hence 69% of you rate “El Ché” as a good or excellent product. A quite positive message for us, as we would like to propose “quality shaving at fair prices”: we are in the right direction… However, according to our survey, 13% of customers that tested the “El Ché” rated is as “Poor” and 19% are “Neutral”. How to explain that discrepancy? This is the illustration of the two tribes issue.

Graph 1: Your appreciation of “El Ché” Razor handle. Source: Raz*War Satisfaction Survey, June 2010

The results for the “El Fidel” are even more compelling…30% of you consider “El Fidel ” to be an excellent product while 55% of you consider it to be a good product : 85% of positive opinions! Also, according to the survey, a little 3% of customers that tested the El Fidel rated is as “Poor” (if you are among the ones, please write to me at email pierre@razwar.com) and 12% are “Neutral” regarding our “El Fidel” products. These results are pretty encouraging for the expansion of the Raz*War community. The percentages here after are calculated when taking out the “not tried yet” answers…)

Graph 2: Your appreciation of “El Fidel” Razor handle. Source: Raz*War Satisfaction Survey, June 2010

Look now at the satisfaction surrounding the “El Ché” blades. Good news again, the blades are very well appreciated: 75% of you consider the blades to be of “good” (51%) to “excellent” quality (24%). When looking in details messages coming from you, it appears clearly that our blades are clearly appreciated. For the “El Fidel” we found 38% of “good” and 36% of excellent (74% of positive opinion).

Graph 3: Your appreciation of “El Ché” Razor blades. Source: Raz*War Satisfaction Survey, June 2010

Graph 4: Your appreciation of “El Fidel” Razor blades. Source: Raz*War Satisfaction Survey, June 2010

What can we conclude from all this?

Apparently, we are currently proposing two good products. Some of you do prefer our 3-blades (El Ché) technology and offering while others do prefer the 5-blades offering (El Fidel). Nothing…revolutionary, as a matter of fact. And we have a good razor for each tribe…

Also something I noticed while studying the results of this survey. There was too much of “not tried yet” answers… Hey! Please try us!

Anyway, be convinced that Raz*War will continue to improve its products range. And we would like to do that with you. As a request, please be patient with us as improving a product can takes some time. Just know we are in this mood.

My next blog post will be about helping you…to help us. I will be speaking about “Social R&D”…

Keep on Shavin’

Pierre

Raz*War is "One Year Young" - Facts and Figures

2010-06-30T15:25:00.001+02:00

Hello to the Raz*War community!

One year ago - on 30 June 2009 - we officially launched our web store razwar.com. We are now 365 days later and we are still in business thanks to you ;-)

So, once again: Thank You!

We started with one handle, El Ché, one type of razor blades (3-blades cartridge) and our subscription plans principle. Since then we have build a strong line of products that we are continuously improving.

We also opened Raz*War on another continent : Australia and Raz*War is also available in German on www.razwar.de (with a great Ambassador team evangelizing the German market).

Raz*War is a daily commitment and a permanent fight from both you and us towards the growing hair and the pricy solutions out there.

Raz*War stands for quality shaving at a fair price. This is and will stay our focus.

Here are a few figures to put things in perspective:

75,000+ people visited razwar.com since its opening
The combined minutes spent on our website totals 150 days
The day with the most visits was March 17
20% of our customers are on a subscription plan
Our Net Promoter Score (= your likelihood to recommend us) is very good : 18%*
The top 3 countries visiting us are : Belgium, Spain and France
There are more than 17 millions results about Raz*War on Google
Raz*War tweeted 760 times and has 1,050 followers
Raz*War has 613 fans on Facebook. Are you one of them?

Not bad, don't you think?

We will continue our action in the future and we need you all to support the movement that is taking place in the world of shaving.

Let's s(h)ave the world (as seen on Shavebook.com)!

David Hachez, Raz*War brand activist

---

*to give you an idea the banking sector's average is -4% according to netpromoter.com

Did you know? - Tips about our shaving products with Marina

2010-06-29T16:47:00.001+02:00

The Raz*War El Fidel Trimmer Blade

Did you know that your El Fidel has a special blade for the unreachable areas?

The trimmer blade is the blade that will help you to grab away your undesirable and unreachable hair. It is the tiny blade that will help you access the space under your nose where you may have something like a mustache. It will also facilitate the shaving of your neck or your sideburns. It will reach and shave all your "hard-to-access" areas. In order to use it turn the five blades in upwards position (turn the blade opposite to the normal position). In this position you can place the trimmer blade against your skin and begin a top-down movement to get perfectly shaved on all areas with Raz*War ;-)

Urlaubsträume mit Raz*War

2010-06-21T18:46:00.001+02:00

Raz*War soon in German too on www.razwar.de

Did you know? - Tips about our shaving products with Marina

2010-06-16T10:20:00.001+02:00

Did you know that the Raz*War After Shave balm has healing, hydrating and softening properties?

This triple properties are due to the natural composition of our Raz*War mild after shave balm.

First of all, it is made from 100% from natural fragrance from tree essence, natural vanilla and benjoin.

These oils are especially sweet to the skin. They have strong healing properties and will leave your skin slightly perfumed.

Secondly, the balm has a high percentage of glycerin which promotes the hydration of the skin; in conjunction with the hamamelis water the vessels circulation is also promoted. This allows a rapid healing effect.

Finally the addition of vitamin E in our Raz*War mild after shave balm will immediately soften the skin.

Enjoy !

Until the next time

Marina from Raz*War

Season Finale: Shavebook - Episode 13

2010-05-31T18:45:00.001+02:00

The Season Finale of Shavebook.com. A special thank you to Bastien & Béatrice.

SF Newtech - Belgians are back - RAZWAR

2010-05-31T17:26:00.001+02:00

The Raz*War presentation at #SFNewTech in San Francisco by David Hachez (Brand Activist)

Ambassador of the week

2010-05-27T10:56:00.001+02:00

Hello Everyone!

We are willing to put you under the spotlights in the coming weeks.

We would like to collect your experiences with Raz*War.

What about pictures of "You and your Raz*War"? Would you like to participate?

We will start replacing our Facebook profile picture with the "Ambassador of the week" pictures (with you on it in fact).

How can you participate to Ambassador of the week ?

Just send us a picture of you with Raz*War together with a short text.

Send both to ambassadoroftheweek@razwar.com.

Be imaginative and simple in order to become a Fan page profile picture ;-)

Why would you do it?

Because you can show the world that you are one of our strongest ambassadors and a small gift is foreseen (limited stock)

Check the first Ambassador of the Week picture here http://www.facebook.com/razwar.

It's Florent L. from France. Bravo!

Thank you for your participation.

The Raz*War team

http://razwar.com

Did you know? - Tips about our shaving products with Marina

2010-04-22T10:16:00.001+02:00

The Raz*War All Natural Shaving Balm

Did you know that every time you shave a small and tiny part of your skin is removed?

That's the reason why you should use an after shave balm each time you shave.

This balm will first of all moisturize your freshly well shaved skin; secondly it will help you if unfortunately you cut yourself; finally it will rejuvenate and soothe your skin.

After this balm session your skin is ready to face the environmental aggressions, preventing irritations and the bad feeling of tightness.
The sugared fragrance of our Raz*War Balm will remind you candies and will make you begin the day (or the night) with this sweet and soft impression all around your face (very appreciated by women ;-))

Until the next time

Enjoy shavin' !

Marina from Raz*War

Raz*War opens in Australia. The revolution gains ground.

2010-04-20T16:43:00.001+02:00

Today we are proud to announce the official launch of Raz*War Australia.

We are partnering with a local company that is a fan of the brand since the beginning.

The website is located at the following address: http://www.razwar.com.au/ and is aimed at the Australian market.

Let's hope the revolution will continue to reach out to more and more people!

If you want to help us cover the world? Contact us at partners@razwar.com

Long live Raz*War!

¡No pasarán!

2010-04-14T07:00:00.001+02:00

A small blogpost today, just for celebrating our new Spanish consumers and Spanish fans. Apparently our brand appealed to a lot of people over there. When we tried to figure out why our products had so much success in Spain, we realized that a lot of Raz*War fans appreciated the revolutionary aspect of the brand and the fact it is fighting against the well known incumbents (see also this blog post). Hence, I just want to declare today : ¡No pasarán!,

For those who are not familiar with that slogan, let’s just remember that this absolutely famous sentence is associated with Dolores Ibárruri Gómez (1895 - 1989) who was, maybe or maybe not, the first one to pronounce these famous words (Historians do not agree) .This slogan was proclaimed “urbi et orbi” by her the very first day of the fight against the nationalist rebels of general Franco, in a radio broadcasted speech and later on, in the besieged Madrid. This slogan became, then, the motto of the republicans and the symbol of the fight.

I realize it might be dangerous to speak about these matters to Spanish. I don’t want to offend anyone, and I hope all injuries are now well healed. Just please realize that I am a Belgian and that I have not an in-depth understanding of what happened and how. But I know the story about the “ ¡No pasarán!” slogan, and that’s is maybe not so bad for a Belgian, no? (Another announcement: I decided to review my Spanish – learnt years ago- just to be able to read an answer to all these many #razwar tweets…)

What does the famous “¡No pasarán!” in my mouth? I just want to say that, thanks to you (and only with your help) the era of the razor duopolistic market situation is over! ¡No pasarán!” means that we all declare that we do not want to pay so high prices for razor and razor blades. Raz*War is a solution (Of course, I am sponsoring this one) but there are others (There is another cool brand in UK… but I hope you prefer Raz*War)

The well acquainted with Spanish history will also remark that…finally troops of General Franco entered into Madrid. And, when they entered the besieged city, they claimed “Han pasado” (“We entered” ). I would be unhappy, no need to say, to see Some Tiger Woods, Thierry Henry, Roger Federer and other celebrities (highly paid; that’s one of the reasons why you pay or paid ;-) so high prices for your razor blades) finally claiming “han pasado”… But I would not be so unhappy…, because, that would mean that, at least, they noticed our voice: the voice of customer discontentment…

But, make no mistake (Ooops, I am now realizing that I am quoting ex-president Bush! Less chance that this quote will be reminded as the Dolores Ibarouri one), one thing is sure is that Raz*War will not run away, after the first shotguns. No, no, Raz*War has a coherent strategy, is currently gathering means (If you would like to invest write to pierre@razwar.com), is supported by a (small but) strong and motivated team. For sure, we will continue…

And Raz*War is, first and foremost, a crowd of people behind the brand.

Thank you for being in that crowd.
Thank you for following the “El Ché” (Three blades) or “El Fidel” (5 blades) flags.
Gracias a todos nuestros clientes españoles ! gracias por llorar con nosotros : « ¡No pasarán! ».

Ah ! A last information for the « non Spanish ». General Franco died in 1975. “Generalísimo Francisco Franco, Caudillo de España por la Gracia de Dios” appointed Juan Carlos as his successor in 1969, many years before his death. And the king strongly contributed to the restoration of democracy in Spain…

”Han pasado”?
No, no: the democracy won, in the end…

Un sequoia, c'est grand.

2010-04-13T18:58:00.001+02:00

Episode 12 du journal de Shavebook parmi les arbres.

Did you know? - Tips about our shaving products with Marina

2010-04-10T12:24:00.001+02:00

The Raz*War All Natural Shaving Oil

Did you know that during antiquity shaving oil was already used by men?

This oil was the well known "Olive Oil" that we use today for cooking.

That oil made the blade sharper and with it's lubricating properties it allowed the blade to cut the hair more easily. But this oil was too greasy and would leave the men with an unconfortable feeling.

Today the problem is solved and we witness the rise of new natural shaving oils.

Our Raz*War oil is made from essential oils; for instance: Sunflower, Bergamot, Avocado, Cucumber, Aloe Vera and Tangerine oil among others.It will make your face conditioned and moisturized and absolutely not oily and even better the moisture will not clog your skin pores!

Until the next time

Enjoy shavin' !

Marina from Raz*War

Bradley joins the fight

2010-04-01T17:34:00.001+02:00

Shavebook FR EN - episode 11

The Leg - Shavebook s01e10 - English version

2010-03-22T16:40:00.001+01:00

Bastien is back and has some leg to shave.

Raz*War's video interview @plugg

2010-03-12T12:18:00.001+01:00

via vodpod.com

A little bit more about Shaving as a Service.

Plugg 2010 - People's Choice Award

2010-03-11T20:36:00.001+01:00

via flickr.com

Thank you to the Plugg Audience. We are so happy and honored.

Razor, razor blades and the goose that laid the golden eggs.

2010-03-10T13:07:00.001+01:00

Are you aware of the “Razor blades business model”? Maybe not... But, just ask a MBA student or even any student who attended a commercial sciences course, and they will tell you about the “Razor blades business model”: a secret formula that could turn a business into a (very) profitable cash cow, or, even, into a “golden egg goose”. After having heard about it just once, students with an entrepreneurial mindset usually crave to do the same thing in their garage, dreaming to find the next idea that could follow that goldmine or “golden egg” business model.

What is needed to kick start such a business? Basically, it works like this: Take a razor handle, offer it for free (or at a low prices), make sure the blade refills only fit on YOUR razor handle, and start selling your blades at incredibly high prices. Now an “applied-to-another-industry” example: invent a printer, sell it for peanuts, make sure the ink cartridges only fit on YOUR printer, and start selling your cartridges (with a high frequency of course) at high prices. A last example: invent a new coffee machine that use cartridges, make sure these machines are installed in every office (or every house), offer the first few cartridges for free and… let the magic of business happen. Of course, some advertising can be useful. Spend a lot. Hire stars (George Clooney; who else?). Other ideas like that? Please write to me (and don’t tell your ideas to someone else…) at pdn@razwar.com. Sure, we will make a deal you and I…

The guy who invented that business model gave the name to a very famous brand. We decided to not quote the name of the brand, so I will not quote the name of the guy either. Just remember that he (truly) deserves a lot of respect and created one of the most admired companies, bought for 57 billion dollars by another company that I will not quote either. The guy (let’s call him Jack) is also the inventor of the golden egg goose…

Do you know about the “golden egg goose”? For sure, in your childhood, your parents must have told you that well renowned story, no? For the others, here is an “executive summary” of the story: A farmer found a goose and found out that that goose laid one golden egg every day. Of course, he was getting richer and richer each day, but that was not enough for him and, to try and get access to all of the golden eggs at once, the farmer killed the goose and opened its belly, to end up finding…nothing. (See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goose_That_Laid_the_Golden_Eggs).

Hence, I am just wondering if the incumbents in the “shaving” industry are not killing the golden egg goose, destroying the so-called “razor blades business model”. I succeeded in accessing some interesting market surveys that prove my point: Since several years, the market for system razors (razor handle that needs blade refills) is experiencing a slow growth in value (an average 2,5%) but a significant decrease in volume (number of units sold). (For French speaking readers, see for example: http://www.mondadoripub.fr/Mondadori_GALLERY_CONTENT//DOCUMENTS/MarketingService/Marche/rasage.pdf). The main cause of this apparently strange market behavior is the continuous and steady growth of razors and razor blade prices. Prices of razor blades are going up, as the two incumbents in the market do not want to compete on price; they are in a de facto oligopolistic market situation (I will explain what an oligopoly is in a next blog post), and would like to avoid a price war by all means.

Consider now the price structure of a razor blade. According to Sean Poulter, from Mail Online, who worked on the subject in June 2009 (Search Google: Main Online, Title “Sharp Practice…”, Sean Poulter), here is the typical price and margin structure of a cartridge of four razor heads and per razor head, for last generation razor heads. These are in-line with our observations and with other studies (I am particularly interested by all these studies related to this matter and welcome any suggestion or articles I should read or files I should study. Please also share with me your own “store checks”. Send this material to pierre@razwar.com).

Table: Margin and Price comparison for a typical “last generation” razor head (in UK)

	Cartridge of four	Each razor head
Manufacturing Cost	20p (0,22 EUR)	5p (0,06 EUR)
Packaging	8p (0,09 EUR)	2p (0,02 EUR)
Producer Profit Margin	£6,28 (6,95 EUR)	£1,57 (1,74 EUR)
Shop Profit Margin	£1,90 (2,10 EUR)	47,5p (0,53 EUR)
VAT	£1,26 (1,97 EUR)	31,5p (0,49 EUR)
Retail price	£9,72 (11,33 EUR)	£2,43 (2,83 EUR)

Adapted from: Sharp Practice? The razor heads that cost just 5p to make, but sell for £2.43 each, Mail Online, June 2009. Exchange rate: 1 GBP=1,1080 EUR (8/03/2010)

What happens with such high prices? People (you and I) feel robbed. And, according to some shopping experts, it is actually that feeling of being robbed which is the main reason explaining why there are more and more razor robberies in grocery stores and supermarkets. This can reach such a point that in some countries (namely in Belgium, where I live) the robbery of razor blades became THE most important robbery in value in supermarkets (total amount robbed, per year, per store). Apparently the value of small thefts and robberies is so high that store chains now negotiate with the suppliers (the two “razor blades” incumbents…) to have them cover these costs. The responses to these robberies are numerous: The razor companies package their goods in even bigger packages, to diminish the possibility of hiding them under your clothes without being noticed. Razor handles and razor blade refills are often tagged with antitheft tags. Razor refills are often packed in antitheft boxes (…reminding the consumer that what they buy is extremely expensive) and, worse, in some stores, you now have to ask to the cashier to obtain your precious refills…

All these trends illustrate that the razor industry has probably gone too far in the razor business. With the envy to capture as much as profit as possible, the market is now experiencing a decrease in units sold, a sign that something important is happening. The number of robberies increases, service rendered in the stores weakens, and signs of discontentment occur here and there… The two incumbents are just killing the golden egg goose to see if there is more gold in the goose’s belly…

Will they find gold in the belly of the golden egg goose? I am not sure, and you know the story. Ah? Yes of course, we must state that Raz*War was born in the mind of a man who didn’t accept to pay such high prices for razor blades anymore (me). Another example of reaction against the too high prices of razor blades…. A “salutary reaction” we might say, as, it’s been a few months that consumers can now access an additional shaving brand: our brand http://www.razwar.com (it is also truly YOUR brand as it will not succeed without your endorsement). And the brand selling line says it all: Quality Shaving. Fair prices. That’s what we all wanted, no?

Now help me to spread the news!

"French touch" of Raz*War on http://www.rasage-classique.com

2010-03-02T14:19:00.001+01:00

via rasage-classique.com

Dear Raz*War Fans,

Today we are happy to announce that the leading French e-shop is selling our shaving brand,"en français dans le texte".

"Rasage Classique" introduced the complete Raz*War range in its catalogue nearby the major brands in the world of shaving.

Thank to Rassage Classique the Raz*War revolution continues...

Check it on http://www.rasage-classique.com

Rugby, Raz*War and the power of YOU!

2010-03-01T15:58:00.001+01:00

What is the link between Raz*War and Rugby? Both words begin with an “R”... good point. But what else? I personally feel that Raz*War has a lot more things in common with Rugby than just a simple initial. Firstly, Rugby is a somewhat of a “contact sport”, and certainly a “combat sport”. Raz*War is certainly a brand of "battle", with the notion of “fight” or “combat” inscribed in the brand name itself. Indeed, Raz*War declared war against the indecent profit margins (see a future blog post) made by the incumbents in this industry. Consumers should be aware that these prices are due to a real oligopolistic market situation, between two players that face each other and that very “wisely” do not want to offend one another, just to prevent a – surely damaging – price war. We are speaking of money, dear reader, of a LOT of money. Stock prices of the two well renowned razor companies can plunge if a price war is declared (and we would all prefer to avoid a new financial crisis triggered by the fall of the two “razor giants”! :-)

Rugby specialists and the fans of the famous “All Blacks” in particular, would maybe remark that the crossing of the razor and the brush on our logo shares some similarities with the famous “Haka” gestures. At one point in their “Ka Mate”, all Black players do, indeed, cross their arms in a gesture of defiance against the other team (see ). I would love to see the “All Blacks” with a razor in one hand and a brush in the other, singing, in traditional Maori language, a special “Raz*War Haka”. We should think about that for the future! (I know we have some new Zealand Raz*War fans, they could maybe put us in contact with the famous team...)

Now, let’s consider another aspect of this sport; although I know (nearly) nothing about Rugby (what complex rules!), I feel that this sport is a true example of a team sport. Collectivity is very important in Rugby, and all Rugby fans and even the Rugby-curious, will celebrate the special “team spirit” that show up when playing Rugby. I also want to remind my readers about the have-to-see movie “Invictus”, directed by Clint Eastwood, where Rugby contributes in building… an entire nation. The importance of collectivity is a key attribute of Rugby, like it is for Raz*War: Look at our logo again, and replace the razor with a hammer and the brush with a sickle… Does this not make you think of something else? Of course, we’re joking about this; do not take me seriously about that aspect of the brand. But, behind the logo, it is also true that we appeal to masses, it is true that we believe in the wisdom of crowds, and it is true that we would like to get shaving at lower prices for everyone. It is true, also, that behind Raz*War, there is a strong team. And, finally, it is also true that we do not see any discontinuity between “us” and our “brand ambassadors”. Raz*War is about “collective action”, just like Rugby is.

I spoke about “fighting stance”, about “team spirit”, but I could also speak about “bravery”, about the “small versus the big”, about “entertainment”, all attributes associated with Rugby, that can also be associated with Raz*War. Maybe one key attribute that still needs further discussion is: respect. It is often said that Rugby is “a sport of offenders played by gentlemen". Have you already compared a typical match of Rugby with a match a of football? I noticed, for the anecdote, that football players adore spitting on the ground, especially in the direction of the adversary, and after a key offensive or defensive action. Ok, ok it is anecdotic. Ok, ok, I also saw some Rugby players spitting too; whatever, respect is not (only) a question of spitting or not spitting… But just look at the matches, just listen to the audience (less violence in the public, no racist songs...), just listen and look at the players: there is a lot of “mutual respect” in this sport. And I love that. And Raz*War is also a brand that would like to respects its consumers, but also its competitors (I used to work for one of them, years ago)… We are a battling brand, (with humility as we are such a small, tiny brand…), but we consider respect to be one of our key values.

Now that you have started understanding why I believe that Raz*War shares things in common with Rugby, I am sure that you are also wondering why I also announced in my title “The Power of You”. Quite simple. A few days ago, I had a discussion with the management team of my son’s Rugby club. They all had the same feelings about the – for them, obvious – links between Rugby and Raz*War, and they wanted to spread the word about Raz*War. AND THEY DID IT! It’s been a few days that we are registering many sales coming from the city of Jodoigne and its surroundings. What happened is that the word started to spread. The club wanted to be associated with our brand name, and even proposed to associate both names for free…. (Another key difference between Rugby and Football: Money is not the key driving engine, entertainment is.)

And that illustrates the Power of You!; the main topic of this blog post. This brand is characterized (or wants to be perceived as being characterized) by all of the above attributes: “Fight” and “Respect”, “Team spirit” and “Entertainment”, “Power to the masses”, hence, Power to You. But you – yes you, meaning YOU who is now reading these lines – you are the only one who can transform this brand into a true success. It is very simple: you like our products, our services, our stance? Then, vote for us! By speaking about us, by making sure you tweet (on Twitter) news about us, by buying our products and by sending us your feedback about them.

There was a good reason why the “B West team” (http://Rugbybwest.skynetblogs.be), that small Belgian Rugby team, fell in love with the brand and immediately endorsed it: because Raz*War and Rugby share the same DNA. And there is another good reason why the messages spread so fast; because the “B West team” realized that they could act and influence things. The message I would like to convey is: DO THE SAME! Understand “The power of YOU!” and speak about us, share the good news, speak in communities and help us succeed!

I just want to take the occasion of this blog post to say that I really want Raz*War to sponsor this small team (let’s first see how our sales progress… ) and that I would be really happy for Raz*War to sponsor up to 10 small Rugby teams in the world (not immediately of course, the brand is not rich enough! But at some point later on). So, managers of small and dynamic Rugby teams across the world, grab your keyboard and write to me at pierre@razwar.com and of course, don’t hesitate to already start talking about our brand!). Ah! Good news for all Rugby fans, we now have distributor in Australia and several potential distributors in New Zealand. Any small Rugby teams over there? :-)

El Fidel Launch - For immediate release

2010-02-26T16:42:00.001+01:00

via razwar.com

The new model introduced by Raz*War is now available on razwar.com

Raz*War introduces El Fidel in its product range.

2010-02-24T17:08:00.001+01:00

via razwar.com

5 blades. Quality Shaving at a Fair Price (Once again).

Raz*War Shop is open on Facebook

2010-02-24T10:06:00.001+01:00

Raz*War Shop on Facebook apps.facebook.com

Thanks to #Beeshopy it is now possible to initiate your shopping process from the Facebook Fan Page of Raz*War. Check it out!

Things you may want to know rabout razor blades (by Pierre De Nayer)

2010-02-19T18:45:00.001+01:00

More and more articles are published on the net about "quality shaving", further developing the context in which Raz*War is growing and further nurturing our s(h)aving revolution... Among them, I came across an interesting article published by gizmodo, about the edge of razor blades when analyzed under a microscope : http://gizmodo.com/5472426/razors-under-a-microscope. Amazing pictures that illustrate how thin are the edge of our razor blades. But, as I am, with Raz*War team, more and more acquainted with "shaving science", I wanted to add that Razor efficacy is not only about the edge itself.

The kind of "head" used is also key: some people prefer more technical razors, that offers a very high quality of shaving provided they are operated carefully. Take, for example, the traditional "safety razors" or, even, the "straight razor"; these could offer very strong shaving experience, but it needs some expertise in manipulation, as, for example, the angle of the blade on the leather is key. Our "Ché" handle is a somewhat technical razor, providing a very good cut (excellent razor egde), but need to be operated in such way the angle of the razor is always optimal. Other razors, lilke our soon-to-come 5 blades, operates with another kind of head, more flexible, adapting itself to the face curvatures. The gain of efficacity is in the flexibility of the head; the difference is not about "razor edges". But, some of our consumers prefers a less flexible razor head, offering a more "straight razor" experience. That's why we have two "shaving tribes at Raz*War": the "Ché" tribe only adores the "Ché" razor while others only adores the "Fidel" razor; there is one world for each...

But did you know that even the distances between the blades is important? I guess not. It is indeed, what have shown another brand of razors, as I saw it on a patent, on "free patents on-line". A good distance between blades improve the "comfort of shaving" and reduce the risk of cuts. Good news, our two razors are very well manufactured on that topic...

Also something important: The blades got oxidated quite rapidly, which is the main reason why you should replace them; the other reason being that they get used of course. Oxidation of blades is easy to observe on electron microscopy (interested to see? Interact with me). Oxidation drastically and quite rapidly reduce the "razor edge". A lot of tips are given on the net to avoid that blade oxidation; i will discuss them in a next blog post. But, one things is clearly obvious: using shaving oil greatly reduce that blade oxidation (same principle as when you are using a drill, the oil is protecting the blades)... and this, again, can easily be shown with electron microscopy.

Hence, my advise is: Use shaving oil (there are already so many reasons why using shaving oil...) to protect your blades and to enhance their lifetime. (Lifetime can be expanded by a factor of 1,5 to 3). And... Guess what? We have a very good shaving oil in stock..

The next time (next blog post), I will explain you how to assess your razor quality, by helping you figure out what are the key elements to consider...

Check out Episode 9 (FR) of Shavebook

2010-02-16T23:08:00.001+01:00

The real confrontation of Raz*War and a Barber in Antigua, Guatemala

Raz*War on AIQ Magazine

2010-02-12T16:31:00.001+01:00

via aiqmagazine.com

As an early believer in Raz*War http://www.AIQMagazine.com is once again helping us in our revolution. Watch out this very nice Ad! Thank you Dennis (once again).

Razwar.com Offers Free Shaving to all Europeans

2010-02-01T11:20:00.001+01:00

Razwar.com Offers Free Shaving to all Europeans

BRUSSELS, February 1/PRNewswire/ — Have you ever wanted to test a product by a very young brand but did not do so due to an irrational lack of trust in a website?

Do you sometimes feel you're faced with a limited choice, imposed by the major shaving brands?

Do you feel the need to shave without being robbed?

To answer these questions, as of 1st February 2010, the new brand Raz*War introduces to its range of products a free shaving kit called the 'Discovery Kit', which includes a razor handle, a triple blade and a travel pouch.

Give yourself the opportunity to receive it at home anywhere in Europe!

To try the Raz*War promise, visit www.razwar.com and select the Discovery Kit! You will receive it as soon as possible. Raz*War will only charge you for the shipping costs (maximum € 2.70) without any further obligation.

via multivu.prnewswire.com

WIF Belgique - Webdesign International Festival à Namur - Raz*War will be there as sponsor

2010-02-01T10:55:00.001+01:00

6 événements en 2 jours !
35 équipes s’affronteront durant la Webjam. Leur mission : réaliser, durant 24h non stop, un site web basé sur un thème qui sera dévoilé aux participants à la dernière minute. Les gagnants, choisis par un jury professionnel, représenteront la Belgique lors de la finale internationale qui se déroulera à Limoges en juin prochain.

via wif-dogstudio.be

Razwar.com : « Shaving As A Service »

2010-01-29T18:36:00.001+01:00

via bloggingthenews.info

Nice discussion with Damien Van Achter a well known Belgian Blogger. Thanks for the chat @davanac

Vazy and Raz*War

2010-01-28T11:43:00.001+01:00

via vazy.be

Shavebook Episode #8

2010-01-25T16:14:00.001+01:00

Salar d'Uyuni, here we come.

Unshave.me

2010-01-22T17:56:00.001+01:00

People, go get UNSHAVED now! http://unshave.me - You could get a free shaving startup kit! (global shipping) #razwar #unshaveme