The activity of shaving forms an integral part of the daily grooming rigor for the majority of men, and it is interesting to ponder on what could be the factors that might have led to the evolution of such a commonly-used device to the current state. Considering the act of shaving and requirements, some of the factors that come to mind are:

# Effectiveness - Closeness of Shave

# Ergonomics - Handle Grip and overall Comfort for the user involved in the activity.

# Safety - Avoiding cuts to the face during the various stages of shaving.

# Accessibility and maneuverability - Razor’s ability to reach and shave across/around the jaw.

If we compare the older designs of the razors like Gillette Sensor, Sensor Excel or even disposable ones like Laser; and compare them with the latest ones like Gillette Mach3 or Fusion, the improvements on atleast 3 out of the 4 fronts are fairly apparent in my opinion: 

Effectiveness - This has predominantly been taken care of through addition of multiple blades in a single razor. The earlier ones had 1 or at the most 2 blades, while now we have the Fusion that offers 5 blades in a single unit!

Ergonomics - The new razors come with contoured handle surfaces designed to aid grip and comfort. Not that the older ones had any major issues on this front, the new razors don’t leave anything to be desired as well.

Safety - The new razors come with highly sensitive spring-loaded heads, providing greater flexibility. This allows the razor to move closely along the contours of the face and avoid any undue pressures that might cause cuts. Also if we carefully observe, as compared to the razors earlier, the head in new razors is more or less parallel to the handle; whereas earlier there used to be a major angular difference. This allows for the new razor head to move along the user’s hand, avoiding any uncomfortable hand postures in the process and thus avoiding any undue application of pressure on the face which might cause cuts. 

Accessibility and Maneuverability - This is the only area where I feel there is bit of a let down. Though with a more sensitive spring, the maneuverability of the razor head improves in a way, but the aspect of ‘accessibility’ is hampered in my opinion. The improvement in sensitivity takes away some amount of ‘control’, or the means for the user to intentionally apply pressure on the face in certain places when desired. A few examples:

# Reducing the length of sideburns while shaving. With the need to reduce a sideburn to a particular length, it requires pressure to be applied at a particular point. With a highly-sensitive pivot at the base of the head, this becomes difficult since the head starts to turn away as soon as the pressure is applied. 

# Accessing and shaving small areas such as that between the lips and nose. With the highly-sensitive pivot, extremely small strokes become difficult. This becomes even more tough as the blades gradually lose their sharpness. 

The older razors were pivoted at the centre and provided a place (just behind the head) on the handle for the user to apply pressure on the face with the blades which the new razors have taken away. 

Thus on the whole, it seems to be a case of preference to Safety over Accessibility. Not a bad call, though I’d like it if there isn’t a compromise over either. In my opinion, retaining some means for the user to manually apply pressure with the new razors could be a good idea. This wouldn’t majorly risk the factor of safety as it would predominantly not be used because of the sharp blades and spring sensitivity; but in case of certain scenarios as mentioned above, it could be optionally used when necessary and improve the overall satisfaction with the product.