The Cutting Edge

A men's grooming start-up has revived a classic product to make sure traditional shaving is back in style.

- Venkatesha Babu

Kiran Gowda works as a manager at a well known 5-star hotel in the heritage city of Mysuru – a city of palaces that draws nearly as many visitors as does the Taj Mahal. One of the prerequisites of Gowda's job is that he should be ‘well-groomed and presentable at all times’ while attending to the upmarket clientele.

“It is an unwritten code, which means one has to port a clean-shaven look and wear impeccable clothes. So, during the peak tourist season, when I spend 10-12 ours on the job, I end up changing my clothes and having at least twice a day,” says Gowda.

But he recently faced a problem that compelled him to change his shaving routine. In spite of using a multi-blade artridge razor of a popular company, Gowda ended up with a razor burn that turned into an angry red welt and hen became an infected pustule. The infection did heal eventually, but he took a friend’s advice and opted for a ingle-blade, double-edged safety razor from Bombay having Company (BSC).

“I had never heard of them. They sold something called the ‘six-part shaving system’, which includes a razor, a blade, a brush, pre-shave scrub, shaving cream and post-shave balm. Used to slapping on some shaving foam and running a multi-blade cartridge over it, this was a revelation to me. I loved it,” says Gowda.

That is the kind of feedback the company thrives upon in a market that is still niche. While the overall personal care market in India is estimated to be ₹65,000 crore, the men’s market is worth about ₹25,000 crore. The trend is changing, though. As per a Euromonitor report, men’s grooming market in India rose to ₹9,000 crore by 2016 compared to ₹1,200 crore in 2010.

A New Twist to Old Ritual