Razor razors were the most common form of shaving before the 20th century and remained common in many countries until the 1950s. Barbers were specially trained to give customers a thorough and quick shave, and a collection of straight razors ready for use was a common sight in most barbershops. Barbers still have them, but they use them less often. Straight razors eventually fell out of fashion. Their first challenger was manufactured by King C. Gillette: a double-edged safety razor with replaceable blades. Gillette's idea was the use of the "loss leader" concept, in which the razors were sold at a
Electric razor cord to drive a flywheel. Electric shavers fall into two main categories: foil or rotary-style. Users tend to prefer one or the other. Most rotary-style shavers are cordless—they are charged up with a plug charger or they are placed within a cleaning and charging unit. The first person to receive a patent for a razor powered by electricity was John F. O'Rouke with his US patent 616554 filed in 1898. Others followed suit, such as the American manufacturer Col. Jacob Schick who patented their first electric razor in 1930. The Remington Rand Corporation developed the electric razor further, first producing