The quest for a better way to remove facial hair or to shave has taken many twists and turns over the centuries. The years between 1800 and 1900 have been coined the “Golden Era” of the straight edge razor. Men went to barbers to have their mustaches and beards carefully trimmed. Interchangeable blade-razor sets and “seven-day” sets were popular in the 1800s. 

But it wasn’t until 1901 that King C. Gillette fundamentally transformed shaving with the invention of the first safety razor, which was granted a patent on November 15th, 1904. With the advent of the safety razor, a man did not need to send his straight edge razor to the barber for sharpening. The idea of clamping a smaller version of a straight edge onto a handle was genius – the blade was easier to control, which resulted in fewer nicks and cuts, and was replaceable when it became dull.

In the past century, Gillette has been amongst the leaders in shaving innovations, delivering cutting edge science and technology to consumers. When King C. Gillette introduced his revolutionary safety razor, he founded a company on the time-honored credo, “There is a better way to shave and we will find it.”

Gillette remains true to this spirit even more than a century later and continues to deliver on that promise with ground-breaking razors featuring innovative blade technologies from the Gillette Trac II to Sensor, MACH3 and, of course, Fusion and Fusion ProGlide.

Today, Gillette has two dedicated R&D centers – in Boston, USA and Reading, UK – where most of its product R&D takes place. The two R&D centers are amongst 14 such P&G facilities where Gillette products are developed.

Its South Boston Manufacturing Center, known also as the Gillette World Shaving Headquarters, has been the technical center for developing and manufacturing the newest wet shaving technology platforms, using state of the art proprietary technology since 1903. The Reading Innovation Center in the UK has been a world class innovation powerhouse that creates ground-breaking experiences that have delighted consumers since 1959.

Unique and diverse professionals drive with passion and creativity, a culture of learning and technical excellence at Reading and Boston to lead scientific breakthroughs.