Interview with founder Thomas: From blue disposable razors to electrical appliances, everything was there. It was never really solved. That's exactly what gave rise to NASH.
Sometimes the best conversations just happen. Our youngest co-founder Alex and Thomas went running on Sunday. Afterwards, they were sitting over an espresso in the office and Alex suddenly asked questions about shaving that they had hardly talked about in all their years at NASH.
This turned into a very personal interview about the first razor, wrong routines, pimples, electric shaving, men's conversations and the question of why something as commonplace as shaving has still not really been solved for many men.
The most important facts in 60 seconds
- Thomas never really learned how to shave.
- His start: blue disposable razors from the drugstore shelf, without soap, without foam.
- Later came pimples, electric razors and the feeling that wet shaving simply didn't suit his skin.
- It was only when NASH was set up that it became clear that many men have similar shaving problems, but hardly ever talk about them.
- This is exactly where the question behind NASH came from: How do you make a good shave simple, clean and suitable for everyday use?
The interview: Thomas on shaving, pimples and blue disposable razors
Alex: Thomas, when did you actually start shaving?
Thomas: I was 16, which also happened to be the time when I had a rather difficult relationship with my father. That's why I never learned how to shave from him.
Alex: And who taught you?
Thomas: Nobody. I just took blue disposable razors from those big bags on the drugstore shelf. No soap, no lather. Scraped over it. It just had to work somehow.
Alex: When did the first real razor come along?
Thomas: During my studies. I thought to myself, now you're going to do it properly. And then I suddenly had pimples. I was convinced that I simply couldn't stand wet shaving. I switched to an electric shaver.
Alex: Did that help?
Thomas: Not really. It was never really smooth. By the evening, the stubble was back and the fresh feeling from the morning was long gone.
Alex: Have you ever talked about it with friends?
Thomas: To be honest, never. Not even with you, I just realized. With Thomas, my second co-founder, who I know from my studies, the topic only came up when we were setting up NASH. Before that, shaving with friends was never an issue. It's something intimate. For many men, a beard is a quiet part of their identity. I never had a very thick beard myself, so I always shaved it off. A beard quickly made me look a bit youthful.
Alex: And then came the hundreds of conversations.
Thomas: Exactly. We spoke to a lot of men. And I saw a pattern that surprised me: a lot of them are not really satisfied with their shave. Consciously or unconsciously. Pimples, cuts, razor burn. For many, this sits in the background for decades without them naming it.
Alex: What surprised you the most?
Thomas: That we as a human race want to fly to Mars, but for something that every man has been doing for thousands of years, there is still no really clean solution suitable for everyday use. I thought that was crazy.
Alex: What was your answer?
Thomas: We took a look at what works in the classic way. Razor and soap at the barber's. Puristic, very good for the skin. But not practical for most people in everyday life, including me. I don't have 20 minutes in the morning. So the question was: how do you keep the substance and still make it suitable for everyday use?
Alex: Give me a concrete example.
Thomas: The glide strip on many blades is colored. These color pigments land directly on freshly shaved skin. We leave them off. It makes more sense to us because we don't need to sell the next blade as quickly as possible. Less on it, clearer thing.
Alex: So why did you develop NASH? You could have left it at that.
Thomas: Because at a certain point I no longer accepted that there was no better solution. We have clearly seen the problem. Premium shaving is possible, but today it almost always comes with a premium that has little to do with the product itself. Huge advertising budgets, sports sponsorship, big branded machines. We wanted to take that out and instead put the money into the blade, into the materials, into the care substance. Directly from the manufacturer to you, without intermediaries.
Alex: What did you attach particular importance to in the product?
Thomas: On three things. Firstly, materials that you can feel. When you pick up the razor in the morning, it should feel valuable. Secondly, on omitting instead of adding. No colored glide strips, no blade acrobatics with five, seven or nine blades, no artificial show. Thirdly, skin care that fits into everyday life. A real shaving soap instead of chemical canned lather. A routine that doesn't take twenty minutes. Substance, but suitable for everyday use.
Alex: What do you wish you had told your 16-year-old self?
Thomas: That you don't have to put up with everything. That pimples and burning are not part of shaving. And that it's okay to talk about it, even between men.
Why NASH emerged from this story
You don't just have to put up with shaving problems. Pimples, burning and dull results are not a necessary evil, but often the result of incorrect routines and overloaded products. Many men have never learned what really matters when it comes to a good shave. They just get on with it because it has to work somehow.
This is exactly where NASH comes in. A better shave doesn't need 20 minutes or an artificial show. It needs good materials, clear product choices and a routine that really fits into your daily routine in the morning. Make it easy for yourself and get that fresh, smooth feeling back for the best start to your day.
