Depicted below are the cross sectional views of three top selling body shaving razors showing the relationship of the blade edge to the skin as the pateint is being shaved.  In all instances the skin is to the right of the razor head and the direction of shaving is downward to the right. The dermis is colored pink while the epidermis is white.

These razors all have deficiencies which can cause gross damage to the epidermal layer. In all three cases the blade protrudes excessively beyond the tight skin flow line, and there is an overly large gap between the skin guidance teeth and the blade permitting the skin to flow into this gap and increasing the effective protrusion of the blade into the skin. In the case of razors 1 and 3 the blade is not clamped tightly which has the efect of changing its angle of attack and causing deeper penetration into the skin.
Remember the epidermis is the thin (0.003" thick)  top surface of the skin which contains the sulfur that prevents the ingress of bacteria into the body.

• The blade is held tighly between the blade seat and cap.
• The blade protrudes beyond the tight skin flow line only enough to assure the cutting of hair.
• The space between the guide bar and blade is designed to allow for the easy removal of shaved hair, while minimizing potential damage to soft or wrinkled skin.