My sixteen yr old son shaves with a Gillette Triangle Tech, that I replated for him. That is,when he does shave. He is always too busy hanging with friends, and girlfriend. BMX and girls take priority over grooming the face, at least for his crowd.
Any fellow teen shavers out there?
- Thread starter Yaser
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I started my 17 YO son on DE earlier this year. He likes it and is doing well with weekly shaves and only 1 nick so far. I think he's hooked so hopefully never exposed to those evil carts. Seems to me that if he can develop good technique at an early age, he'll be set for life.
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- #23
Gillette tech, Mennen skin bracer, and some derby blades (wanted to start off with a mild shave have a variety of blades i'll test once i'm more proficient)
plan on going getting some shaving soap and a brush asap and should have a more preferred aftershave Friday
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- #24
he seems much more fortunate than me in the nicks department sounds like he had some good instruction
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- #25
that's good to hear, I like to groom my face but that's just me as most my age don't even have the ability to grow enough facial hair to be something to think about much
Something about this thread reminded me of this:
Not a teen shaver (I'm 37), but a hearty welcome to you, sir!
Not a teen shaver (I'm 37), but a hearty welcome to you, sir!
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- #27
can't say that I've seen teen wolf but greetings right back at you this forum seems like a pretty friendly place
Just proves how little you need to get started. Things will vastly improve when you find the right blade, as well as get a basic soap and brush. Some of the cheapest supplies out there are actually the best performers. Not sure if you're able to order online, but even some of the artisan soaps out there are quite affordable. Locally, I'd recommend keeping your eye out for the Nivea Sensitive products, both the cream ($3-4) and the balm ($4-6). They're perhaps the best bang-for-your-buck software products I've ever used. I've also discovered Noxzema classic deep cleansing cream ($4-6), which was been the first pre-shave product I've dabbled with. Works well as a pre-shave to soften the hairs, and also provides enhanced slickness if you apply it between each pass. And honestly, it's a decent face wash too.
I really wish I was able to learn about all this stuff when I was your age (about 12 years ago for me). I feel like such a dork for spending $4 per cartridge through the most financially straining times of my life (college) only to get terrible shaves.
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- #29
I'll look out for those, if I do get the opportunity what would some examples of good cheaper artisan soaps be?
not much is needed at all but a lot of the fun is in experimentation
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There's many affordable options, but I'd personally recommend Stirling. It provides a post shave that feels quite nourishing to the skin, and they deal in samples quite well. Priced at about $2-3 for a 1.25oz sample puck w/ flat rate $5 shipping... you could try a wide variety of scents. 5 sample pucks and 2 small tins would run you about $20 after shipping. They also make a great aftershave splash and nice bath soaps.
Some other affordable options are Razorock ($7-10 for a 4oz tub) and Maggard (who offers samples of their own soaps, plus a variety of other soap makers). You can also get good bang for your buck from companies like B&M (some scents are more expensive), Caties Bubbles ($20 for 8oz, which is a ton), Soap Commander, Tiki, and the list goes on... but you IMO Stirling, Maggard, and Razorock are simpler places to start.
None of this is to say that you wouldn't like soaps from bigger companies. Ya never know what's right for you until you try it, unfortunately. Proraso and Arko are both super popular, and yet I dislike Proraso while loving Arko. Both are quite affordable. I think I just prefer soaps with tallow in them, and I'm starting to learn that Lanolin is also an ingredient that agrees with me (seems to improve the post shave). Both of these ingredients are in almost all of the Stirling soaps, which is why I feel it's a good starting launchpad towards learning what your preferences are.
Of note: Stirling isn't exactly the easiest to lather. You'll read a bit about that on the forums, but it's not rocket science or anything. You just load up more product than some other soaps (~30 seconds of loading into your brush) and you're usually good to go for a face or bowl lather. I started one of my friends out with Stirling and it was the first shaving soap he ever used. He had no problems.
Some other affordable options are Razorock ($7-10 for a 4oz tub) and Maggard (who offers samples of their own soaps, plus a variety of other soap makers). You can also get good bang for your buck from companies like B&M (some scents are more expensive), Caties Bubbles ($20 for 8oz, which is a ton), Soap Commander, Tiki, and the list goes on... but you IMO Stirling, Maggard, and Razorock are simpler places to start.
None of this is to say that you wouldn't like soaps from bigger companies. Ya never know what's right for you until you try it, unfortunately. Proraso and Arko are both super popular, and yet I dislike Proraso while loving Arko. Both are quite affordable. I think I just prefer soaps with tallow in them, and I'm starting to learn that Lanolin is also an ingredient that agrees with me (seems to improve the post shave). Both of these ingredients are in almost all of the Stirling soaps, which is why I feel it's a good starting launchpad towards learning what your preferences are.
Of note: Stirling isn't exactly the easiest to lather. You'll read a bit about that on the forums, but it's not rocket science or anything. You just load up more product than some other soaps (~30 seconds of loading into your brush) and you're usually good to go for a face or bowl lather. I started one of my friends out with Stirling and it was the first shaving soap he ever used. He had no problems.
Fellow teen shaver here, 17 years old. I started during this past summer right before I turned 17.
I could recommend buying cheap soap so that you won't skimp on using it.
Also, I started out with the basic VDH kit with the feather popular and a sampler pack of blades from amazon. I still use everything, and I'm finally just finishing up the puck of VDH deluxe (maybe one lather left in it). When I had some trouble lathering the VDH on my first time, I went and bought some Proraso cream. While it's an awesome lather when it's lathered properly, it takes about 3-5 minutes of building the lather for it to be perfect. Whereas I can load a puck of VDH for 30 seconds, then face lather for 20-30 seconds, and it's a beautiful lather.
Currently I use the Supermax Titanium and Platinum blades. I find that for me they last a four or five 2 pass shaves with little decline in performance, so I replace it every sunday before things every get bad.
I could recommend buying cheap soap so that you won't skimp on using it.
Also, I started out with the basic VDH kit with the feather popular and a sampler pack of blades from amazon. I still use everything, and I'm finally just finishing up the puck of VDH deluxe (maybe one lather left in it). When I had some trouble lathering the VDH on my first time, I went and bought some Proraso cream. While it's an awesome lather when it's lathered properly, it takes about 3-5 minutes of building the lather for it to be perfect. Whereas I can load a puck of VDH for 30 seconds, then face lather for 20-30 seconds, and it's a beautiful lather.
Currently I use the Supermax Titanium and Platinum blades. I find that for me they last a four or five 2 pass shaves with little decline in performance, so I replace it every sunday before things every get bad.
Wow Yaser you have managed to make me feel really old and I am only 21 myself! To be honest I wish straight razors were as easy to come across in the UK as they seem to be in he US, over in the UK I don't know anybody who uses straight razors anymore. No local barbers who use them, no tales of a friends father/grandfather... nothing. Maybe I am just living in the wrong area.
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- #33
Sintro nice to see another teen on this forum. what do you think of the VDH basic? I'll take your advice and start with cheaper soaps. seems like 4-5 shaves per blade is the average
thanks for that TheChariot!
your mini-guide will be a great springboard for me to start looking into what suits me best
thanks for that TheChariot!
your mini-guide will be a great springboard for me to start looking into what suits me best
When you're ready to make another purchase, I'd look into Nivea Cream or Arko. You probably won't find Arko locally, but it's like $5 for 2 sticks w/ free shipping on Amazon. The opinions of the scent is polarizing, but I just think it smells like plain old lemon soap. It lathers up easily, shaves great, and isn't as drying (in my experience) as the VDH. There's a lot of potential perks there, because if you end up liking it you could buy it in quantity of 12-15 stick @ something like $1.25 per stick.
There's twist-up sticks available from West Coast Shaving, as well as Elements Bath & Body that can be used to apply/store Arko more conveniently, or you can just smash it into a bowl and leave it there. I plan on shaving my head next summer, and Arko will probably be my soap of choice, because you can just add bits of water at a time and keep on building more and more lather until you have a ridiculous amount.
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- #36
haha i haven't met anyone locally that uses a straight, my barber uses a shavette, and I have a friend who does as well, didn't even know he did until i brought up DE and straight razor shaving one day which was pretty cool
I think that is the smarter path at this point. However, I wouldn't hesitate to do some research on artisan soaps or some of the higher end companies, because **checks calendar**.... it's that time of the year, dude. I'm freakin' 27 and I still drop hints about Christmas gifts when I'm around my Mom. I'm probably going to utter "DR Harris" like 9 times at Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.
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- #38
I think that is the smarter path at this point. However, I wouldn't hesitate to do some research on artisan soaps or some of the higher end companies, because **checks calendar**.... it's that time of the year, dude. I'm freakin' 27 and I still drop hints about Christmas gifts when I'm around my Mom. I'm probably going to utter "DR Harris" like 9 times at Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.
haha I don't celebrate Christmas but point taken I'll look into soaps for sure
I haven't looked into it, but I've heard that straight razors are no longer legal to use in barber shops in parts of the U.S. due to blood pathogens that could be transferred, so e'rrbody has to use shavettes in those places. Apparently barbicide isn't good enough for America.
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- #40
I've read a bit on it and shavettes are much more sanitary in that environment , straights are still allowed if i remember correctly but you should use a shavette. barbicide takes a bit of time to clean up stuff, generally only 10-15 minutes, but it's much cleaner and easier to use a shavette as there is less maintenance required to use it correctly commerciallyI haven't looked into it, but I've heard that straight razors are no longer legal to use in barber shops in parts of the U.S. due to blood pathogens that could be transferred, so e'rrbody has to use shavettes in those places. Apparently barbicide isn't good enough for America.Perhaps someone with more knowledge can confirm or elaborate on this.
but if someone with more insight could explain better and more accurately that would be much better than just some stuff i read on the Internet
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