Introducing safety razor shaving to a teenager

[Major Overkill]

If he's using a soap recommended by his doctor, you may want to find out why he needs to use such a soap first. Some shave soaps may react poorly with his skin if he has sensitive skin. That could scare him away from wet shaving.

That said, there are plenty of shave soaps designed to be used by those with sensitive skin. IIRC, Cella green is one such soap. However, Proraso Red (and pretty much any soap with a scent) could trigger sensitive skin. You may want to do a search of shave soaps for sensitive skin before gifting your stepson a shave soap.

Excellent points, both. The Major will ask his commanding officer what soap Seth uses, and why he uses it. He just figured the Proraso Red was a good one b/c that particular line works well for his sensitive skin. Also, the whole soap-in-a-bowl approach simplifies things considerably, as it's one less thing to buy or for him to carry to the washroom (shared showers/restrooms in his dorm).

-MO.

 

[Kent Kimmons]

Points to offer: Ling term cheaper, closer shave once he learns it, a good daily face treatment to keep unsightly acne and blackheads from becoming a problem, get the right soap or cream, and his girlfriend will love the scent afte.

 

[hairless wonder]

Excellent points, both. The Major will ask his commanding officer what soap Seth uses, and why he uses it. He just figured the Proraso Red was a good one b/c that particular line works well for his sensitive skin. Also, the whole soap-in-a-bowl approach simplifies things considerably, as it's one less thing to buy or for him to carry to the washroom (shared showers/restrooms in his dorm).

-MO.

If you want a sensitive shave soap in a bowl for your stepson, you might want to try Cella green. Oddly enough, Proraso white is supposed to be for sensitive skin, but from what some other forum members have reported, in practice, it's not really designed for sensitive skin.

 

[Tirvine]

A zillion years ago my father handed me an already old Schick injector, a half done brush, some soap, and a pack of blades. His bonding word was "Here."

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

All the items chosen look good, except my conscience forces me to say to please get a second brand of blades in case the Wilkies don’t agree with him. Out of the dozen or so blades I have tried only two (the Wilkie and the Bic) have I really hated.

Gotta give him some Bics. They are really great. Stupid sharp and mirror glass smooth. But only get them from trusted sources. I can 100% confirm that there are fake Bics in out there.

 

[Tallships]

Many of the above but also include how much cheaper it is to shave with DE/SE razor set up. 1 razor can last a lifetime and be passed down to teach a son coming of age. Example: Set my son up with a Gillette Slim (now uses Fatboy with Astra SP blades), Wilkinson Sword Blades, Boar Brush, Williams Mug soap, (now uses Cella) Old Spice Mug (now likes a Bowl)

 

[steveclarkus]

I would have loved to have started shaving with a cart but I would have had to go 15 years without shaving. DE's are notorious nickers and using a cart in the beginning would have been a wonderful way to get the basics down first. I'm still not hot on DE's and find straight razors to be a safer option.

 

[Major Overkill]

A bit of a change of plans.

Seth has expressed interest in the Supply 2.0 single edge razor. While this isn't exactly a safety razor, you might describe it as being safety razor-adjacent. From what I've read about it, it provides a very mild shave, and is a good first step into "wet shaving*" for someone who's more accustomed to using a cartridge razor like the Harry's that Seth uses.

But, my main concern is cost: if we were to purchase refill blades from Supply, they would cost literally 100x as much as comparable DE blades. Owwie owwie owwie. So, that leads to a question: does this razor accept a standard injector blade, or would he be stuck with the expensive refills?

I'll also post this on the SE board and see what they think.

-MO

* Why do we use the term "wet shaving" the way that we do? Isn't cartridge shaving also wet? Hell, can't you even use some electric shavers wet?

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

A bit of a change of plans.

Seth has expressed interest in the Supply 2.0 single edge razor. While this isn't exactly a safety razor, you might describe it as being safety razor-adjacent. From what I've read about it, it provides a very mild shave, and is a good first step into "wet shaving*" for someone who's more accustomed to using a cartridge razor like the Harry's that Seth uses.

But, my main concern is cost: if we were to purchase refill blades from Supply, they would cost literally 100x as much as comparable DE blades. Owwie owwie owwie. So, that leads to a question: does this razor accept a standard injector blade, or would he be stuck with the expensive refills?

I'll also post this on the SE board and see what they think.

-MO

* Why do we use the term "wet shaving" the way that we do? Isn't cartridge shaving also wet? Hell, can't you even use some electric shavers wet?

Standard injector blades are fine. They are more spendy than DEs, but they last longer. There is a guy selling 1000 Personnas on ebay for like 80 bucks though.

Alternatively, if you are handy with superglue, my DIY Gillette Super Click on either a Gillette Fusion with Flexball v4 or Feather F3 Samurai are both winners. Really safe too. You get multiple pivots and the decades of engineering that went into the final Gillette Tech (Super Click). That is millions of engineering hours in a cheap to refill easily available modern handle.

 

[cajunrph]

I am trying to get my son, also 19, interested in wet shaving. I think one of the hindrances will be the time involved. He doesn't shave too often and doesn't have much facial hair at all. He has expressed resistance to shaving due to the time involved. I gave him my Henson Mild and one of my soaps and aftershave as well as a brush and a stand. I am allowing him to smell all of the soaps I am getting in lately. I showed him my Vintage Gillettes I got on the other day. One is a 1948 year the other is my birth year, 1967. He was impressed one was older than his grandfather was and the other was as old as I am. The hurdle for him will be the time needed. But if he shaves every two weeks that's not as big of an issue. Maybe if we can hook them on the scents then it would be easier. I have a few that smell like Creed Aventus, he likes those. When I mentioned Creed Aventus is >$300 and the PAA version is $24, his eyes got big. I think I impressed him. Good luck with it.

 

[Filudo]

I will guess the average teenager has zero interest in using old razors. If the kid shows some interest in your shaving style and goodies, then I would say: it's worth teaching..... But for initial shaving.....foam/gel and a one blade Bic, Walmart Personna or Gillette will probably be good enough. Would I spend good money on their first razor= NO....., would I give a hand me down middle of the road razor and blades= yes....

 

[Filudo]

I forgot to mention, if the kid has a skin condition (acne or eczema ) that needs special soap/skin care.......let the DR suggest what to use , to avoid making things worse....... Norelco OneBlade is sounding good suddenly.

My dad let me use a norelco.....here you can borrow this......; horrible burn...... I stated looking for alternatives at home and discovered a Gillette Atra w blades.....so I used this for years with hand soap..... . I still have that razor....and it's still good....in fact, it almost looks new. I also used a non rotating Gillette, the previous model....and hated it...., recently tried one of those and I still hate it....

And another option, just buy those throw aways from Gillette Sensitive skin....they have 3 blades....those are great and buy them on sale (next Tue on amazon or google for sales...), one should give 10-15 shaves if rinsed and dried.

 

[Lord NSIC]

Whether he's into DEs/SEs or Carts, recommend looking at the LEAF Thorn as the love-child alternative of all of the razors if they were thrown into a drawer and left to their own devises. Last Christmas I gifted my son a LEAF Thorn (they also sell the Twig which is supposed to be milder, but I have no experience with it) which is technically a SE in that it takes 1/2 of a DE blade (snap it in half) so you have no proprietary blades to worry about and can use any DE blade. It also is a TTO razor in that when the knob is turned, it raises the head and just as it reaches the apex, the head turns 90 degrees so you can easily load the blade which is held in place magnetically. The Thorn is his go to if he's in a hurry, tired or just needs a quick auto pilot shave, it also closely resembles a cartridge shave because it's pretty fool proof and you have to try to cut yourself, even when hungover...

I started my son on DEs a few years ago, then a GEM 1912 single edge, a GEM 1914 and 1924 and finally a MicroMatic (OC) of course, even after letting him use mine with a fresh GEM PTFE blade. He'll eventually come around to trying a SR, in time.

The upside is that if he doesn't take to the Thorn, it will come back to you...

 

[EM313]

I have read many interesting and useful comments in the preceding posts. With your indulgence, I will add my two cents worth. I started teaching my son how to wet shave when he turned 16. Like many young men in their teens and early twenties, daily shaving is not part my son's routine. I'm lucky if I convince him to shave once a fortnight. He is, decidedly, not obsessed with razors, soaps, and other shaving ephemera. That said, he does appreciate the wet shaving experience and how it compares to carts and electric razors. He has even told me how his friends sometimes talk with him about his shaving kit. This is not a conversation I would have had at that age. Go figure. If he sticks with it, he will inherit a rather large collection of razors from me. Looking back over my comments, perhaps that's why he wet shaves: He's planning to cash in on his dad's RAD.

 

[House Boy]

After getting my Feather ASD2 I gave my friend, who uses cartridge 4-5 blade razors, my Qshave adjustable and explained the benefits of a DE razor. All he could say was he remembered his father coming out of the bathroom with pieces of bloodied toilet paper all over his face. I told him not to use pressure and let razor do the work also suggested to watch a few videos. It's been a while and he hasn't said anything yet so I'm thinking he has it hiding in a drawer.

To Major Overkill, don't have a first aid kit in view of his first shave.