Teaching a child

My little cousin will be reaching the shaving age in around a year. I'm still pretty new to shaving with a straight, but I think in that time I should become proficient enough to teach him. And that's where my question lies. Do you think it's a good idea to try and teach a 13 year old to use a straight, or let him get acquainted with regular shaving first? My girlfriend's mother brought up the issue of acne and other hormone laden skin changes. So if anyone has any insight I would greatly appreciate it.

I think it depends on what his parents have to say about the matter. If they're fine, then I say go for it and see if he's even got an interest. 100 years ago, this wasn't even an option...kids HAD to learn on a straight razor and unlike us, by the time his hair got nice and tough, he was already an expert on getting rid of it.

The additional face care associated with str8 shaving may help reduce his acne issues.

Very much depends on what the boy's parents have to say. I don't see why not. Straights are not dangerous provided that they are used for their intended purpose. I had pocket knives at that age.

Problem is if he starts straight shaving at a very young age, he'll likely develop HAD quite young also and resort to stealing to fuel the habit as his pocket money will never support Cotis and Jnats, not to mention Eschers. So you'd be turning him into a criminal indirectly.

Either that or he'll discover ebay and continue to inflate the prices of just about everything that is related to straights.

Definitely not a good idea. Tell him that beards are in. And so are electric razors.

funny..I thought about teaching my nephew how to use a str8 razor..but he doesnt have nuff facial whiskers..plus his mom (my sister)..would go bonkers..lol..you never know til you try!..but my nephew opt'd for an electric machine

pcdad

So far you're saying exactly what I wanted to hear. His parents should be ok with it, except his father has had a beard for 30 years so he may be biased. If anyone has had any actual experience with a similar situation, maybe with a son or nephew etc. that would be great too. Thanks for the quick answers.

Haha you posted as I typed, I'm glad I'm not in the boat alone though.

We started JrJoed out with his grandfather's Gillette Superspeed DE when he was 13 and within 6 months he had switched over to a straight. He never had much of an acne problem though so I can't help you out there. He's now 15 and loving every minute of it and it's been a great bonding experience with him and his dad

Have you asked the kid about it?

Asides from parents opinion a lot depend on the boy. Is he mature, reasonable and dexterous or is he childish, slapdash and clumsy. Most important is he interested?

My son is 10 and I suspect that I will start him off with one of my mild DE's but if he is interested in str8's I would be happy to let him learn, his mother may have other ideas though.

I've only really just started asking him about shaving in general, I figured I would ease him into it. He seems a bit leery about shaving period. He tends to be mature and acts much older than your average kid. I'm almost quite proud of it. I'll broach the question shortly but I wanted some secondary opinions first. Thanks to all and by all means keep me apprised of what you think.

Personally, I think SR shaving is great --- For it's ability to get a closer shave, with less irritation, and without the expense of having to replace the blade cartridge every 3 days.

However, when I was young and had light / fine stubble --- I didn't get irritation and I only had to shave every 2-3 days anyway.

So my recomendation is to think about what the possible advantages of SR shaving are for a kid just entering puberty. If he thinks it's "cool" and something he'd like to brag to his friends about - then I'd say go for it. Cuts from high-angles heal fast at that age, and I think the SR looks "dangerous" enough that even less mature kids will be careful to avoid any lateral slicing motions. (Even the most rambuctious cubscouts in my den act a lot more mature when we whittle).

ps: I seem to remember my cartridge razors shaving off the top 1/3-1/2 of my pimples. This was enough to convince me that it was best to go around pimples and not to shave over them. So pimples may be a moot point in the SR vs cartridge / DE debate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nirve9909

My little cousin will be reaching the shaving age in around a year.
.....snip....

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Shaving with a blade -- any blade -- demands
a good shave soap, brush and lathering.

A worthy brush and a couple of well selected
shave soaps or creams will get him going. Even
in a house full of tossables.

For a beginner there are a lot of choices but the
yellow handled BiC for sensitive skin razors go a long way
down the wet shaving road with minimum expense,
muss and fuss.

Handing a youngster a brush, mug and soap is one of
those memorable growing up events. Next to a toothbrush
and a bar of soap it can be his most important personal
grooming tool for years.

Do visit with his Dad so Dad is not deprived of the important and
fun father-son bonding thing. The "we got together and
thought you might like" thing is a great model for growing up too.

Well, I wouldn't volunteer an opinion ... but you did ask.

First, it depends on the boy and how he responds to teaching. Some boys would follow every step so meticulously that it would take them an hour or more to shave, some would try to whack at it for thirty seconds and call it good. Boy #2 definitely doesn't start with a straight.

Given an "average" boy, if there is such a thing, I'd start with a very safe/mild single-edge, double-edge adjustable set down to "1", or even (horrors) a multiblade cartridge, until he gets some skill in prep, building lather, learning the facial curves, etc.; then, a step up to something more aggressive in the safety razor line, and finally a straight. I'm not being overprotective - I just don't want him to have a really bad experience and give up on straights forever, as hopefully he'll show up here if the straights work for him and I'll get to chat with him.

You deserve a whole bucket of Attaboys! for caring enough to teach him properly, whatever way you choose to do it.

I agree with the other guys. It'll depend on the boy, and on his parents.

If his parents are Ok with him learning, I'd just broach the topic in conversation and see what his interest is like. One heck of a lot of people just see shaving as a necessary evil to remove hair from their face, and just want it over and done with as fast as possible, and if thats how he's thinking about shaving then I'd leave it for a bit and see if his interest grows later.

If he seems keen though, I'd get him right into it at the start! It might be worth him having a DE or *shudder* an M3 for days when he's in a rush, but a razor from the classifieds here, plus strop, brush and soap would be a really great way of getting him started off!

And :tu to you for offering the time to teach him!

Teaching a young man all about the tools and how they are properly used is not quite the same thing as teaching him to use one for himself. I strongly support the former. Nothing can be harmed by informing someone properly so that they don't have to swallow the "Our NEW multi-blade system is the best shave a man can ..." nonsense. The next step, the shaving step is up to him and should be taken when he is ready.

this is just my 2 cents so dont base your decision on this but i say if he is willng to learn and be as excited as i was about it and still am then i say go for it im 14 , 15 this month and iv never had to many big isues with straight razors other than the occasional nick, iv never even used a disposable or any cartirde razor for that matter, so would love to see another member on here around my age ( nothing wrong with you (old timers) i ruly love hearing form you but seeing younger person start using straights would be nice) so if you willing to teach him or he is willing to learn on his own like i did than go for it.

The question is, would you trust your OWN 13 year old with a lethal weapon? We all know just how responsible young boys can be. IMHO it's better to wait a couple more years until say 15-16 to start shaving? and definately not with a straight. I've worked as an ERT and I've seen the deadly decisions teenagers can do with just a wheel in their hands. Stay safe. Peace

Here's my quick two cents as well.
I started straight razor shaving (well shavette) when I was 13-14. I shaved off my peach fuzz for the first time with a Gillette 2 borrowed from my dad and went to the closest "centre du rasoir" the next day and bought a shavette. I could tell you that at that age I was completely intrigued by shaving and had decided that if I was going to shave I wanted to do it right. I had to teach myself how to use it and needless to say there were a lot of nicks in the process. I did really wish there was someone to guide me on the proper technics of wet shaving.

That being said, what I'm really trying to get across is the fact that I wanted straigh trazor shaving because I loved the whole concept of shaving. And if you want your couzin to love SRS I think the first thing you need to do is make him love the concept of shaving before you hand him his first and hopefully last shaving tool.

cheers for your initiative! and don't hesitate to ask me questions on my experience! I'll gladly tell you all that I can rememeber.:gl:

I Also am teaching myself how to use a Straight razor (well with help from you guys of course) but i agree with the idea of making sure your cousin really wants to learn the triditional way to shave. the only reason i presued with it after my first (fuzz removal ) shave was because i was determined to learn , ( what a first try 2 knicks and alot of small hairs still standing) so i sugest that you ask him about it some time and see if he gets excited over it or just shows no intrest, if he shows no interst then i would let him come to you if he ever decides to try it but if he likes the idea of it then go on with encurging him to try.


Speaking from experience not a lot of my friends Ages 13-16 would really like to even think about having to take the time to learn to use and care for a straight when they could just use a cheesy disposable the requires little care for, but as with me there are some that like the challange of trying the less easy but more rewarding ways of doing things.

I started my boy with a DE. He is now 15 almost 16. I will start teaching him to use a straight soon because he wants to learn; but the razors will stay with me for a while longer until I am very comfortable with him possessing one.

Narrez and Deerhunter I thank you tremendously. Not to insult anyone (you've been far too helpful to do that) hearing the perspective of some one in the actual age bracket is most enlightening. He was as I said leery about shaving period, and slightly more so about the straight aspect. A typical 12 year old shrug and "I guess." His parents were more of a "Shave? Already? Can we worry about it later?" After a talk with him to feel him out a little more I think a DE will be the best bet for him. Much less intimidating, good close shave, and as was pointed out the learning of proper lathering. He is a mature kid though so I think that he would be able to handle the straight. He has shot guns and used knives so he respects and understands dangerous things. Thank you to everyone for helping me.

glad I could help!

Sure glad i could be of assistance to you and the best of luck to you with teaching the boy.