Thread: To: Teens Wanting to Start Out Straight Razor Shaving

To start, hello all teens that are lurking this thread Forum!!! This is the best forum ever for any information on straight razors!!

But, this is not the purpose of this thread. The purpose is to educate you on the best way to start out straight razor shaving. I know some of you may be thinking, I would love to do this!! But, my parents would never let me! They would think it is way to dangerous to put a 3 inch unguided razor sharp blade against my face. Trust me, I know this personally. My dad though I was crazy for even wanting to start! But, once you put things into perspective, they may agree!

First, I'm going to explain what you will need to start out.

A Shave Ready Razor
Leather Strop, And optional linen side recommended, but not necessarily needed
Shave Brush
Shave Soap
Coffee Mug

For all of these items, I will provide links to give you the best deal possible. So you don't have to break your bank, or your parents.

Razor- This doesn't need to be anything special. It can easily be had for under 50 dollars on SRP's classifieds. Make sure it is shave ready, or else you will have to spend even more money trying to make it capable of shaving.
Strop- Once again, nothing spectacular is needed. Just a plain 2 inch latigo strop will work. This is the one I have, it does the job.
2" Wide #1 Black Latigo Leather Strop

Brush Bowl and Soap. Get the Van Der Hagen shave set at Walmart for 10 dollars. It works and works well, and all you really need to start out.

Next is the why you should start, and how to convince your parents to let you start!!!!

Why:

1. Your friends and peers will envy you!!! They will think you are the coolest thing for having the guts to put a razor sharp unguided blade against your face!
2. In the long run, you will spend a lot less on shaving. This may not be a big deal to you now, but trust me. When you are 25 and have one kid you will not want to spend 30 dollars 4 cartridges for you Gillette Fusion razor.
3. I know how hectic it can be in the shoes of a teen. Trust me! I'm 14 right now! If you decide to take up this art, it will force you to be calm to start the day and will really set your mood for the rest of the day!
4. It is the perfect time to start! If you are just starting to grow peach fuzz on your face, it will be SOOOO much easier to learn. There will be a lot less hair you will need to take off, and it is not as thick as a wire so it will be much easier to learn!
5. Something you can do with your dad. At first, your dad will think your are totally crazy for wanting to shave like your great grandfather! But, after he first watches you shave, he will want to try it. Also, if you dad is already a member here, or shaves with a straight razor already. Your journey has become SOOOO much easier! He can and will set you up with a great razor and really good one on one advice that is hard to come by! If you are in that place and your dad ever offers to teach you, don't pass up that opportunity!
6. You will feel a taste of the past because you are shaving like the did in the '30's!
7. It is just plain cool.


How to convince your parents!

This is probably the most important step! If you don't succeed at this, say goodbye to straight razor shaving!

One of the worst ways to go about doing this........ Asking and Asking and Asking until your parents are so done with you that they just let you do what you want. It worked, but, depending on how irritable your parents are, you may get a couple of "love taps."

How I would do it.....

Show them all of those 7 tips that I explained above. Use your best cute puppy face and ask as nicely as you can if they will let you do this. If you do a good job of convincing them, they will say yes! If they are concerned about you slicing your face open, show them this video!
First Straight Razor Shave - YouTube